June 13, 2026 Allison Lake Provincial Campground to Nelson, British Columbia

Deb here. It was cold again this morning but once again we’d slept really well. We’d thought that we’d cross back into the US today, but I realized we weren’t far from Nelson, which our friend Cooper had highly recommended. Also high on our list was laundry and showers, so we decided to head to Nelson for a hotel night.

This turned out to be an excellent decision, since we drove through amazingly gorgeous scenery once again. This time we mostly followed Rte. 3, which skimmed right above the US border in BC. So many fruit orchards, fruit stands, wineries and lush growing fields. Lots of lakes, so much green, mountains and blue sky. What’s not to like? When we passed through the lovely town of Osoyoos I commented that I could be quite happy living there. 

I made a reservation at the Best Western on Baker Street, which turned out to be perfect. Parking was included and Baker Street is the hub of downtown. We arrived in Nelson at 1 p.m., so we parked and walked to the farmers market. Some beautiful produce there, but heavy on crafts, so we walked around checking out the Nelson Friendship Garden and waterfall, then walked up Baker St to the center of town.

We stopped at the Kootenay Bakery Cafe for a bagel (John) and handheld cheeseburger pie with a chai latte (me). All was delicious. It was a treat to see so many fresh and local food options in Nelson. Folks were lining Baker St and we learned that a parade of the local high school graduates was about to happen. Always nice to see a community recognize their graduates!

Next stop was the Nelson Museum, Archives and Gallery, where we paid for admission and a tour of the Cold War Bunker. I’d read about the Cold War Bunker and was pretty intrigued. The museum had an art gallery with local artists downstairs, then a history museum upstairs. We spent a quick hour viewing the museum, then met our tour guide at 3 for a tour of the Bunker.

The Cold War Bunker tour was fascinating. Apparently it’s one of only 3 still intact bunkers in Canada, and it was left as it was back in the day. It was created in 1963 to house a group of 60 individuals who would be in the bunker if there was a nuclear attack. Really wild to see the space and hear the stories. 

After the museum and tour  it was back to the hotel for two loads of laundry and showers. At 6 or so we walked back up Baker St and had delicious fish and chips, along with a local cider and beer at Main St Vintage Diner. We ate outside and had a nice talk with one of the servers.

Back to the hotel to collapse.