r/nelsonbc

Hello, sorry if this is a little random or all over the place… But I’ve been contemplating a big move to a new town, and I’ve heard from a few different people how nice Nelson is.

I live on the north part of Vancouver Island, it’s great but I’m honestly priced out of ever owning even an apartment here and it can feel kinda hopeless making $50+/hr and barely saving any money each month.

I’m tempted to take a week off work soon and drive out to visit. I had a couple big questions I was hoping to get some insight into…

1. I’m a drywaller (boarder only) by trade, 15+ years experience, how are things in the area work-wise? More than capable of drywalling full apartments or small houses by myself with my board-lift.

2. How’s the rental situation looking? For example, right now I rent a small 1 bedroom apartment and pay $1550+hydro, and that is generally considered fair or good value for the town I live in. I’d prefer a suite in a house so that my cat could have some access outdoors (95% indoor but likes to touch grass and sit in the Sun sometimes).

Pretty much just exploring some options for myself and my cat, no family or anything other than my cat to tie me to any one place, but finding work is a pretty important aspect in moving to a new town where you know no one.

Thanks for any responses!

Planning a short solo car-camping/hiking loop through the West Kootenays and would love a sanity check from people who know the area.
Main priorities: big mountain views, blue alpine lakes, granite peaks/ridgelines, waterfalls, swimming spots, and mostly primitive/free camping. I’m comfortable with 6–10 mile hikes and 2,000–3,000+ ft of gain, and I’m driving a normal AWD crossover, not a 4x4.

Rough plan:
Day 1: Spokane area → Nelson/Kokanee
Kokanee Canyon if time
Camp near lower Kokanee Glacier Road

Day 2: Kokanee Glacier
Gibson Lake → Kokanee → Keen/Garland/Kaslo Lakes
Fletcher Falls if time
Kaslo
Mount Buchanan around sunset
Camp near Buchanan / Blue Ridge

Day 3: Lyle Lakes → New Denver/Slocan
Lyle Lakes
Possible add-ons: Retallack cedars, Sandon, Galena cable car, Wilson Creek Falls
Slocan Lake / New Denver
Camp near Little Slocan

Day 4: Gwillim Lakes
Gwillim Lakes
Then toward Nakusp / Upper Arrow Lake
Halfway Hot Springs is optional and may get cut

Final day: Drive back south, no major hike planned

Main questions:
- Is this realistic, or am I underestimating the FSR driving/access time?

- Any road conditions or trailhead approaches here that are a bad idea in a normal AWD crossover?
Best areas for legal primitive/free camping along this route?

- Is Gwillim worth the extra driving, or would you spend that time elsewhere?

- Anything on this list you’d cut?

- Any must-see lakes, viewpoints, waterfalls, or short hikes I’m somehow missing?

- If I start running behind, I’m currently thinking I’d cut Galena, Sandon, Retallack, Wilson Creek Falls, and possibly Halfway Hot Springs before cutting the main alpine hikes.

Hello, apologies if I'm asking in the wrong place but Nelson was the closest regional subreddit I could find. If there is a better place to ask please direct me there and I would be very grateful.

All that said, I'm planning a trip from the mouth of the Columbia all the way to the headwaters potentially at the end of the month and I want to stay as close to the river as possible. The biggest departure I can see is from Castlegar to Nakusp. I'd like to find a way between Deer Park to Fauquier and I see there are a lot of dirt/gravel roads up in there.

Google gave me a particularly low-res option that has me turning west at Passmore and ending up near Taite Creek Recreation Site. That's workable but I'd like a local option if that is a bad idea and if there might be a better route. My rig and I are fully off road capable but it's hard to tell if that is softroading, offroading or turnbacking. Also I don't know if those roads might be closed due to fire risk. Any insight from folks who have been up there recently would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

I need some advice. My friend is still planning to do a girl's trip to Nelson that she booked a long time ago for next weekend. We're coming from Alberta, but I'm super concerned about the safety/air quality, and also just the optics (and I'm genuinely feeling bad) about coming to visit BC as a tourist while so much of it is experiencing devastating fires. What's the overall vibe of having out-of-province visitors right now in Nelson? Is it worth it to go?

Coming to visit your beautiful town soon! Take care everyone