Having A Hot Time B.C. Hot Springs Great Fall Visit
We may not have the spectacular autumn foliage of New England, but fall is still a beautiful season to explore the back roads of the Inland Northwest.
And an interesting destination for a weekend drive is Ainsworth Hot Springs Resort, on Kootenay Lake in southern British Columbia.
This is one of those trips where getting there is as much - or more - fun than the destination. My preferred route, which also makes for a loop trip, is to begin in Coeur d’Alene or Sandpoint, head north to Bonners Ferry, then continue to the border crossing at Porthill.
From there, it’s an easy half-hour drive to the small town of Creston (I recommend the Creston Valley Baker, 113 10th Ave. N. for lunch; good sandwiches, great pastries and al fresco dining on the roof). From there, it’s a lovely drive up the east side of the lake to the ferry crossing at Kootenay Bay.
As you drive north, the road twists and turns along the shore, rising for views of the glaciers in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, then descending to the clear blue waters of this 70-mile-long lake.
The ferry, which is free, runs every 50 minutes in daylight hours, and takes about that long to make the crossing. From its western landing, Ainsworth is only a 20-minute drive.
The resort is just off the highway, perched on a steep hill, and definitely not fancy. The rooms, which have cinder-block walls reminiscent of a college dormitory, are adequate but sparsely furnished (make sure you ask for one on the view side, overlooking the lake). The chief attraction is the natural hot springs, which have been used to create two soaking areas: a large outdoor pool and a hot-tub-like section, from which a dimly lit, horseshoe-shaped passageway loops back into natural rock caves.
The pool is warm (96 degrees), the hot tub is hotter (104), and the caves are downright sauna-like, with a water temperature of 110 degrees, producing lots of steam to clear the sinuses.
If all this sounds a bit too hot, there’s an adjacent cold plunge, with glacier-fed water barely above freezing.
On a nice weekend, Ainsworth draws visitors from around the region who pay a day fee to swim. The result is a bit zoo-like, especially in the hot-tub section, which isn’t big enough. A Sunday morning swim (the pools open at 8:30 a.m.) was much more uncrowded.
There’s also a restaurant and lounge on the top floor of the building. I was visiting with a group, which dined in a banquet room; our meals were pleasant, not outstanding, but reasonably priced.
Thanks to the weakness of the Canadian dollar, Ainsworth is a bargain. A double room at this time of year is only about $65 U.S., including tax, and includes swimming privileges.
A nice way to make the return trip is to head southwest on Highway 3A to Nelson, a good-sized community with interesting shopping and restaurants. Then it’s an easy drive to the U.S. border crossing at Nelway and south through Metaline Falls toward Spokane, running along the scenic Pend Oreille River for much of the journey. Figure about four to five hours in each direction.
If you’ve got time for side trips, the wildlife refuge west of Creston, with an interpretive center and elevated boardwalk, is a popular destination. And Crawford State Park, which includes Gardner Cave, is just inside the U.S. border off Highway 31, though it’s now closed for the season.
At this time of year, the roads are almost deserted once you get up near the Canadian border. The result is a trip where you can concentrate on the scenery - lakes, forests, mountains and autumn foliage - instead of traffic.
Ainsworth Hot Springs Resort, (800) 668-1171 or (604) 229-4212.
Nelson Chamber of Commerce: (604) 352-3433.
Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area (604) 428-3259.
Creston Chamber of Commerce: (604) 428-4342.
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MEMO: Do you have a favorite hideaway around the Inland Northwest, a secluded retreat that you would recommend to others? We’d like to hear about it. Write to: Travel Editor, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Or fax (509) 459-5098.