Tucked between the forested slope of the Slocan Range of the Selkirk Mountains and the broad sandy beaches of Kootenay Lake, Kokanee Creek Provincial Park boasts three campgrounds surrounding the steep, cedar- and hemlock-shaded canyon of Kokanee Creek. A popular day-use and camping destination twenty minutes from Nelson, B.C., Kokanee Creek encompasses nearly two miles of beachfront, providing plenty of room for play. An important spawning spot for its namesake salmon, Kokanee Creek is flush with the red-backed fish in late summer; kids and adults can marvel at the upstream migration in several natural and man-made spawning channels. Birds, attracted to the salmon and to the lush riparian environment, flock to Kokanee Creek too. Bring binoculars to scope birds on the broad sandspit where the creek enters Kootenay Lake. Getting There: From Nelson, B.C., drive east on Highway 3A 19km (12 miles) to the provincial park entrance on the right. Env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/kokanee_crk. //
