Invermere lures visitors year round
Lake Windermere, mountains, hot springs just some of the draws
INVERMERE — Winter, spring, summer or fall there’s one main attraction that keeps visitors coming back to the B. C. resort town of Invermere. It’s Lake Windermere. Nestled in the scenic Columbia Valley with the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Purcell Mountains to the west, Lake Windermere is actually a large widening in the Columbia River. It’s one of the largest and warmest lakes in the region and has an average depth of only four- and- a- half metres.
“The lake is pretty much the focus,” said Heidi Korven, a travel media specialist with Tourism B. C.
“In winter they have the ‘ White Way’ on the lake. It’s a 16- kilometre stretch where they clear it for ice skating as well as ( put) tracks on it for crosscountry skiing on the lake, so that’s kind of cool. They also have pond hockey and a curling bonspiel,” she said.
“In the summer the main draw is again the lake because they’ve got great beaches and it’s a really good lake for jet skiing.”
One of the benefits of Invermere is location. The town of 4,000 is 30 minutes away from ski resorts at Panorama Mountain Village to the west and the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort ski area to the south.
There are the Radium and Fairmont hot springs yearround and in the summer the Columbia Valley Golf Trail features nine golf courses within minutes, including the Radium Resort Course, Eagle Ranch and Copper Point.
“The town is really hopping in the summer,” said Korven.
The region was first documented in 1807 by Canadian explorer David Thompson. While travelling with his wife and children, Thompson was the first European to explore the upper Columbia River.
The Invermere Airport houses the non- profit Canadian Rockies Soaring Club which welcomes student pilots and private owners in the summer months and provides glider rides to the general public.
The local area is also a popular destination for hang- gliding and paragliding with a launch site at nearby Mount Swansea.