A long fjord-like lake fills the valley below Nakusp, steep forested mountains rising on either side. This is Upper Arrow Lake, part of the Columbia River, which was widened and raised into a reservoir in the late 1960s when the Hugh Keenleyside Dam was built downstream. Whole villages and orchards along the old shoreline were flooded, and their people moved. Nakusp, a village of about seventeen hundred, survived on its bench above the water, and today it is a quiet place with a lakeside promenade, a few shops and some of the best scenery in the Kootenays.
The village is famous for its hot springs, a short ride up into the mountains east of town, where you can soak in warm pools surrounded by forest. After a day in the saddle, especially in cool weather, it is a fine way to ease aching muscles. The lake itself is good for a swim in summer, though the water stays cool.
The riding in this region is superb. Highway 6 heads south from Nakusp along the valley toward New Denver and Slocan Lake, winding through forest and along the lakeshore with long bends and fine views. From New Denver, Highway 31A climbs east over the mountains to Kaslo on Kootenay Lake, a narrow, twisting road past old silver mines and the ghost town of Sandon, where the boom of the 1890s left a few buildings among the trees. Highway 23 north from Nakusp leads to the free ferry at Galena Bay and on to Revelstoke, a long, lonely ride along the lake with almost no traffic.
Nakusp has fuel, groceries, a few restaurants and places to stay, but services are spread thin in this region, and Revelstoke is almost ninety kilometres north, including the ferry crossing. Plan fuel carefully, especially if you are heading north or east, and check the ferry schedules. Wildlife is abundant: bears, deer, elk and mountain goats are common, and you may meet them on the road. Summers are warm and pleasant, but wildfire smoke can fill the valleys in August. Spring and autumn bring rain and cool temperatures, and snow can fall on the higher roads from October to May.