Upon taking the short drive from New Denver (South of Nakusp on Highway 6)to Three Forks (which was also a boom town but nothing remains now), we discovered a small parking area just to the right as you turn towards Sandon, BC. This parking area is for those who want to hike along the Galena Trail. I highly recommend it.
To get to Cody though, continue along the road past Sandon for about 2 km. The road does get very narrow but you will be rewarded with lots of ruins to explore.
By following a very short road up the creek you will find a crude water system of some sort that is still being used evidenced by the spouting water. Just before you cross the new bridge you may see the old one – don’t cross it – DANGER – Once you walk over the new bridge you will be able to view several old homes and to the left you see very cool circa 1895 industrial ruins. Once at the Cody ghost town ruins you can even go inside to get a close up view if you are brave enough, ie; dumb enough.
My family and I were awarded with some fantastic discoveries while on short vacation to the Kootenays in early July. After driving over the Monashees, dodging the deer on the road, taking the Needles Ferry (free ferry ride), stopping for a visit at Nakusp and finally getting a room at the Inn in New Denver we found the Galena Trail and Alamo, a ghost town that you cannot get to by motorized vehicle.
Upon taking the short drive from New Denver to Three Forks (which was also a boom town but nothing remains now), we discovered a small parking area just to the right as you turn towards Sandon, BC. This parking area is for those who want to begin a hike along the Galena Trail. I highly recommend it. Here is an exert from the Galena Trail brochure “Explore the 13-km trail from Roseberry to Three Forks. The Nakusp and Slocan (N&S) Railway is no more, yet the smoke from the wood-fired boilers and the howl of the steam whistle still linger in the air.” The brochure also mentions a few hazards:
Rock Slides
Steep drop-offs
Devil’s Club (sharp thorns)
Bridges
Cable Car
Yes, that is correct – a cable car! We had just hiked a short 1km or so from the Trail Head and found Alamo with ruins to explore and then went just a few feet further and discovered an awesome surprise when we tried the self propelled cable car – one at a time – to propell us back and forth across Carpenter Creek!
That was cool, but the Alamo ruins are great as no “touristy” stuff is done – having said that it is quite dangerous as walls of several buildings look like they are ready to collapse if you look at them the wrong way! If you step in the right spot you may even be able to take a rusty spike home for a souvenier as it will be stuck directly in your unsuspecting foot. 🙁
I wish we had time to follow the Galena Trail on to New Denver and Roseberry but it was already late and we had to get back to the room. The next day we discovered Sandon and Cody BC…but that will be in another post. 🙂
Wow – I still have not uploaded the recent pictures from the High Rim Trail near Kalamalka lake and my last camping trip at MacDonald Creek near Nakusp but I will as soon as I get back from visiting Ghost Towns in the Kootenays! I am off to Kaslo and Sandon right now but if you have any questions about the High Rim Trail or other hiking trails email me from the contact page at www.tracksandtrails.ca and I will get back to you after the weekend!
