Well, it looks as though shoulder season is upon us. Unless of course you are ridiculously hardcore. For those of us who like to take it easy a for a month in the fall, no need to fret, there are lots of options. I personally am a big fan of the 'Hot Spring Road Trip'. Living in the Mountains we are blessed with an amazing array of activities to choose from. Sometimes though, it is nice to do a little car camping some light hikes and some serious soaking. Last weekend as the first few flurries started to come down, we decided to pack up the truck and head to the Columbia Valley in Eastern British Columbia. This area is know as the 'Hot Springs' and 'Wineries Route'. We chose the former for this trip.
B.C. is blessed with many easily accessible relatively original hot springs. With my sometimes too trusty copy of 'Backroads of British Columbia' we headed South on highway 93. Passing the famous Banff, Radium, and Fairmont hot springs in search of something a little more remote and a lot less developed. This was our first tip to Buhl Creek and it was certainly worth it. 50 km up the Skookumchuck Forest Service road these are truly some remote springs. There are a series of warm pools bubbling up right beside the creek. Not the warmest pools that I have ever been to the certainly did the trick. The air temperature was hovering around 3 degrees and the springs were warm enough to soak in for an hour. This is a great spot, as there is a campsite with table and out house right at the springs. We were the only ones in the entire valley and it was a great peaceful place to camp.
Our second set of springs for the trip were the never fail Lussier Hot Springs on the Whiteswan road. These classic springs have been developed with a new path down to the river and some large boulders to enlarge the pools. The top pool is the hottest with the temperature progressively cooling off as you move closer to the river. An easy drive off of highway 93, Lussier are great springs offering good hot water. Much busier than the more remote springs you have to watch out for the occasional European tourist sporting a much too small speedo. But the soak it worth it.
My favourites for this time of year are the Halfway Hot Springs north of Nakusp. These springs have it all. A great camping area, relatively quiet, remote feeling, and a nice cold river to soak in. Worth the extra drive over Roger's Pass, you can do some great hikes going to and coming from the springs as well as have a pint of Mt. Bagbie in Revelstoke.
So all is not lost while waiting for the base to build and those last few days of biking season. Hot Spring season is upon us. With a warm sleeping bag, fire, and some whisky you can have some great times outside this shoulder season - clothing optional.
