How to Spend a Delightful Day in Kaslo, British Columbia
Published August 12th, 2025
Photos by Jay Kana except the ones of him; those were taken by Deane at Kaslo Kayaking.
In the Kootenay Rockies region of British Columbia is the village of Kaslo. It’s an hour north of Nelson, 5 hours east of Kelowna, and 5.5 hours south of Banff.
As part of my week-long adventure along the Rainforest to Rockies road trip, I spent some time in Kaslo.
I split my time between exploring the Kaslo River Trail and kayaking on Kootenay Lake, both of which I highly recommend.
If you enjoy the outdoors, mountains, being on the water and the serenity of the Canadian rockies, complete with a secret waterfall, then Kaslo is waiting for you.
Kaslo River Trail
A few minutes drive from the shores of Kootenay Lake along Highway 31A brings you to the trailhead of the Kaslo River Trail.
With a large trail map, choose from a variety of trails and difficulty levels, there’s something for everyone here.
There’s a maintained hiking trail for 1.4 km on the river’s south side and the north side features a wheelchair friendly trail for 1.2 km.
Plus, there’s a disc golf course and a very creative “Hide & Seek” art installation on the south side of the river.
This was created by the Koots Artists Collective and it’s seven “Koots” sculptures somewhat hidden behind and around boulders along the trail. Definitely worth checking out and bonus points if you find all seven.
I opted for a route that brought me to the Trailblazer Bridge, also known as The Kaslo River Covered Bridge. Its bright red colour makes it easy to spot and it’s but a few minutes from the parking lot/trail head.
Dedicated in 2008, this bridge crosses the Kaslo River and its highly active churning waters.
The Pisces in me had me stand on the bridge and gaze out into the rushing water and swaying trees for a good five minutes, which felt like a happy eternity.
Once across the bridge, I spent another 20-ish minutes slowly strolling the trail, soaking in nature with the river being my soundtrack.
Spend some time here to relax, slow down and enjoy this special part of Canada.
Kaslo Kayaking
If I was spending over a week in British Columbia, specifically the Kootenay Rockies region, I had to spend some time kayaking. And that’s exactly what I did with the help of Kaslo Kayaking.
What was originally scheduled to be a morning half day tour got pushed to an afternoon half day tour due to high winds and unsafe conditions. As experienced as I am, whitecaps can be dangerous, winds can increase and above all, safety first.
After a quick phone call with Deane to wait for midday to launch, I met him at the Kaslo Kayaking pickup point, known as the boat yard, parked my car, put my kayak on a cart and we pulled the kayaks for all of about two minutes to Kaslo Beach, beside the Kaslo Visitors Centre.
A side note; they offer kayak, canoe and paddle board rentals, lessons, tours and have a retail store in town with clothing, gear and accessories. They’re your one-stop-shop for all things to enjoy being on and in the water in Kaslo.
Oh! They also deliver the aforementioned watercraft to select locations; how convenient!
Once in the water, Deane and I started off slow as I can sometimes be a bit chatty…maybe I should consider being a writer - ha!
We started paddling north along the shoreline for a couple of kilometres, staring at the majestic mountains, including Mount Tyrrell, Mount Baldr and Mount Loki.
From there, we hung a right and crossed the lake and once on the east side of the lake, headed south for a superb, splashing surprise.
While not on Google Maps, Angel Falls is only accessible by water from Kaslo - search Power Beach Recreation Site and opt for the satellite view to find it.
We put our kayaks on the beach and did the easy-ish short hike to get to the top of the falls. There are some steep, damp steps along the way so go slow, use the trees to steady you and look twice, step once. In total, it was about 10 minutes from the beach to the top of the falls.
After a few selfies and a few minutes of admiration of the falls, it was back down to the kayaks to head back to Kaslo Beach.
Before we departed, there’s a small yet cool area where Angel Falls spills into Kootenay Lake where the water churns just enough to give you an impressive experience when in your kayak.
Don’t get too close, though; remember it’s all about safety. But you can get close enough from a distance to enjoy it.
It’s about 30 minutes from Angel Falls to Kaslo Beach and when you’re in such a beautiful part of British Columbia, there’s no need to rush.
In total, we covered 10.96 km over nearly three hours with an average speed of 3.76 km/h.
When you do this, keep in mind that your tour stats will vary.
That wrapped up my time in Kaslo as my itinerary had me due at the Ainsworth Hot Springs that evening, which I’ll write about soon.
If you’re hungry, there are a few restaurants in town or you can enjoy the on-site restaurant at Ainsworth Hot Springs, Ktunaxa Grill, only 15 minutes south.
