The Longest Free Ferry in Canada

We rode the longest free ferry in Canada - British Columbia's Kootenay Lake Ferry - on our drive from Kaslo, BC to Kimberely, BC. The Kootenay region, named after the indigenous Kutenai people, has stunning scenery and is a less touristy area to explore compared to Banff.  Come along as we walk the Hide and Seek Trail, ride the longest free ferry in Canada, visit a couple wineries and see the World's Tallest Free Standing Cuckoo Clock!

Hide and Seek Trail, Kaslo, British Columbia

The Hide and Seek Trail is an art installation of eight sculptures of children playing hide and seek along the Kaslo River Trail. It's an easy walk while listening to the sound of the river, benches along the way to rest on and the fun of finding the sculptures - playing hide and seek with them- interspersed along the trail. It's a one and a half mile easy trail that is connected by two red covered, pedestrian bridges.

We set off in the morning after checking out of our hotel to walk this whimsical trail and then stopped for coffee at a nearby spot before we got on the road for the ferry.

Kootenay Lake Ferry

The Kootenay Lake Ferry is a completely free (operated by the Province of British Columbia ) 35 minute ferry from Balfour in the west and Kootenay Bay in the east. It's billed as "the longest free scenic ferry in the world." And it's free because it's seen as an extension of the roads in the province. 

We drove from Kaslo to the ferry dock where we got in line. There are two ferries - the larger holds 80 vehicles and the smaller only 19 - and they basically run every 40 minutes (but always check the online schedule) I highly recommend the bakery right along the ferry dock for baked goods and sausage rolls if you're needing a little sustenance before your sailing!

After our ferry ride we drove along Kootenay Lake - it's 90 miles from north to south so it's huge! - enjoying the scenery. Once again, this is an incredibly scenic area and much less touristy than other areas of British Columbia. I highly recommend a vist to this lesser known area.

Skimmerhorn Winery & Vineyard

We had a very pleasant stop at this winery located in Creston, BC. All the wines here are produced by grapes grown here, in small batches, and it is considered an estate winery for this reason. Sitting on the patio with its views of the mountains,  some of us got a glass of wine and some got a tasting. (If your preference is indoors, you can do a stand up wine tasting in the tasting room)

Red Bird Estate Winery

Red Bird Estate Winery is also located in Creston, BC in this beautiful Kootenay region. It is a family owned, small lot winery that crafts wines and ciders. You can do a tasting - a steal at $6 per person - and also enjoy a charcuterie board on their patio or their indoor/outdoor tasting room. Reservations recommended for the tasting and ordering the charcuterie board 24 hours in advance.

World's Tallest Free Standing Cuckoo Clock

Happy Hans is located in the pedestrian zone of Kimberley, BC and is the World's Tallest Free Standing Cuckoo Clock. He is 22 feet tall and was built in 1973 to bring tourists into the area after a local mine was closed. He doesn't cuckoo but yodels - after you insert a coin in the slot to make him work. We sat outdoors to eat at Stonefire Pizzeria which happened to be right next to Hans - so we were able to hear Hans yodeling a few times. 

Now it was time to check into our hotel, The Larix, in Kimberley. If you'd like to check it out you can do so here

How about you? Have you visited the Kootenays?