Historic buildings abound and the town has maintained them very well.  It is even the final resting place of the SS Moyie, a sternwheeler that served the people around the lake for 60 years.  Main Street is bustling with little niche shops, hotels, restaurants, and grocery stores.  One block from there is the lake, which offers stunning views of snow peaked Purcell Mountains across the lake.

This town may, in fact, be the most beautiful town I have ever seen.

I have stayed in this town on three different occasions: Ryan & Silver’s Excellent Adventure 2007, That Thing You Do Tour 2010, and the Road Warrior Tour 2012. Each one of those times I arrived late (the motel owners often just leave a key under the matt for me) and left early the next morning…so my experiences so far have been brief and I thought that a town of this calibre deserved more attention.  This would be my base for the next two days.

I got out of bed at 10:30am.  After riding so far and long for so many days I was worn right out (plus I had too much gin the night before).  It was nearly 11 before I mustered the energy to walk downtown for a stroll where I grabbed a map of walking trails.  I figured the only way to get the cobwebs out of my head was to get some exercise.

Kaslo has a lot of nice trails but I chose the River Trail.  It is cut into the forest along the Kaslo River and eventually loops over the river thanks to a covered red wooden bridge.  It took about an hour and gave me a chance to appreciate how the interior of British Columbia must have been for surveyors and explorers who did not have the luxury of roads or trails.  It’s a hell of a workout and you have to watch where you step because there are ledges and rocks everywhere.  The Kaslo river itself is pretty cool.  Fed directly by a glacier, the river bed is made up of boulders and large rocks that have tumbled down the river for millions of years…becoming smooth and round in the process.

After the walk I went for a late lunch at the Kaslo Hotel.  It was my first time there and they have an outdoor patio that overlooks the lake.  The sun was shining brightly and it was a perfect day by all accounts.  I enjoyed a few pints from the Nelson Brewing Company and had a quesadilla before going back to the motel for a four hour nap.

Yup.  Four hour nap.  Then I got up and went back to the Kaslo Hotel for supper.  Then I went for a walk and went to bed early.  Not too exciting of a day, but it felt really good just to chill out and relax for once.  If ever you need to get away and just relax in your surroundings, Kaslo is your place.