Columbia Valley Travel Guide

The Columbia Valley Travel Guide describes everything you need to know about visiting British Columbia’s Columbia Valley, on the west side of the Canadian Rockies.

The Columbia Valley has the same mountain scenery as nearby national parks such as Kootenay and Banff, but also farmland, resort towns, and a string of lakes linked by the Columbia River.
Geographically, the region encompasses the Purcell Mountains and the upper reaches of the Columbia River, with the Canadian Rockies rising abruptly from the Columbia Valley to the Continental Divide and the British Columbia—Alberta border to the west. The southern portion of the Columbia Valley is often called the East Kootenays.
The main route through the region is Highway 93/95, which passes through a wide valley filled with farms, golf courses, and small towns. The low elevation makes for relatively mild winters and an early start to the summer season. And with the Purcell Mountains on one side and the Rockies on the other, the Columbia Valley certainly doesn’t lack for scenery. The crossroads of the region is the service center of Cranbrook, from where Highway 3 heads west to Fernie and the neighboring province of Alberta.