By Laura Keil
With the completion of the Hugh Keenleyside Dam in 1968, the Arrow Lakes holds an unfortunate number of ghost towns due to displacement after the flooding. Even before the dam, the Kootenay silver rush and some unfortunate fires left a good number of ghost towns. Recently I visited some of these historic sites including Edgewood’s “Dump Beach” (former town site), the former location of the Gates of St. Leon Hotel and Lower Ononoaklin Road (formerly Lakeshore Drive) as part of my research of the area’s history.
Other places like Arrowhead, Comaplix and the former Renata townsite I didn’t get to but I hope to see one day. Not much remains of these anymore. If you’ve got a kayak, there’s a great brochure at the Visitor Centre that can be purchased for around $10 that includes historic sites, some only accessible by water. In the nearby Slocan Valley and on towards Kaslo, there are several more ghost towns.
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