Had a simply splendid experience spelunking with our guide Lee! We tried the Explorer Tour. This…read moretour has a bit of everything! Splashing through glacier fed spring water, short rock climbs, rope assisted climbs (even up a small waterfall!), ladder climbs, tight squeezes, very tight squeezes and tons of amazing calcite formations from stalagmites, stalactites, straw formations, drapery formations, cave pearls.....all very cool. We were the first guests in the cave this year and were even treated to the sight of hibernating Daddy Long Legs Spiders . Highly recommend this caving tour experience.

I had always thought about checking out what the Cody Caves tours were all about. This dated back…read moreto over 20 + years ago when I had lived in Nelson BC for a short period, but never managed to make the time. Well today was the day and boy what a fantastic experience it was! There are a variety of levels for their cave tours depending on what you want to experience and how long you would like to spend in the caves. Reservations must be made ahead of time in order to secure your spots on the tour. Once booked, they will email you information on how to get there along with most everything you will need to know before you go. We chose the family tour which takes you about 300 meters into the cave. This tour is a great introduction to caving for anyone feeling apprehensive or claustrophobic. In terms of attire, definitely bring a change of shoes and socks as you will trek through many wet parts of the cave and past an underground waterfall. Long pants that do not constrict movement and range when your climbing over rock formations is recommended. I had a T-shirt and shorts and was totally fine in the 5 degree temperature. Most may prefer long pants for warmth and additional protection for your legs if you accidentally stumble. In the event you wear shorts, pack bug spray for when you hike to the caves from the park parking lot at the top. The road entrance leading to the caves from the highway is a 10 km-ish dirt forestry road. You do not need a 4x4 or truck to drive it. In fact two people from our tour group drove up in a Mazda 3 front wheel drive vehicle. The initial 2.5 km may appear a bit intimidating at first, but the rest of the route is smooth sailing. You should allow 30 minutes to get yourself from the highway entrance to the Cody Caves Provincial Park parking lot. If you start your trek up about an hour before you tour start time, you will less likely run into traffic flowing the opposite route (from previous tours). Something you will want to avoid as the road is narrow and would require you to back up to an area passable in the road. Once you arrive at the top and meet your guide, they will walk you through your adventure ahead and show you on a map where you will be going. After setting ever one u on with gloves, helmet and head lamp. You begin a short hike (20 minutes or so) up a couple hundred meters to the cave entrance. From that point you will be in for an amazing and memorable adventure! Our guide was fantastic! This was his 7th season as a guide for Cody Caves and he was incredibly knowledgeable and informative throughout the entire tour. The one cool thing that you do not notice is that there is absolutely no light coming in to the caves from outside in only 5 minutes into your trek. It's incredible how much your group's' headlamps fill the caverns during your trek in the caves. Depending on the pace of your tour group, you should allow about 2 hours from your scheduled start tine to return back to your vehicle from the caves (sometimes previous group may be slower return back to the tour cabin too) so allow yourself time if you had any plans following your tour adventure. Cody Cave tours is definitely a must do on your list especially if you plan to pass by Ainsworth. We will definitely return to check out their other style of tours the next time we are back in the Kootenays.

Apparently this is the quintessential Nelson hike. Nelsonians (is that what you're called, guys?)…read morehike it on the regular and there's a good amount of people on the trail, all of whom are very friendly. There are a few parking spots allocated for the trail, but they fill up quickly, so you'll likely be parking alongside Johnstone Road, which can be a bit tricky. Dogs are allowed on the trail and in true Kootenay hospitality, there are even dozens of hiking poles for you to use and return to the beginning of the trail. The trail itself goes straight up for 1.8 Km each way. If you give yourself a break at the top to enjoy the view (which, why wouldn't you??), the hike takes about 2 hours. I like a big payoff for my hikes in the form of an amazing view and Pulpit definitely delivers one. Pulpit was a really good way for me to get to know Nelson.

This was an awesome experience. This outfit does everything possible to make this a memorable…read moreexperience and it was. A special shout out to Ava and Kat our super special guides. They were very good at instilling confidence in the equipment and their skill to make this a safe and enjoyable tour. Thanks again and we will be back.

First off: our guides, Cassie and Bri were excellent and kept us safe and secure and also eased…read moreour nerves as we took off on this high flying adventure. This involves no climbing or other physically taxing activity except walking from the van to the zip line start and a small walk from one zip line to the next. Basically, anyone under 265 lbs can do it. There is the option after the first zip line to bow out, if you find you really hate it, so you should definitely at least give it a go. The views are exhilarating and it's wild to go flying across a deep mountian canyon. Again, while it seems scary, it's very safe and very fun. Thanks for the great adventure!

Wow! What a treat. So accessible and hidden in plain sight. Beautiful boulder waterfalls. Lush…read moregardens. Small bridge over river. Flower beds. Some Japanese items. Saw an American Dipper too!

Nice park for locals. Nice Sandy beach. Families. There is a change room but I did not see any…read morewashroom. Protected by the wind. A spot for locals. Parking fills fast. Beautiful mountain views. Nice cool water. Some shade. Volleyball net. Picnic tables.

ADV Rider :{) I…read morerode up from the states and stayed the night at one of their tent spaces for a night. Spoke with the owners(wonderful folks) and rented a tent space for the evening. Beautiful scenery, Cabins available, well kept RV & Tent sites available, older but clean Bathrooms available. I slept like a rock listening to the nearby creek, very peaceful. They have a small Italian Restaurant with both inside and outside seating, a Boat Ramp/Marina and beautiful views of the Mountains and Kootenay Lake. I will most definitely be staying there again when i am back in the area. :{)

Fabulous service and top of the line gear at great prices. I bought and ISUP and loved it so much,…read moremy daughter had to buy one. I'm going with their recommendation and will go back to get the seat and kayak paddle. Having so much fun on Kootenay Lake with the board, and hope to paddle at the Coast. Wonderful family run business!

The NDCC is a great place to swim for all ages and fitness levels, it has a diving board,…read morewaterslide, a kid friendly hot tub and a sauna & steam room the Lifeguards are super helpful and nice!

Been going for years on and off. A good selection of fairly new (heavily used) equipment - free…read moreweights and machines. Can often be super busy (cheapest gym in town, but not inexpensive). Good hours. Great sauna and steam room, pretty good pool. There's an industrial, impersonal feeling to the place. Some of the staff are friendly and helpful, but most aren't. Some, in fact, are down right snarky, (beware of the front desk folks). In 15 years I've never been greeted by gym staff or offered help. If you're looking for workout advice, you're on your own. Over time this has pushed me to get my own workout equipment at home. I now go once a week or try to workout at the local College facility and avoid the NDCC.