I was amazed to find the ruins of Alamo just 1km or so down the Galena Trail starting at the location where the town of Three Forks existed. The Alamo ghost town is incredible – I left my camera in New Denver when we checked into the Valhalla Inn but I can tell you that you will not be dissapointed. Just remember to go a few yards past the ruins along Carpenter Creek to enjoy the cable car that local volunteers have built to carry hikers and bikers accross Carpenter Creek. What fun we had as we each took our turn to pull ourselves by hand accross the creek!
As we had travelled 4 or 5 hours from Kelowna to get to New Denver, we had to have a nights sleep and could not explore the Galena Trail any more but I would love to go back some day with my mountain bike and cover it all the way to New Denver and connect up with other trails that meander along the old railway bed to Nakusp.
Here is a bit more info and 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