St. Mary's Lake Road BC (cranbrook to nelson)

[Redlyne_mr2]

Hey guys,
Looking to do a road trip to Nelson BC, I'm curious if anyone has taken the St Mary's road from Cranbrook? I see the road ends at the water, is there a Ferry there? Is the road easily travelled? Any advise would be aprpeciated.

[MrSector9]

There is a ferry, after you get to the end of st mary's you have to go north a little. Ferry is free.


I took the 3a north from Creston and it is all a very nice drive. Alot of windy roads and alot of great scenery.

here is a photo I took off the Balfour ferry.

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s480x480/484438_10151947945095707_925680135_n.jpg

beware of the kid that looks like Micheal Cera in the bottom corner though.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Awesome Im glad someone on here has used it, it's all paved? Is there a ferry schedule or am I good to just show up?

[MrSector9]

I never took that road, i took the 3a from creston so from the south all along the shore of the lake, i highly recommend it.

there is a ferry schedule, you get on the kooteny terminal and get off in balfour.

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/marine/kootenay_ferry.htm

[benyl]

best road is from needles to Cherryville, a bit farther than nelson.

[PD77]

I've driven that road a few times, a good friend of mine has a cabin about 10 min from the ferry.

It's a blast to drive in a fun car, all paved and tons of twisties.

[Sugarphreak]

....

[Ntense_SpecV]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
Awesome Im glad someone on here has used it, it's all paved? Is there a ferry schedule or am I good to just show up?

It's a great drive - all paved, and twisty. Watch for the wildlife as it's interior BC and there's lots of it. I can't remember if there is a ferry schedule (I just showed up), but if the line is long and you don't make it on you will have to wait for the return trip - adds roughly an extra 1.5hr to your trip.

[Nufy]

Remember I think they are all talking about the 3a North from Creston...

Not the St. Marys road.

[CMW403]

yeah thats a sick stretch of road. So is the salmo pass on the other side of the lake. I'll be heading out to kootenay shortly!

[cam_wmh]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
Hey guys,
Looking to do a road trip to Nelson BC, I'm curious if anyone has taken the St Mary's road from Cranbrook? I see the road ends at the water, is there a Ferry there? Is the road easily travelled? Any advise would be aprpeciated.


Originally posted by PD77

It's a blast to drive in a fun car, all paved and tons of twisties.

Originally posted by Sugarphreak

That stretch was rated as the #2 best road for motorcyclists in Canada. You see tons of bikers in Nakusp gearing up to head that way in the summer.

Originally posted by Ntense_SpecV


It's a great drive - all paved, and twisty. Watch for the wildlife
http://goo.gl/maps/LjVV

Whoa! My family has a condo in both Kaslo & Kimberley, and the thought of driving St Mary's road from Kimberley to Nelson has been discussed.

It is NOT paved. I've driven it, and snowmobiled it.

The road I'm assuming most are referring to is BC HWY 3A. It splits off from HWY 3 at Creston, heading north, along the East side of Duck & Kootenay lakes.

[J-hop]

I was wondering what the hell people we talking about haha. I figured I was just thinking of a different road, as far as I know unless it has changed recently that road is NOT paved (as cam mentioned).

[g-m]

3a is real good, driven it dozens of times. There are often deer though and plenty of blind turns where you can come around and be blindsided by deer on the road. Not worth going too fast.

[Redlyne_mr2]

woah haha ok thanks for the update.. I think the 3a is a wiser choice, was just trying to save time.

[Grogador]

Thanks for the info! I'm heading out that way tomorrow morning and the Kimberley/ferry/Nelson route looked appealing, but no pavement means no go.

[GTS Jeff]

I used to live in Nelson. There are three ways to get there from here.

1. The road Ryan first mentioned is called the Grey Creek Pass. It's an unpaved logging road that you'll definitely want to go over in a beater or 4x4. Last year, we were the first people to successfully drive it in late July, as there was still a patch of snow at the summit. We only got through because some bikers passing by helped push us and we had a hard as fuck, old 4Runner. It's a beautiful drive for someone looking to get lost in the middle of nowhere. Bring your bearspray and some shit in case you break down though. The pass spits you out at the North end of the lake and the ferry you would cross is the Balfour-Kootenay Bay ferry. Shit's free and runs every 45 minutes if I recall.

2. The fastest way there in the summer is Kootenay pass between Creston and Salmo. This way is not particularly interesting, though the grades are steep. This way can often be blocked in the winter by serious avalanches.

3. The alternate way there is to drive North on the 3A from Creston, all the way to that Kootenay Bay ferry. This way adds an hour or two, but the road is very windy and well worth the detour if you're in a fun car. Just be prepared to do a lot of sketchy passing to get around RVs.

Ryan, definitely take option 3. Once you're in the West Koots, another fun road is going from Kaslo to New Denver. This stretch is very quiet and very very windy. Better than the PCH and even comparable some of the roads in the Alps. I'm not sure I would recommend doing the Needles->Cherryville route, as that's getting far from Nelson, unless you are planning a trip to Vernon as well.

Last thing...be careful about speeding. BC has a law where they can impound your car for going 40 over. Radar detectors don't work around mountain corners either. I'm not saying don't speed, but keep it 35 over...which is plenty on some of those windy roads.

[cam_wmh]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
I used to live in Nelson. There are three ways to get there from here.

1. The road Ryan first mentioned is called the Grey Creek Pass. It's an unpaved logging road that you'll definitely want to go over in a beater or 4x4. Last year, we were the first people to successfully drive it in late July, as there was still a patch of snow at the summit. We only got through because some bikers passing by helped push us and we had a hard as fuck, old 4Runner. It's a beautiful drive for someone looking to get lost in the middle of nowhere. Bring your bearspray and some shit in case you break down though. The pass spits you out at the North end of the lake and the ferry you would cross is the Balfour-Kootenay Bay ferry. Shit's free and runs every 45 minutes if I recall.

2. The fastest way there in the summer is Kootenay pass between Creston and Salmo. This way is not particularly interesting, though the grades are steep. This way can often be blocked in the winter by serious avalanches.

3. The alternate way there is to drive North on the 3A from Creston, all the way to that Kootenay Bay ferry. This way adds an hour or two, but the road is very windy and well worth the detour if you're in a fun car. Just be prepared to do a lot of sketchy passing to get around RVs.

Ryan, definitely take option 3. Once you're in the West Koots, another fun road is going from Kaslo to New Denver. This stretch is very quiet and very very windy. Better than the PCH and even comparable some of the roads in the Alps. I'm not sure I would recommend doing the Needles->Cherryville route, as that's getting far from Nelson, unless you are planning a trip to Vernon as well.

Last thing...be careful about speeding. BC has a law where they can impound your car for going 40 over. Radar detectors don't work around mountain corners either. I'm not saying don't speed, but keep it 35 over...which is plenty on some of those windy roads.

Not the GTS_Jeff reply I was accustomed to haha.,

More to point 3 (HWY 3A), you might get lucky and not add too much time to your trip (as opposed to route #2 - HWY 3) if you time your arrival to the ferry just right. (i do 20 min before). http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/marine/kootenay_ferry.htm

Just as Jeff mentioned enjoy the drive prudently. You'll see as you approach the corners (very blind) on 3A that grossly speeding isn't a good idea.

[tch7]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
1. The road Ryan first mentioned is called the Grey Creek Pass. It's an unpaved logging road that you'll definitely want to go over in a beater or 4x4.
Ground clearance helps, but 4x4 isn't needed. I've done the route a number of times in my car and in other vehicles, and as far as logging roads go it's always been in pretty good shape and I've made it in better time than via the other paved routes.

Nonetheless, I agree with your suggested route for most people.