About Nelson
The city of Nelson is picturesque, perched on a mountainside
overlooking Kootenay Lake, and full of beautiful older homes and turn
of the century stone buildings. There is a rich cultural life for a
town of this size (approximately 10,000 within the city limits), with
the beautifully restored Capitol Theatre offering many excellent and
varied music, dance, and theatrical performances, an Art School, a
school of Chinese Medicine, two libraries, a great number of artisans,
and many cultural events. Nelson is considered an excellent place to
raise a family. The area offers a wide variety of outdoor recreational
and wilderness opportunities, as well as a comprehensive recreational
facility in the city itself.
photo: David R. Gluns
The city of Nelson wears its Victorian architecture in an unpretentious fashion while sporting, block for block, more sidewalk cafes than you’d expect to find in Paris. Nelson is also a cultural phenomenon. Dubbed the "Best Small Art Town in Canada," the town showcases the work of local artists in downtown galleries and shops in its summer long "Artwalk." Here, in the heart of the Selkirk Mountains, an eclectic mix of good souls have chosen to make their homes, creating a diversity that is well represented in the Nelson Waldorf School.
Recreational possibilities in the four seasons climate of the West
Kootenays are simply fantastic. Within an hour of Nelson are some of
the most spectacular wilderness parks in the world. In a park such as
the Valhalla Wilderness Park, it is possible to hike all day and not
see another human being. Nelson is situated on Kootenay Lake, one of
the largest and cleanest bodies of fresh water in BC. The lake has
hardly any boat traffic. In winter, the skiing at Whitewater is
legendary, and there’s Nordic skiing too.