Photo: BIKEPACKING.comKootenay Confluence (BC Only)

Kootenay Confluence (BC Only)

A ride described at BIKEPACKING.com

How we describe routes →

Ambitious A real undertaking. Demanding on a couple of fronts, like rough surfaces plus steady climbing, or a long stretch on busier roads.

Difficulty Our overall read of how demanding a route is. We score surface roughness, climbing, singletrack, and how far it runs from services. The route publisher's own rating, a lot of busy road riding, or sheer scale can push the tier up, never down.

Derived from OpenStreetMap. Good data, not perfect. Spot something wrong? Tell us.

How we describe routes →

“The Kootenay Confluence is a 600-kilometer bikepacking loop in Eastern British Columbia and Washington. Not only named after the confluence of rivers in the Kootenays, the route explores the confluence of industry versus nature, traditional land owners and colonization, and the natural boundaries like mountains and valleys that dictate where we travel.”
— BIKEPACKING.com

Get the route on BIKEPACKING.com →

Where this ride goes#

Approximate lineGet the real route ↗

Map key & layers

Show stops Mute other bike trails

Food & DrinkAttractionsSuppliesCampingAccommodationBike Services

Riding near fast trafficFastest stretches

Dashed line = our rough sketch of where the ride goes. The rideable route lives at get the route from BIKEPACKING.com.

Fast-road stretches#

We believe these are the fast, unprotected roads on this route. We can tell you which roads and roughly how far, but not the order you will ride them. If you see an error, tell us and we'll fix it.

about 25 km of Vernon-Slocan Highway · near Carrolls Landing
about 10 km of Nelson-Nelway Highway · near Nelway
about 10 km of Crowsnest Highway · near Jersey
about 9 km of Inonoaklin Valley Road · near Edgewood
short stretches on other roads · 3 km total

☕Stops worth stopping for95 along this route

Nelson Brewing Company: one of BC's original craft breweries, founded in 1991... first craft brewery east of the Okanagan... historic building that has housed brewing since the 1800s. · Nelson

Communities along this route#

Nelson 42 Grand Forks 25 Salmo 8 Crescent Valley 3 Slocan 3 Appledale 2 Lemon Creek 2 Winlaw 2 Columbia Gardens 1 Edgewood 1 Lebahdo 1 Mountain Station 1 Slocan Park 1 South Slocan 1 Vallican 1 Ymir 1

Nelson (42)

Nelson Brewing CompanyInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Gerick Cycle & SkiAccredited· Repair Shop

Backroads BreweryWelcoming· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Kootenay co-opWelcoming· Grocery Store

LibraryWelcoming· Restaurant · $$$ · Upscale

Mike's Place PubWelcoming· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

Nelson Museum Archives & GalleryWelcoming· Museum / Gallery · $$

Oso Negro CaféWelcoming· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

Outer Clove RestaurantWelcoming· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Red Light RamenWelcoming· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Plus the fast-food chains — A&W, Subway

+30 more in Nelson →

Grand Forks (25)

gallery2Info· Museum / Gallery · Free

Grand Forks Aquatic CentreInfo· Community Centre · $

True North DistilleriesInfo· Activity / Experience · $$$

Grand Forks & District Public LibraryInfo· Library · Free

Grand Forks InnInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Grand Forks Municipal CampgroundInfo· Public Campground

Grand Forks Station PubInfo· Brewery / Pub · $$ · Casual

The Board Room CafeInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

The Borscht BowlInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

The Wooden SpoonInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Plus the fast-food chains — McDonald's, A&W, Panago +2 more

+10 more in Grand Forks →

Salmo (8)

Reno MotelInfo· Hotel / Motel · $$ · Budget

Salmo Municipal CampgroundInfo· Public Campground

Salmo Valley Public LibraryInfo· Library · Free

Salmo Valley Youth & Community CentreInfo

Salmo Village Grocery on MainInfo· Grocery Store

The Dragon Fly CaféInfo· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

EssoInfo· Convenience Store

Plus the fast-food chains — Subway

Crescent Valley (3)

Frog Peak Café & GuesthouseWelcoming· Café / Coffee · $ · Cheap eats

EssoInfo· Convenience Store

EverGreenInfo· Convenience Store

Slocan (3)

Lemon Creek Pioneer CampgroundInfo· Hotel / Motel · $ · Rock-bottom

Mountain ValleyInfo· Convenience Store

Slocan Community LibraryInfo· Library · Free

Appledale (2)

Little Slocan River Recreation AreaInfo· Public Campground

Little Slocan Recreation SiteInfo· Public Campground

Lemon Creek (2)

Lemon Creek Pioneer CampgroundInfo· Private Campground

Lemon Creek Pioneer CampgroundInfo· Private Campground

Winlaw (2)

Sleep Is For SissiesInfo· Restaurant · $$ · Casual

Fomi's BakeryInfo· Bakery / Donuts · $ · Cheap eats

Columbia Gardens (1)

Buckley Campground (BC Hydro)Info· Private Campground

Edgewood (1)

Whatshan Lake RetreatInfo· Resort

Lebahdo (1)

Crooked Horn FarmInfo· Farmers' Market

Mountain Station (1)

Cool Waters RV ParkInfo· Private Campground

Slice and dice these stops in the directory →

These stops come from our directory of welcoming places across BC. Spot something wrong, missing, or closed? Tell us and we'll fix it.

⛴Getting here, bike and allNelson

Getting to this ride, bike and all#

Nelson is the handiest transit doorway for this ride. Buses, the SkyTrain, and ferries will carry you and your bike there:

Castlegarbest: bus
Vancouverbest: bus
Victoriabest: bus + SkyTrain
Nanaimobest: ferry + SkyTrain + bus

Also on the bike-transit map: Salmo

Or pick any two places on To & Fro →

🪶Traditional territories

The BC portion of this route travels through the traditional territories of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Ĩyãħé Nakón mąkóce (Stoney), Kalispel, Ktunaxa ɁamakɁis, Secwepemcúl’ecw (Secwépemc), snʕickstx tmxʷúlaʔxʷ (Sinixt), sx̌ʷyʔiɬp (Colville), and Syilx (Okanagan).

Territory data from Native Land Digital, for educational purposes only.

Ready to ride it?

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