Originally Posted by
davei1980
Thanks! me and the family vacation in the Kootenays every year and I have been intrigued by the Selkirk Loop. Maybe now I'll just focus on doing a BC ride only and cut out the busy parts of US 2 and US 95 all together. I also have a VERY capable offroad touring bike so maybe I should be seeking out single lane gravel for my overnight trips!
How did you like the free ferry from Balfour to Crawford Bay, is that lake cool or what??
I would think you could find some great roads up in that area, we ran into a group of Canadians on a long tour at our hotel in Nelson and they talked about a lot of scenic climbs they had ridden. I don't mind doing out and back rides and much prefer them if they are on a great section of low traffic road(s) versus trying to make a loop that involves highway/shoulder miles.
The ride from Nelson to Creston was a pretty memorable day. I got lucky because I slept in a little knowing I could cover the 20 odd miles from Nelson the ferry terminal a lot quicker than the organizers suggested. I got some concerned looks the first time I was spotted by the SAG vehicle but by the second time they saw me I was already passing stragglers and got to the terminal with plenty of time to spare, plus I avoided the deluge that everyone else got caught in. The bakery that I hope is still there is almost destination worthy in itself, got a big cookie to eat during the ferry ride which was pretty cool. The climb from the terminal was one of the better ones on the whole ride and the road along the lake was real scenic with low traffic. This along with the section when you left the highway about 30 miles from Sandpoint and headed north to Ione for our first stop and then the part to the Canadian border the next day were the best miles of the 350+ mile loop. I don't think they go through Ione anymore due to the lack of hotels and restaurants.
Some folks on the ride didn't seem to mind the traffic like we did so that may affect how you feel about the ride. Also we had unusually cold wet weather when we did it in mid-September so going in summer would be drier and warmer but the flip side was that 2015 was a horrific year for wildfire up in the BC interior so it probably wouldn't have been feasible to do the ride while that was going on.
Having a gravel capable bike would certainly open up all sorts of terrain. I saw an article fairly recently where a pro rider got a group of friends together and rode almost exclusively on gravel across most of BC, they were really pushing their limits on how much they rode per day but the fact that they were able to link such great distances staying mostly on dirt roads was pretty cool.
I would think there are plenty of riders in that region that could help you put together some great rides.
I've never spent much time in the Kootenays and have been wanting to get back to Nelson during the winter to snowboard at Whitewater. We've hit Revelstoke and Sun Peaks on previous trips and Whitewater sounds pretty cool and low key with great snow, plus Nelson seems like a great place to spend a few days. We are heading to Apex Mountain in a few weeks because they are part of the Indy Pass that includes two days of boarding there but Whitewater is next on the list for Canadian visits.
We have also been talking about a trip to Banff/Jasper so would like to make sure we take in some of the sights along the way.