Canada (British Columbia)
Cranbrook
The regional service and ex-forestry town of CRANBROOK, despite a location that marks it out as a transport hub, is one of the most dismal in the province, its dreariness hardly redeemed by the surrounding high mountains. A strip of motels and marshalling yards dominates a downtown area otherwise distinguished only by thrift shops and closing-down sales. Local lifeblood, such as it is, flows from the motels, this being an obvious place to eat, sleep and drive away from the next morning.

The only sight to speak of is the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel, a smallish affair that centres on the restored carriages of an old trans-Canada luxury train (July & Aug daily 8am–8pm; rest of the year 10am–6pm; $6.95). The period buildings pushed by the infocentre, 2279 Cranbrook St (year-round 9am–5pm; tel 426-5914 or 1-800/222-6174, www.cranbrookchamber.com), aren't interesting enough to justify the trawl round the streets. The infocentre was burned down by animal-rights activists in 1999 because of its stuffed-animal display, and not to be outdone they have reopened on the same spot with a new Wildlife Museum (same hours) filled with stuffed road-kills from the surrounding area.

You may have to stay in Cranbrook, as there's little in the way of accommodation on the roads north and south; there are a dozen or more motels that fit the bill. The top of the range in town is the Heritage Inn at 803 Cranbrook (tel 489-4301 or 1-800/663-2708; $80–100), a large, modern motel on the main road. Cheaper and more intimate is the Heritage Estate Motel (tel 426-3862 or 1-800/670-1001; $40–60), near the southern edge of town at 362 Van Horne St SW and therefore removed from some of the bleaker corners. The same can be said of a nice B&B, the Singing Pines, 5180 Kennedy Rd (tel 426-5959 or 1-800/863-4969; $80–100), situated off Hwy 95A 3km north of town in a quiet location with mountain views. The town's Mount Baker RV Park, at Baker Park on 14th Avenue and 1st Street (tel 1-877/501-2288; $18–24; April–Oct), is the closest campsite, though it's a good deal less appealing than the Jimsmith Provincial Park, 4km southwest of town, but which has no showers ($12; May–Oct).

 

The strip offers plenty of cheap eating options: for something more welcoming make for the ABC Family Restaurant at 1601 Cranbrook St N. The Greyhound bus terminal (tel 426-3331) is hidden behind McDonald's opposite the Mohawk petrol station. Bus services run east to Fernie, Sparwood and southern Alberta (2 daily); west to Nelson, Castlegar and Vancouver (3 daily); north to Kimberley, Radium, Banff and Calgary (1 daily); and south to Spokane in the US (1 daily).

East from Cranbrook
Highway 93 leaves Hwy 95 between Fort Steele and Cranbrook, following Hwy 3 as far as Elko before branching off south for the United States border (91km). An unsullied hamlet of around half a dozen homes, ELKO is gone in a flash, but you might want to stop and eat at Wendy's Place, a cosy backwoods spot, or to camp at the excellent Kikomun Creek Provincial Park campsite (reservations possible, $17.50; May–Oct), on the eastern shore of the artificial Lake Koocanusa and signed off Hwy 93 3km west of town. The only other local accommodation is the West Crow Motel and Campground at the entrance to the Elk Valley (tel 529-7349; $40–60, tents and RVs $10–14; year-round), with a secluded tenting area. Hwy 3 offers colossal views of the Rockies and the fast-flowing, ice-clear Elk River, before hitting FERNIE, 32km north of Elko, a pleasant place of tree-lined streets, a few motels and small wooden houses, surrounded by a ring of knife-edged mountains. The Cedar Lodge (tel 423-4622; $60–80) is the place to stay here or, failing that, the HI-affiliated official youth hostel, the Raging Elk International Hostel, 892 6th Ave (tel 423-6811; up to $40). The infocentre (daily 9am–5pm; tel 423-6868) stands alongside a reconstructed wooden oil derrick 2km north of town on Hwy 3 at Dicken Road. Mount Fernie Provincial Park has plenty of hiking trails, picnic areas and a campsite just west of town off Hwy 3 (reservations possible, $12; mid-May to mid-Sept). Fernie Snow Valley, 5km west of town and 2km off the main highway, boasts what is reputedly the longest ski season in the BC Rockies (Nov–May); it also has few typical resort-type accommodation possibilities.

Hwy 3 leaves the Elk Valley at SPARWOOD, 29km beyond Fernie, where signs of the area's coal-mining legacy begin to appear. Close to the town – but barely visible – is Canada's largest open-cast coal mine, capable of disgorging up to 18,000 tonnes of coal daily. Tours of the mine (July & Aug Mon–Fri 1.30pm) leave from the local infocentre (daily 9am–6pm; tel 425-2423), at the junction of Hwy 3 and Aspen Drive – look for the big miner's statue. The town itself is surprisingly neat and clean, and the obvious Black Nugget Motor Inn, Hwy 3 at Red Cedar Drive (tel 425-2236 or 1-800/663-2706; $60–80), makes a convenient place to stay.