Mountain-ringed Fairways and Small-town Charm
By Matt Coté
Cover photo courtesy of Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism
Upscale, but accessible. Exceptional, but not elite. If those quips sound like contradictions, it’s because you’ve never golfed around Nelson and Kootenay Lake before. Teeing off in the heart of British Columbia’s Kootenay region is a decidedly contrarian affair. Hemmed by two great mountain ranges and sewn together via a glassy lake that links the links, there are five storied courses in this undiscovered corner of the great Canadian backyard.
Quiet by nature, with serene wilderness the backdrop to every hole, there’s no need for waitlists or memberships here. Instead, you’ll find an experience on par with the most curated of clubs, but open to all. In keeping with the long spirit of inclusivity that’s made this locale so famously eclectic and peaceful, there’s no competition, no rush and no compromise when you make a trip with your sticks—just wide-open space for you and your best swing.
The area hosts some of the most scenic and well-designed courses in the Canadian Mountain West, serving up championship-level challenge for the seasoned and a raft of forgiving fairways just as satisfying for recreational golfers.
Beginning on the east shore of Kootenay Lake, you can take the world’s longest free scenic ferry to or from the artisan community of Crawford Bay, along with Kokanee Springs Golf Resort, the region’s flagship course. It punctuates panoramic views of Kokanee Glacier with 66 sand traps, 12 water hazards and massive rolling greens across 6,664 yards. Built in 1968, hole five was once voted “Most Scenic Golf Hole in Canada” by Reader’s Digest. The championship course features hundreds of feet of rock walls along tiered tee decks and log trestles and offers on-site accommodations with multiple dining options.
Only 15 minutes up the road, in the adjacent east shore enclave of Riondel, you’ll find the self-proclaimed “friendliest golf course in the Kootenays.” The Riondel Golf Club maintains a wooded, par-30, nine-hole, 1,747-yard-long course that’s run by volunteers. It’s walk-on with no tee-time bookings, and kids ages 6 to 14 play for free on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays if accompanied by a playing adult.
On the other side of the ferry, in the maritime outpost of Balfour, there are 18 more holes waiting, this time laid out over 6,400 yards of lake and beachside beauty in the evergreen fetch of the world’s only inland temperate rainforest. Balfour Golf & Recreation’s front nine meanders through tight forest over easily accessible terrain, while the back nine undulates over bigger elevation changes. The signature 17th hole extends over unbeatable views of Queens Bay.
Then there’s the Queen City itself—the swirling center of the Kootenay universe. Granite Pointe Golf Club is built right into the City of Nelson’s historic hillside and dates back to 1919. The course is dotted with granite outcroppings that evoke the area’s mineral-rich mining history and double as hazards. There’s a clubhouse with a restaurant aptly named The Wedge, and they offer RV sites on property.
Still have appetite for more? Make the stunning one-hour drive up the west shore of Kootenay Lake to the Kaslo Golf Course. The 125-year-old, nine-hole course is situated in a Victorian-style town with heritage architecture underscoring the Selkirk and Purcell mountains. A new timber-frame clubhouse built by volunteers amplifies the arresting views, which pour over the sparkling Kaslo Bay. There’s no tee-time booking required—simply show up and drop in.
If you need more to fill your stay, take in the history of the region with a visit to S.S. Moyie while you’re in Kaslo. It’s the oldest intact passenger sternwheeler of its kind in the world. And in between birdies, don’t skip out on the beaches, hikes and myriad cosmopolitan amenities the area holds. Back down in Nelson you’ll find more restaurants per capita than Manhattan and San Francisco, with a food scene famous the world over, amongst those in the know.
Arts and culture fill the air all summer long with festivals, museums and galleries. Nelson’s centenarian façades, which date back to the late-1800s mining boom, are likewise adorned with contemporary murals that are free to appreciate during a self-guided walking tour.
There are cafés, breweries and bookstores to get lost in for hours; hot springs to reset with if temperatures dip; and weather you could set a metronome to: spring is intermittently rainy, with the rest of summer balmy and dry, and fall arguably the most comfortable season of all. As the closest major city on either side of the border to Nelson, Spokane is an easy three-hour drive from the Kootenay Lake region. The mountains get bigger and closer as you head north, while even the speed limits seem greater (almost—it’s that sneaky miles-to-kilometers conversion).
Like any visit, there’s more to discover than just golf. The courses might well surprise you, but so will the markets, artisans, shops, restaurants and local characters that give the area its distinctly open, welcoming and creative nature.
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