Kootenay Lake
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Kootenay Lake conditions today

The ferry, the roads, every camera around the lake, the weather at both ends, the lake level, wildfires and avalanche danger. Every panel shows how old its data is, so you can tell a current reading from a dead feed.

Updated Pacific Time.

Kootenay Lake ferry

1 h ago

From Balfour

7:50 pm

then 9:40 pm, 6:30 am

From Kootenay Bay

7:00 pm

then 8:40 pm, 10:20 pm

M.V. Osprey 2000, 80 vehicles, 35-minute crossing. Free.

Full schedule, cameras and the new vessel

Camera images and ferry status from DriveBC.ca, BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit.

Lake level

1 h ago

531.39 m

Above sea level at Queens Bay. Up 1 cm in 24 hours.

Lake level from the Water Survey of Canada, station 08NH064 Kootenay Lake at Queens Bay, under the Open Government Licence – Canada.

Roads

24 min ago

Incidents and construction

  • Highway 3A — Road construction at Highway 3A. Starting Mon Sep 21. From 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM PDT, Monday to Saturday. Last update: October 15th, 2026 at 8:01am PDT. Speed reduced to 30km/h, lanes shifted, one lane on gravel surface.
  • Highway 3A — Bridge maintenance at Highway 3A, In Castlegar. Starting Mon Oct 19. From 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM PDT, Monday and Tuesday. Expect delays. Last update: October 19th, 2026 at 8:18am PDT.
  • Harrop Ferry — Planned service interruption at Harrop Ferry. Starting 11:45 PM PCT on Wednesday November 18, 2026 until 2:30 AM PCT on Thursday November 19, 2026. Last update: November 6th, 2026 at 4:03pm PCT. The Harrop Ferry will be out of service due to required maintenance.
  • Highway 3 — Vehicle incident from Highway 3, Kid Creek Forest Service Road to Kid Creek Rest Area. Single lane alternating traffic. Watch for traffic control. Expect delays. Last update: November 7th, 2026 at 3:59pm MST. Next update: November 7th, 2026 at 6:00pm MST.
  • Highway 23 — Utility work from Highway 23, In Nakusp to 9km Northwest of Nakusp. Starting Fri Oct 2 until Mon Nov 30. From 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM PDT, Monday to Saturday. Single lane alternating traffic. Watch for traffic control. Last update: September 25th, 2026 at 1:59pm PDT.
  • Other Roads — Road construction at Wallinger Avenue, In Kimberley and At Ross Street and Wallinger Avenue. Starting 7:00 AM MDT on Tuesday October 27, 2026 until 4:00 PM CST on Friday November 13, 2026. From 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM MDT, weekdays. Watch for traffic control. Last update: October 27th, 2026 at 12:39pm MDT.

Road events from DriveBC Open511.

Wildfires

24 min ago

Wildfire incidents from the BC Wildfire Service open data.

Nelson right now

25 min ago

9.5°C

Wind
5 km/h NE
Humidity
80%
Dew point
6.1°C
Snow depth
0 cm

Measured at NELSON CS, 536 m.

Weather data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, used under the Open Government Licence – Canada.

Creston right now

25 min ago

9.8°C

Wind
5 km/h E
Humidity
72%
Dew point
5°C
Snow depth
0 cm

Measured at CRESTON CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC, 642 m.

Weather data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, used under the Open Government Licence – Canada.

Nelson forecast

1 h ago

  • Today

    A few showers

    —

    6°

  • Sunday

    Chance of showers

    11°

    3°

  • Monday

    Cloudy

    7°

    1°

  • Tuesday

    Chance of flurries or rain showers

    5°

    4°

  • Wednesday

    Chance of showers

    7°

    4°

High and low in degrees Celsius, for the Nelson forecast region.

Weather data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, used under the Open Government Licence – Canada.

Creston forecast

1 h ago

  • Today

    A few showers

    —

    6°

  • Sunday

    Showers

    12°

    3°

  • Monday

    Cloudy

    9°

    0°

  • Tuesday

    Chance of showers

    5°

    3°

  • Wednesday

    Chance of showers

    8°

    4°

High and low in degrees Celsius, for the Creston forecast region.

Weather data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, used under the Open Government Licence – Canada.

Avalanche danger

37 days ago
  • AlpineEarly Season
  • TreelineEarly Season
  • Below TreelineEarly Season

Akamina-Badshot-Battle-Birkenhead-Blue River-Bonnington-Boundary-Brandywine-Bull-Central Selkirk-Clearwater-Clemina-Coquihalla-Crawford-Crowsnest North-Crowsnest South-Dogtooth-Duffey-East Island-East Kakwa-East Purcell-Elkford East-Elkford West-Esplanade-Flathead-Garibaldi-Goat-Gold-Grohman-Haines Pass-Harrison-Fraser-Homathko-Howson-Jordan-Kakwa-Kispiox-Kitimat-Kokanee-Kootenay Pass-Lizard-Manning-McBride-McGregor-Microwave-Sinclair-Moyie-Nass-Ningunsaw-Norns-North Bulkley-North Island-North Monashee-North Okanagan-North Selkirk-North Shore-Pine Pass-Powell River-Premier-Quesnel-Renshaw-Retallack-Robson-Rossland-Rupert-Sasquatch-Seven Sisters-Shames-Shuswap-Skagit-Sky Pilot-South Bulkley-South Chilcotin-South Island-South Okanagan-Spearhead-Stein-Stewart-St. Mary-Sugarbowl-Tantalus-Taseko-Telkwa-Tetrahedron-Tumbler-Tutshi-Valhalla-West Island-West Purcell-Whatshan-Wheaton-White Pass East-White Pass West-Ymir, the forecast region covering Kootenay Pass.

Read the full forecast at Avalanche Canada

Avalanche forecast from Avalanche Canada.

Cameras around the lake

Balfour ferry terminal

1 h ago
Balfour Ferry Terminal, Balfour ferry terminal, looking north towards Highway 3A.

Balfour Ferry Terminal

Balfour ferry terminal, looking north towards Highway 3A.

DriveBC.ca

Balfour Ferry Ramp, Balfour ferry terminal, looking south at ferry loading ramp.

Balfour Ferry Ramp

Balfour ferry terminal, looking south at ferry loading ramp.

DriveBC.ca

Balfour Ferry Approach - SW, Highway 3A and Highway 31 at Balfour ferry terminal entrance of Ferry Landing Road, looking southwest.

Balfour Ferry Approach - SW

Highway 3A and Highway 31 at Balfour ferry terminal entrance of Ferry Landing Road, looking southwest.

DriveBC.ca

Balfour Ferry Approach - NE, Highway 3A and Highway 31 at Balfour ferry terminal entrance near Ferry Landing Road, looking northeast.

Balfour Ferry Approach - NE

Highway 3A and Highway 31 at Balfour ferry terminal entrance near Ferry Landing Road, looking northeast.

DriveBC.ca

Balfour Ferry Busk Road Parking, Highway 3A and Highway 31 at Busk Road near the Balfour ferry terminal, looking at ferry parking lot.

Balfour Ferry Busk Road Parking

Highway 3A and Highway 31 at Busk Road near the Balfour ferry terminal, looking at ferry parking lot.

DriveBC.ca

Camera images and ferry status from DriveBC.ca, BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit.

Kootenay Bay ferry landing

1 h ago
Kootenay Bay Ferry Landing, Highway 3A at Kootenay Bay Ferry Landing, looking northeast.

Kootenay Bay Ferry Landing

Highway 3A at Kootenay Bay Ferry Landing, looking northeast.

DriveBC.ca

Kootenay Bay Ferry Ramp, Highway 3A at Kootenay Bay Ferry Landing, looking southwest.

Kootenay Bay Ferry Ramp

Highway 3A at Kootenay Bay Ferry Landing, looking southwest.

DriveBC.ca

Camera images and ferry status from DriveBC.ca, BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit.

Highway 3A, Creston to the ferry

1 h ago
Sanca Creek, Highway 3A about 1.6 km south of Sanca Creek Bridge, looking south.

Sanca Creek

Highway 3A about 1.6 km south of Sanca Creek Bridge, looking south.

DriveBC.ca

Camera images and ferry status from DriveBC.ca, BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit.

Highway 31, Balfour to Kaslo and north

1 h ago
Coffee Creek, Highway 31 about 45 km north of Nelson and 25 km south of Kaslo, looking north.

Coffee Creek

Highway 31 about 45 km north of Nelson and 25 km south of Kaslo, looking north.

DriveBC.ca

Cooper Creek, Highway 31 at Duncan Lake Road about 35 km north of Kaslo, looking south.

Cooper Creek

Highway 31 at Duncan Lake Road about 35 km north of Kaslo, looking south.

DriveBC.ca

Kaslo - N, Highway 31 at Highway 31A Junction in Kaslo, looking northbound.

Kaslo - N

Highway 31 at Highway 31A Junction in Kaslo, looking northbound.

DriveBC.ca

Kaslo - W, Highway 31 at Highway 31A Junction in Kaslo, looking westbound.

Kaslo - W

Highway 31 at Highway 31A Junction in Kaslo, looking westbound.

DriveBC.ca

Kaslo - S, Highway 31 at Highway 31A Junction in Kaslo, looking southbound.

Kaslo - S

Highway 31 at Highway 31A Junction in Kaslo, looking southbound.

DriveBC.ca

Camera images and ferry status from DriveBC.ca, BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit.

Kootenay Pass, Highway 3

1 h ago
Kootenay Pass, Highway 3 at Salmo Creston Highway Summit, looking east.

Kootenay Pass

Highway 3 at Salmo Creston Highway Summit, looking east.

DriveBC.ca

Camera images and ferry status from DriveBC.ca, BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit.

Highway 3, Creston and Salmo

1 h ago
Salmo, Highway 3 at Highway 6 junction, looking west on Highway 3.

Salmo

Highway 3 at Highway 6 junction, looking west on Highway 3.

DriveBC.ca

Creston - S, Highway 3 and Highway 3A junction in Creston, looking south.

Creston - S

Highway 3 and Highway 3A junction in Creston, looking south.

DriveBC.ca

Leadville Road, Highway 3 about 18 km east of Creston in Kitchener, looking east.

Leadville Road

Highway 3 about 18 km east of Creston in Kitchener, looking east.

DriveBC.ca

Meadows Junction, Highway 3 at Highway 3B junction looking westbound.

Meadows Junction

Highway 3 at Highway 3B junction looking westbound.

DriveBC.ca

Creston - N, Highway 3 and Highway 3A junction in Creston, looking north.

Creston - N

Highway 3 and Highway 3A junction in Creston, looking north.

DriveBC.ca

Creston - W, Highway 3 and Highway 3A junction in Creston, looking west.

Creston - W

Highway 3 and Highway 3A junction in Creston, looking west.

DriveBC.ca

Camera images and ferry status from DriveBC.ca, BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit.

Nelson

1 h ago
Nelson - S, Highway 6 near Highway 3A and Rosemont/Uphill interchange, looking south.

Nelson - S

Highway 6 near Highway 3A and Rosemont/Uphill interchange, looking south.

DriveBC.ca

Nelson - N, Highway 6 near Highway 3A and Rosemont/Uphill interchange, looking north.

Nelson - N

Highway 6 near Highway 3A and Rosemont/Uphill interchange, looking north.

DriveBC.ca

Camera images and ferry status from DriveBC.ca, BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit.

Harrop cable ferry

1 h ago
Harrop Ferry Landing North View, Harrop Ferry Landing on south side of Kootenay Lake, looking at the north side landing.

Harrop Ferry Landing North View

Harrop Ferry Landing on south side of Kootenay Lake, looking at the north side landing.

DriveBC.ca

Harrop Ferry Landing northbound, Harrop Ferry Landing on the south side of Kootenay Lake, looking north.

Harrop Ferry Landing northbound

Harrop Ferry Landing on the south side of Kootenay Lake, looking north.

DriveBC.ca

Harrop Ferry North Landing, Harrop Ferry Landing northbound line-up, looking south.

Harrop Ferry North Landing

Harrop Ferry Landing northbound line-up, looking south.

DriveBC.ca

Camera images and ferry status from DriveBC.ca, BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit.

Where each number comes from

Every feed on this page is read every 30 minutes and stored before it is shown, so a busy day here never puts load on the government services that provide it. The sailing times are the published timetable, not a live feed: the province does not broadcast departures, so the times are held as dated data and the live feed supplies the vessel, its capacity and any service alert.

When a source stops answering, its panel says so instead of showing an empty box. When a reading is old, the age sits on the panel in plain sight. A camera that has served the same picture for a day is hidden and named, because a frozen picture of an empty highway is worse than no picture at all.

See who runs this site and where every feed above comes from.

Common questions

Is the Kootenay Lake ferry running today?

Yes. The ferry runs every day of the year and the crossing takes 35 minutes. Free. The Kootenay Lake ferry is part of Highway 3A and the province charges nothing. On the winter timetable the first sailing leaves Balfour at 6:30 am and Kootenay Bay at 7:10 am, and the last leaves Balfour at 9:40 pm and Kootenay Bay at 10:20 pm. When DriveBC posts a service alert it appears in the ferry panel at the top of this page.

How often does this page update?

Every 30 minutes, and every two hours for the cameras. A scheduled job reads each feed, stores what it gets, and the page is built from the stored copy. Each panel carries the age of its own reading, so a source that has stopped reporting says so instead of showing an old number as though it were current.

Where does the data come from?

Camera images and ferry status from DriveBC.ca, BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit. Road events from DriveBC Open511. Weather data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, used under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Lake level from the Water Survey of Canada, station 08NH064 Kootenay Lake at Queens Bay, under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Wildfire incidents from the BC Wildfire Service open data. Avalanche forecast from Avalanche Canada.

Why does a camera say the picture has not changed?

Every camera picture is fingerprinted each time the feeds are read. When the same picture comes back for 3 hours the caption says so, and after 24 hours the camera is hidden and named under the grid. DriveBC leaves a camera switched on when its picture has frozen, so without that check a stopped camera would look live.

What time zone are the ferry times?

Sailing times are Pacific Time, the time in Balfour, Nelson and Kaslo. Creston and most of the East Shore keep Mountain Standard Time all year, which matches Pacific in summer and runs one hour ahead in winter.

The Kootenay Lake ferry in full · Ferry cameras · Every webcam on the lake

kootenaylake.org is an independent guide published by Delcaro Media in Kitchener, BC. It is not affiliated with Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism, the Kootenay Lake Chamber of Commerce, the BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit, Western Pacific Marine, BC Parks or any business listed on it.