I visited the Regional District of Central Kootenay last week and came across the following list of RDCK park facilities. Notice anything unusual?
Kootenay Lake – North
The Kaslo Waterfront Trail Regional Park is owned by the Village of Kaslo and located on the waterfront in the community. The waterfront trail, designated as waterfront access park is intended to assist in meeting the beach needs of the residents of Kaslo and the surrounding area and providing a trail corridor to the Kaslo River. The Glacier Creek Regional Park is located on land owned by the Province of British Columbia. The park is situated at the mouth of Glacier Creek on DuncanLake and is intended to assist in meeting the beach and camping needs of residents of Electoral Area D and the Village of Kaslo. This park is designated as a waterfront access park.
The Ainsworth Wharf Regional Park is situated in the community of Ainsworth on Kootenay Lake. The Ainsworth Wharf is a park for the purpose of preserving the historic concrete wharf as well as providing lakefront property for public use. The park is designated as a waterfront access park.
Nelson – Salmo
Cottonwood Lake Regional Park comprises 8.2 hectares of land and is located approximately five kilometres south of the City of Nelson. The park is managed by the Nelson, Salmo, Areas E, F, and G Regional Parks Commission. Recreation facilities in this waterfront access park include a swimming beach, picnic tables, boat launch, footpaths, cross-country ski trails, picnic shelters, and related restrooms and parking facilities. Taghum Beach Regional Park is located approximately six kilometres of the city of Nelson and comprises approximately 2.1 hectares of land. The site is privately owned and leased by the Regional District. It is designated as a waterfront access park providing recreation facilities that include picnic tables,washrooms, parking lot, and beach.
James Johnstone Regional Park is composed of four lots totaling 1.2 hectares of land located on the north shore of the West Arm of Kootenay Lake immediately north of the City of Nelson. The site includes a beach access trail, washroom facilities and fire pits and is designated as a waterfront access regional park.
Sunshine Bay Regional Park is located on the south shore of the West Arm of Kootenay Lake in the Procter – Harrop community. The park has a total area of approximately 22 hectares. The park is comprised of five lots of which three lots are contiguous with the remaining two lots located approximately one kilometre west of the three easterly properties. The park is managed by the Sunshine Bay Regional Park Commission. The eastern sector of the park is approximately 9 hectares in the area and the western sector is 13 hectares. The eastern sector includes ball fields, picnic facilities and a recently developed BMX bike park. Part of the western sector of the park includes an equestrian facility leased to the Sunshine Bay Riding Club. The park is designated as a combined waterfront access and multiple purpose regional park.
Pulpit Rock Access Regional Trail – This small piece of land, owned by the Regional District, was acquired for the purpose of providing legal access to the popular Pulpit Rock hiking trail in the rural Nelson area. This park is designated as non-motorized regional trail.
Slocan Valley
Winlaw Regional and Nature Park is located immediately north of the community of Winlaw. This 7.8 hectare property has been developed as waterfront access park accommodating beach use and related facilities.
The Rosebery to Three Forks Regional Trail provides for non-motorized recreation trail use on a former CPR rail right-of-way. Owned by the Province of British Columbia, the Regional District of Central Kootenay has entered into a License of Occupation Agreement with the Province for this twelve-kilometre regional park trail.
Bigelow Bay Regional Park is located on Slocan Lake immediately adjacent to the northern boundary of the Village of New Denver and has an area of 0.09 hectares. The park is designated as a waterfront access park and is used for beach recreation activities. Rosebery Parklands Regional Park is located on Slocan Lake a few kilometres north of the Village of New Denver. This 2.8 hectare parcel of waterfront property is designated as a waterfront access park and is used for beach recreation activities.
East Shore Kootenay Lake
Riondel Regional Park is managed by the Riondel Commission of Management and is located in the unincorporated community of Riondel. The site, owned by the Regional District, presently accommodates several recreation facilities including a softball and soccer field. The park is designated as a multiple purpose regional park.
Creston and Area
The Burns/Farstad Regional Park located in the Town of Creston is a multiple purpose park providing both outdoor and indoor recreation facilities. Outdoor recreation facilities include, footpaths, play fields, playground and a sports track.
Indoor facilities include a skating rink, curling rink, leisure pool, wellness centre and meeting rooms. Both indoor and outdoor multiple purpose functions of this park are recognized by this plan.
In the not too distant past, there has been public interest in creating parks near the Highway 21 Goat River Bridge and at The Point, further upstream. More recently, a waterfront park between those two spots has been proposed. I have clear memories of a former Area B director stating that the RDCK wasn’t creating more parks. Now, though, local directors don’t seem to oppose RDCK involvement in new parks in the Creston Valley or East Shore, but still, nothing seems to be happening. Frustration by supporters of a riverfront park on Goat River is easy to understand. It seems obvious that our area needs more focus on outdoor recreation, wouldn’t you say?
