Day 1: From Kelowna, the route climbs to the vistas of the Kettle Valley Railway. 3000 feet above Lake Okanagan, the view is stunnning for a complete picture of the Okanagan Landscape. More spectacular views of the south Okanagan come on the descent into Penticton. We climb again back into the Okanagan Highlands for a lunch stop at a unique log restaurant perched on the side of the mountain with a view that is unparalleled in the valley. The West Kettle River Valley and the town of Beaverdell await in the afternoon, home to numerous abandoned silver and lead mines. After a brief stop in the pub in the oldest hotel in BC, we continue overland through the Midway Range to the historic city of Greenwood. Our overnight accommodation in town allows time to tour the historic downtown section of town with it's turn of the century buildings.

Day 2: Our day starts with a visit to the Greenwood Museum and BC Copper Company Smelter site. Once we have an idea of the proud past of this town, we travel into the mountains to visit the cornerstone of the camp, the open pit Phoenix copper/gold mine. Mineralization can still be found on the pit floor and raw native gold has been picked up on occasion. Our forested descent into Grand Forks brings us to the site of boundary country's 3^rd turn of the century smelter that now exists only as huge piles of black slag currently being processed into insulation by a local firm. We climb the original coach road through the scenic Cascade Mountains to Rossland, a true jewel of BC mining history. The is town underlain with mining drifts, stopes and full of history that has not suffered artificial tourist restoration.

Day 3. We get a full picture of the mining industry in one day beginning with the Le Roi Mine and Museum that gives the history of the gold mines of the region. An underground tour deep into the mountain shows first hand what the pioneers faced in extracting the rich ore. We then visit the huge Teckcominco Smelter in Trail. This world class facility is one of the most efficient and environmentally sensitive zinc, lead and gold smelters in the world. Beyond Trail is the hydropower of the Pend d'Oreille River that provides power not only to the smelter but to thousands of houses in BC. We pass by a number of abandoned mines enroute on backroads through the mountains to the Nelson. Our overnight stay is in Nelson, renown for it's stunning setting, artisans and turn of the century architecture.

Day 4. Our trip continues northward through the picturesque Slocan Valley. Lake boats and paddlewheelers were used on the lake to resupply the towns of New Denver and Silverton and to bring ore and concentrate from the gold and silver mines scattered through the mountains. We travel to Sandon, once the center of mining activity of Idaho Ridge and Carpenter Creek. Nearly washed away in a flood in the 1950s, some history has been preserved in the local museum. We then climb one of the original haul roads up Idaho Peak to a spectacular vantagepoint high on the ridge. For those so inclined, a short hike to the meadows and forestry lookout site provides a stunning vista of the Purcell and Monashee Mountain ranges. We pass through Nakusp along the Upper Arrow Lake. Our trip heads off pavement into the rugged Monashee Mountains to overnight in 3 Valley Gap.

Day 5. We travel south to through the wilderness of Mabel Lake to the artisans of the Coldwater Valley. We pass through the Echo Lake Valley and Coyote Sleeping Mountain to an active gold panning site on the Kettle River. A quick lesson in the art of panning and you're off to find the motherlode! Once you've filled your pockets (or dreams) with gold, we travel down the scenic Kettle River and overland through the Big White lake district and back to Kelowna via the old McCulloch road past volcanic Layer Cake Mountain.