| The Kootenays offer a wealth of
activities and experiences:
Hiking & Walking
The Manor is situated at 1760' in a valley between two mountain
ranges that tower to 12,000'. The mountains can be accessed
through a network of gravel roads and trails of various lengths.
Even the most active local resident hikers can only cover a
small fraction of the many different trails and destinations
possible.
Hikes range from fairly level trails that follow the Kootenay
Lake shore (ideal for April, May, early June hikes) to spectacular
ascents to the alpine areas, where sightings of mountain goats
are common. There are a number of local companies that will
guide you into wilderness areas (one will even provide llamas
to carry your gear!) for very reasonable fees. Please contact
us for more detailed information.
Local Strolling
You can be on a lovely forest trail within two minutes from
the Manor's doorstep, with white-tail deer bounding out of your
path. Our neighbourhood is quiet field, forest and stream and
there are numerous areas to explore. If you're timid of encountering
wild animals, just take one of our big, friendly dogs with you
on a leash.
Biking
This is a sweet mountain biking area, with trails for all levels
of enthusiasm, or even a gentle paved road circuit around Kokanee
Springs Golf Course. We provide maps to our own signed bike
trails up into the mountains.
Golfing
Wedgwood Manor is five minutes from the first tee at Kokanee
Springs Golf Resort, one of the finest courses in B.C. It features
six and a half miles of fairways and cart paths over hilly,
forested terrain, with snow-capped peaks as a backdrop. We have
golf packages with Kokanee Springs that include your green fees,
accommodation, and meals at discounted prices. (Please phone
or email for current information.) There's also an excellent
9-hole course at Riondel, 30 minutes north, that's perfect for
beginners and still fun for serious golfers. In all, there are
four 18-hole courses and four 9-hole tracks within an hour's
drive.
 Paddling
(Canoeing & Kayaking)
Dive into your favourite water sports - swimming, sailing,
boating, kayaking, canoeing, water skiing - Kootenay Lake has
hundreds of miles of shoreline and about half of it is total
wilderness. You can paddle a canoe or kayak for days and pitch
your tent at different beaches each night. Or just day-paddle
up Crawford Bay to one of the secluded smaller bays for a picnic.
Kayak rentals are available locally from Bluebell Bay in Riondel.
Call us for details.
  
Fishing
 Kootenay
lake's clear waters contain the world's largest strain of Rainbow
Trout - 35 lbs. plus - as well as Kokanee (a land-locked salmon),
Dolly Varden Char, and even Sturgeon and Ling Cod. Guided outings
on the lake are available locally. Please contact us for more
information on that. You can fish from shore at many spots not
far from Wedgwood Manor, and we'll be pleased to draw you a
map to the best areas. There's also a myriad of small mountain
lakes with good populations of trout. Again, just ask us for
directions.
Local Artisans
Our community is known for a variety of artisan shops which
not only sell their unique products but demonstrate how they're
made. You can seek out their small shops and studios and watch
as molten glass is blown into jewel-like goblets, red-hot iron
is pounded into useful and decorative forms, wool and silk threads
are woven on hand looms, or broom corn is chopped, woven and
sewn into one-of-a-kind brooms.
www.kootenaylake.bc.ca
Driving Tours
The Manor is located on a number of good touring routes,
and Route 3A along the East Shore of Kootenay Lake is recognized
as one of the premier motorcycle rides in North America. The
Manor also partakes in the Destination Highways Discount Program
(see discount in the Rates Section).
 Destinationhighways.com features
the definitive motorcycle enthusiasts tour guide books, Destination
Highways BC, Destination Highways Washington & Destination
Highways Northern California. Check out our unique
road rating system and take a virtual ride on every Destination
Highway.
 The
Selkirk Loop (www.selkirkloop.org)
is a multi-day gorgeous international scenic drive from Sandpoint,
Idaho up the East Shore to Creston and Crawford Bay, then across
on the world’s longest and most scenic free ferry to Nelson,
heading back south through Salmo to Newport, Idaho. It encompasses
spectacular mountains, calm lakes and beautiful farmland –
and more!
The one-day Silvery Slocan Tour takes you across the lake on
the ferry, then north along the shore to Ainsworth Hot Springs.
The Ainsworth Hot Springs Resort features non-sulphurous hot
pools that flow through a horseshoe-shaped cave. Thirty minutes
north, the pretty village of Kaslo is a must to explore on foot
– it was an internment site for Canada’s Japanese
during WWII, and also has a beautifully restored sternwheeler.
Then it's up through a spectacular wilderness pass to the silver
rush ghost town of Sandon - an intriguing historical stop, and
on into the Slocan Valley and the village of New Denver, which
features another gem of a lake.
You return by following the Slocan River south to its junction
with the Kootenay River and then east through the town of Nelson,
cultural centre of the Kootenays (denoted as the "Best
Small Arts Town in Canada" for the last several years)
and known for its good restaurants, Victorian architecture,
and lively night life. Come home to the Manor on an evening
ferry cruise over Kootenay Lake, sometimes with the northern
lights putting on a show, or, in August, the meteor showers,
unhindered by city lights. A very fine day.
This are just two of several tours that reveal totally different
facets of the Kootenays.
 Birding
The Kootenay Lake valley is on a major flyway for migrating
birds and there are lots of interesting resident species as
well. The Creston Valley Wildlife Area, an hour's drive south
of Wedgwood Manor, comprises one of the most important bird
habitats in B.C., with 137 species breeding there and another
128 species passing through. Closer to the manor, the Crawford
Bay Wetlands offers excellent bird habitat within a ten minute
walk.
Relaxing
This is the most often overlooked and yet most potentially
rewarding part of your stay at Wedgwood Manor. Bring that new
novel you've been dying to get a chance at, or select one of
ours from the library. Curl up in your quiet room, in the library,
in front of the parlour fireplace, or in some hidden leafy nook
out in the gardens and feel the city tensions slip away. Take
our dog for a stroll. Sit and contemplate the ducks in the pond.
In the hot months, stretch out on the sand at Crawford Bay Beach.
There's a reason why we've not included tv's in the Manor rooms
- to give our guests the chance to get to know themselves (and
their partners) again.
It seems to work. We get people coming back year after year
for that little bit of tranquility in their busy lives.
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