Where to Stop From Cherryville to Arrow Lakes Provincial Park

A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 8

A road trip isn’t complete without at least one long driving day, so we decided to make our driving day from Cherryville to Arrow Lakes Provincial Park even longer by taking the scenic route! This is a list with photos of every stop we made from Cherryville to Arrow Lakes Provincial Park.

Waking Up in Cherryville

Gm (good morning).

Callum & I were able to use a bathroom at the clubhouse at Cherryville which was great since we didn’t have a flushing toilet in our campervan. It was nice being able to wash my hands with running water (not that the campervan doesn’t have that).

It’s just then we don’t have to worry about refilling our water tank so soon. We have no clue when the water will run out but why waste it when not necessary.

We made bagels and ate them on the picnic table outside. Then we did our dishes, put everything away, unplugged the campervan, and we were on our way to Kootenay National Park.

This is a long drive (6.5 hrs with no stops) so we decided why not make it even longer, take the scenic route, and add some stops for fun.

The Stops from Cherryville to Arrow Lakes Provincial Park

Coming from the west in British Columbia (BC) towards Kootenay National Park, you have to take a car ferry at some point. We decided to take the one at Needles. This was fun. We waited for a bit, but not too long.

I’ve always felt there is something novel about car ferries. Maybe it’s because I love Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and felt this was the closest I would get to a car moving across water (even though I have taken one of those water taxi road to water type things before in Ottawa that is probably closer, this was more intimate since it was our own vehicle and not a tour with strangers).

I often get motion sick, and this wasn’t bumpy at all so I can recommend this route even for motion sick people.

After our nice crossing in Needles, we made stops in Nakusp, New Denver, Nelson, and an old logging road near Trout Lake, Kaslo.

Stop 1: Nakusp

We ended up stopping at the Nakusp Waterfront Walk. There was somewhere for us to go to the bathroom around here, and a nice public garden along the water. This was a great place to stretch our legs.

We also ended up getting additional grocery items from a grocery store in town. I’d say we spent about 1 hr total in Nakusp.

Stop 2: New Denver

In New Denver, we made a quick stop at Greer Park for views of Slocan Lake and the mountains.

Stop 3: Nelson

We had a quick stop here. Callum & I went to a random viewpoint where you could see the town of Nelson and the orange bridge (which I think is cool). We drove through the orange bridge towards Kaslo.

Stop 4: Kaslo

Just outside of Kaslo, we stopped at Fletcher Falls Recreation centre. This was a quick walk down to the falls and worth the stop.

In Kaslo itself, we stopped at the S.S. Moyie, a sternwheeler boat from 1898. This is the oldest, intact passenger vessel of its kind in the world.

Shelter Bay Ferry

With our scenic drive, we had to go back over the Upper Arrow Lake. After driving through an old logging road near Trout Lake, we had to rush to the last ferry.

The closest campsite was at Arrow Lakes Provincial Park. We were really tired, so I was glad we made it onto the ferry and were going to have somewhere that wasn’t an old logging road to sleep at.

Arrow Lakes Provincial Park

This was a really cool night. The stars were plenty, and it was colourful off in the distance.

Little did I know, this concept is called airglow. Callum took a really cool timelapse and you can see it in the video below.

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Prepare for your Trip

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