Getting to Kootenay Lake

Highway 3 climbs Salmo–Creston, also called Kootenay Pass, at 1,774 m between Salmo and Creston. Winter tires or chains are required there from October 1 to April 30. See the Kootenay Pass page for today’s status.

The alternative is the 35-minute Kootenay Lake Ferry between Balfour and Kootenay Bay. Free. The Kootenay Lake ferry is part of Highway 3A and the province charges nothing. It runs as part of Highway 3A itself, avoiding the pass entirely.

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.

Straight line, Creston to Nelson is about 72 km. By road it is either Highway 3 over Kootenay Pass, or Highway 3A north to the Kootenay Bay ferry landing, the crossing to Balfour, and Highway 3A on into Nelson.

Straight line, Nelson to Kaslo is about 54 km. By road it runs Highway 3A east from Nelson to the Balfour ferry terminal, then Highway 31 north along the North Shore through Ainsworth Hot Springs to Kaslo.

Three longer routes, each with its own page for the highways, the border crossing where there is one, and today’s closures.

• From Calgary

  Highway 3 (the Crowsnest Highway).

• From Spokane

  Highway 6 via the Nelway, BC border crossing.

• From Kelowna

  Highway 33, Highway 3 (the Crowsnest Highway).

A scheduled job reads DriveBC’s Open511 feed every ten minutes for Highway 3, 3A and 31, the corridors this route guide depends on.

Open511 reports no closure on Highway 3, 3A or 31 right now, as of a reading 5 min ago.

DriveBC has posted no advisory touching the lake right now.

Road events from DriveBC Open511. See the full road conditions page for every highway and road-weather station around the lake.