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« Previous Edition | This British Columbia Travel Edition Posted on 09/25/12 | Current Edition »

Visiting Central & Eastern British Columbia

The winter season is here in eastern British Columbia. Once the snow flies, visitors flock into Cranbrook at Canadian Rockies International Airport, the gateway to winter adventures in Canada's Kootenay Rockies. Cranbrook, located in the heart of the Rocky Mountain Trench, is the region's largest town, and also boasts the title of BC’s sunniest city. A drive north from Cranbrook takes travelers to destinations including Fairmont Hot Springs and Lussier Hot Springs, both just a short drive from Invermere and Windermere Lake, near Kootenay National Park. Continuing north, travelers arrive in Golden an hour and a half from Invermere. You are now in the heart of Kicking Horse Country.

Golden is a gateway to the Bugaboos, the birthplace of Canadian Heli Skiing. The Golden region is home to the regions largest concentration of winter powder providers and outfitters for winter adventurers. Kicking Horse Mountain Resort is just 15 minutes from Golden, and the region is home to the premier British Columbia winter playgrounds Panorama and Revelstoke. For winter sports enthusiasts, eastern British Columbia is your destination.

Penticton, a hub city of the southern Okanagan Valley, is nestled between Lake Okanagan and Skaha Lake. Curling fans are looking forward to the 2013 Continental Cup hosted in Pentiction, January 10th through 13th. The annual Continental Cup matches the best of North American teams against teams from across the globe - it doesn’t get better than four days of world-class curling competition.

In the heart of British Columbia’s Desert Wine Country, Osoyoos is another southern Okanagan hub. With mild winter days, visitors enjoy an extended golf season. For winter fun, Mount Baldy ski hill is a 45-minute drive. Make it a perfect day in Osoyoos, with a round of golf and a trip down the slopes all in the same day.

Blend the best of the season and the Okanagan Valley wine country in Kamloops during fall and winter. The 15th Annual Winter Wine Festival at Sun Peaks Resort, blends winter skiing and boarding with wines from the region. The 2013 Sun Peaks Winter Wine Festival is January 12th through the 20th. Enjoy a blind tasting party, wine masters dinner, or an afternoon of wine, art and appetizers.

The cities of Kelowna and West Kelowna straddle Lake Okanagan, one of central BC’s popular summer destinations. With mild winters, this is another western Canadian golf destination 9 months of the year. Take advantage of winter to enjoy skiing at Crystal Mountain or ice skating at Royal LePage Place. Snowshoeing fans look for January’s White Rabbit Snowshoe Festival & Race, hosted at Crystal Mountain. Bring the family for the free snowshoe races for kids under 9, a bonfire cookout and a snowshoe scavenger hunt. The big events are the White Rabbit Snowshoe Race 10K and 5K.