Why You Should Add Nelson to Your 2026 BC Games Trip

If you’ve been devouring coverage of the Olympics lately, and are worried about suffering spectator withdrawal when February 22 rolls around, there’s good news: Take a quick breather after the closing ceremony, and then get your foam cowboy hat and noisemaker right back out, because the BC Games are coming to town! (Well, the next town over, but that’s awfully close.)

Since 1978, the BC Games have served as "an opportunity to bring all parts of B.C. together, large and small communities, in the spirit of sport and friendship," as beloved former B.C. Premiere W.A.C. Bennett once said.

On February 25, 15,000 volunteers and 1,200 athletes will converge on our neighbouring burgs of Trail and Rossland to put on a display of homegrown athleticism and winter-woven revelry across 15 sports. And while that show will certainly be the main event, it’s worth considering why the Games are coming to the Kootenays in the first place.

Our region is a storybook winter paradise, which means you can do much more than just watch, if you’re going to make the trip. Nelson and Kootenay Lake are less than an hour away from the BC Games venue, and late February is prime time for the best parts of winter. There are more reasons to bookend your visit to the Games with a few days in Nelson than we can reasonably list, but here goes anyway.

Canada’s Colours are Red and White

Hockey might be Canada’s official winter sport, but around these parts skiing and snowboarding still steal the show. Rossland’s RED Mountain Resort is a multi-peaked down-to-earth resort with pristine fall lines in every direction. But just 40 minutes away, there’s a whole other skiing experience just as community-based, with a flavour all its own. Whitewater Mountain Resort is the ying to RED’s yang, with minimal lifts and maximum terrain that extends into the alpine. While both embody the grassroots spirit of the Kootenays, Whitewater’s rustic, throwback vibe and sharp skyline offer a distinct juxtaposition to the rolling mountaintops at RED. You’d be missing half the story if you only skied one.

The Freestyle Event Isn’t The Only Place To Catch Helis

OK, fair, we haven’t called 360s “helis” since the ’70s, and freestyle skiers are doing corked aerial manoeuvres these days. But if you want to watch moguls without having to ski them, you’re in the right place. Nelson and Kootenay Lake are home to the most heli- and and cat-skiing in the world, with the most reliable powder this side of Alaska. If it’s been on your bucket list and you’re going to be here anyway, remember what Warren Miller used to say, “If you don’t do it this year, you’ll just be one year older when you do.”

Insider tip: cat-skiing is more affordable than heli, and you can often book later. It’s a great way to dip your toes and see what might be waiting at the end of the powder rainbow.

Rest and Recovery are Important Disciplines Too

Our corner of the Kootenays can be a bit of a haul to get to, depending on where you’re from. If you’ve driven here from some other part of B.C., or hopped into a plane to land at one of our closest airports, you might find yourself a bit knotted up from the journey. Likewise, from screaming your lungs out at the curling game. Mindfulness and physical resets are all on tap around Nelson, with Ainsworth Hot Springs Resort your easiest stop to loosen back up. There’s also a raft of serene places to stay around the lake, all available for your cooldown. If you’re so inclined, you can even spend a bit of time at a yoga retreat.

Carbo Loading

The Queen City of The Kootenays—yep, that’s Nelson—has more restaurants per capita than not just Vancouver, but also San Francisco and New York. The culinary scene is famed far and wide, with five-star fusion to hearty comfort food, pubs to breweries, and pizza joints to taco stands. If you’re a foodie, dining out can be worth a visit in and of itself, with a collection of cafés and bookstores that can also swallow you up for hours a day with their warmth, while the snow tumbles down around. Handsome and historic Baker Street is the heart of the action, all walkable and postcard ornate. The turn-of-the-century architecture is a great backdrop to great food and drink. Not to mention the après-ski vibe, which oscillates between post-ski beers and late-night dancing to the best live music and DJs in Interior B.C.

Get Your Own Schuss On

If watching others compete makes you anxious to burn some calories, too, there’s a plethora of cross-country ski options in both Nelson and Kaslo—our picturesque, lakeside neighbour village to the north. Whitewater Mountain Resort maintains a groomed network of trails up at the resort, and the Nelson Nordic Ski Club offers more than 25 kilometres of the same at the Whitewater turnoff, just 10 minutes from Nelson, or about one hour from Trail. The Great Northern Rail Trail is a dog-friendly option for classic skiing between Nelson and Cottonwood Lake that will surround skiers with giant hemlock, cedar and fir trees.

Ultimately, though, the best reason to visit might just be because Nelson and Kootenay Lake are too extraordinary and too close not to.