Kaslo is a picturesque little village with a population of 1,032. The townsite is the delta of the Kaslo River, which flows into Kootenay Lake. With tree-lined avenues and heritage houses at every turn, it is the quintessential small town of everyone's imagination.
Kaslo, originally called Kane's Landing, was founded in 1893 and was the region's first incorporated city. The town soon became known as the commercial centre of the gold, silver and lead mining industries. The town's peaceful cove, one of only a few such natural harbours along the 97 mile long lake, once bustled with activity as ore barges, rowboats, private launches and steamships jostled for a place alongside the busy wharf.
Today, Kaslo is as pretty as a postcard with an abundance of Victorian architecture that recalls the sunshine days of the British empire. At Kaslo's annual May Days, people gather, as they have since the village was incorporated, to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday and watch the May Pole dance. In August, the village becomes the centre of the best jazz festival around, and the enchanting sound of the music filters through the summer days from its genesis in Kaslo Bay.
For summer visitors there are many hiking and biking trails. Kaslo also has one of the most scenic golf courses in the area; one which you can get to know and love as if it were your own private course. Kootenay Lake is famous for the giant Gerrard rainbow trout (some weighing as much as 32 lbs) which are truly a fisherman's dream. Kaslo has often been called "Rainbow Country" for both its trout and its many beautiful rainbows.
In winter, Kaslo is your gateway to alpine skiing, cat-skiing cross-country skiing, skating, snowmobiling and ice fishing.
A stroll down Front Street will bring you to the majestic SS Moyie, one of the last great sternwheelers. Just seeing her instills visions of what her glory days on Kootenay Lake must have been like. The Langham Cultural Centre, another heritage site, provides a venue for local artists and theatre groups as well as presenting a view of Japanese-Canadian internment during the Second World War.
The Village of Kaslo has undergone dramatic changes since the boom days of the 1890s. Where there were once 27 saloons full of boisterous prospectors, there is now a myriad of activities for everybody to enjoy. Rich in history, strong in community spirit, spectacular in location, Kaslo offers those who live there a quality of life others can only envy.
