Welcome To Creston!

I have lived in Creston for many years and consider it to be one of British Columbia’s best-kept secrets! I have also lived in other parts of Canada and the U.S. but always seen to end up back in Creston and I think you will see why.

The Purcell and Selkirk Mountain ranges border Creston Valley. I can remember holidaying here as a child and being in awe of this beautiful place. My folks would say that they would love to move here some day and they did!

Creston is approximately 600m (2000 ft) above sea level. It is located about 10k (6 Miles) North of the Idaho boarder on highway 21 and is about a three hour drive from Spokane WA. Cranbrook is about an hour and a half east and Nelson is about an hour and a half West of Creston along highway 3 which runs right through the heart of Creston.

Ok, I have given you the information that you need to find our beautiful little town. Now I will tell you why you should come here for a visit! Creston is a friendly community with a population of about 5000 people. The entire Creston valley area has a population of about 13,000 people. Because of its low elevation we have a mild climate with short winters (By Canadian standards). We get some snow in the winter for about three months out of the year. I find winters here are very humid and the snow is quite often mixed with rain.

Being that I don’t like winter and snow I find spring to be a welcome relief! Creston is certainly the place to be if you are a gardening enthusiast! Because of our unique climate we grow a wide variety of fruit trees. Our most popular being cherries which are sold commercially in Canada the U.S and over seas! We also grow apples, peaches, nectarines, plums, pears, apricots as well as grapes, blueberries and strawberries. Mmmmmm, my mouth is watering already. I just love going to our roadside fruit stands to purchase locally grown produce! Every May long weekend we celebrate the beauty of our valley during our annual Blossom Festival!

Many people grow amazing gardens full of beautiful flowers and trees. In the early part of July Creston hosts its annual Garden Festival where you can take a bus tour to some of these spectacular gardens! We grow a wide variety of trees here, my parents have a Magnolia tree and my husband and I have a Japanese maple, one of my personal favorites.

With out a doubt fall is my favorite time here in our beautiful valley! Local farmers grow pumpkins and a wide variety of squash that you can store and enjoy through the winter. My husband and I love to go for drives out in the country where we see fields full of pumpkins and bales of hay. It really puts me in the magical Halloween spirit that is my favorite celebration of the year. Our forests consist mostly of evergreens but there are enough deciduous trees in the area that we can enjoy the brilliant red, yellow and orange colors of fall!

Beautiful Kootenay Lake, approximately 114k (90miles) long is about a twenty-five minute drive from Creston. If you plan on traveling along highway 3A don’t be in a hurry for there are many sites to see! Everything from resorts to restaurants, artists and artisans and many campsites! Also be sure to take a tour of the amazing glass house! Visitors can enjoy the spectacular scenic view of the lake as the highway winds its way along the base of the mountains ending at Kootenay bay. After all these years I still feel like a tourist every time we go for a drive along the lake! Now that you have reached Kootenay Bay the fun doesn’t end just drive aboard the M V Balfour or the Osprey 2000 for a peaceful 35-minute ferry ride to Balfour! Be sure to bring lots of film or an extra memory stick for your camera!

Oh oh! I am starting to direct you away from Creston, so lets go back there for a while because there is more to tell you about our little town!

Creston and area is jammed packed full of talented artist and artisans. Many of them have home based galleries and shops. We have many orchards and farms so as you pass through Erickson (Part of Creston) from the direction of Cranbrook you will see many roadside fruit stands. Be sure to stop and try some of our local produce! Organically grown fruits and vegetables are also available! There are many bed and breakfasts, campsites and motels in the area as well as a couple of spas, for those of you who like to pamper yourselves! We also have a very interesting little museum. Be sure to go to West Creston and visit our wildlife center!

By now you stomach is rumbling and you must be getting hungry, well just go down town and you will find a variety of restaurants where you can grab a bite to eat!

For all you golf enthusiasts, be sure to drop by our 18-hole golf course. I don’t know anything about golf myself but I have seen the course and it is very beautiful and I have heard rave reviews from people who have gone golfing there!

For those of you who are familiar with Kokanee beer Creston is the home of the Columbia Brewing Company. Be sure to go on one of the tours, my husband and I did and it is very interesting!

You can also watch the latest movie releases at our theatre located downtown!

There is so much to do here that I am quite sure that I have forgotten something. So when you visit Creston the best thing to do is to drop by our local chamber of Commerce for tourist information or better yet just ask some of our friendly locals they would be more then happy to give you directions and tell you some of the locals favorite haunts. I couldn’t possibly mention everybody, so thank you to all the businesses in Creston and the area for they are part of what makes this valley so interesting and unique. However, I will share with you some of my personal favorites! So be sure to drop by again I have so much more to tell!