Invermere is a community in eastern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, near the border of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. It is the hub of the

Columbia Valley The Columbia Valley is the name used for a region in the Rocky Mountain Trench near the headwaters of the Columbia River between the town of Golden and the Canal Flats. The main hub of the valley is the town of Invermere. Other towns include Rad ...

between

Golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

to the north and Cranbrook to the south. Invermere sits on the northwest shore of Windermere Lake and is a popular summer destination for visitors and second home owners from

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Geography

Invermere is located south of

Radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather t ...

, and south of

and from the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

. Invermere is also north of Fairmont Hot Springs, north of

Canal Flats Canal Flats is a village municipality in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This Columbia Valley community lies between the southern end of Columbia Lake and the northwest shore of the Kootenay River. The locality, on Highw ...

, north of

Fort Steele Fort Steele is a heritage site in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This visitor attraction lies on the east shore of the Kootenay River between the mouths of the St. Mary River (British Columbia), St. Mary River and Wild H ...

, north of Kimberley, and north of the hub of Cranbrook and the

Crowsnest Highway The Crowsnest Highway is an east-west highway in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. It stretches across the southern portions of both provinces, from Hope, British Columbia to Medicine Hat, Alberta, providing the shortest highway connection b ...

. Invermere is situated within the Columbia River Wetlands, North America's largest intact wetland and a Ramsar-designated site. Located in the

Rocky Mountain Trench The Rocky Mountain Trench, also known as the Valley of a Thousand Peaks or simply the Trench, is a large valley on the western side of the northern part of North America's Rocky Mountains. The Trench is both visually and cartographically a s ...

, Invermere is from

Kootenay National Park Kootenay National Park is a national park of Canada located in southeastern British Columbia. The park consists of of the Canadian Rockies, including parts of the Kootenay and Park mountain ranges, the Kootenay River and the entirety of the V ...

, and is near the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy.

Climate

Invermere's climate is characterized by warm summers and cool winters. The Rocky Mountains to the east shield Invermere from the Arctic air in winter, although extreme cold spells do occur on occasion. Spring arrives earlier than on the prairies to the east of the Rocky Mountains. Although warm, summers are variable, with weather alternating between hot, dry spells and cool, showery periods.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Invermere had a population of 3,917 living in 1,660 of its 2,238 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 3,391. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Invermere included: *

Irreligion Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and a ...

(2,380 persons or 62.7%) *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

(1,340 persons or 35.3%) *

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

(20 persons or 0.5%) *

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

(20 persons or 0.5%) *Other (35 persons or 0.9%)

Arts and culture

The annual Invermere MusicFest takes place on the Pynelogs greenspace for one weekend every August. The two-day Festival attracts hundreds of people each day and delivers a high caliber of Canadian and international musical talent, including The Dead South and Lindi Ortega in 2018.

Sports and recreation

Columbia Valley Chamber of Commerce in Invermere

;Hockey The

Columbia Valley Rockies The Columbia Valley Rockies are a junior "B" ice hockey team based in Invermere, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Eddie Mountain Division of the Kootenay Conference of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL). The R ...

play in Invermere. Former New York Islanders and University of Denver goaltender

Wade Dubielewicz Wade Roger Dubielewicz (born January 30, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 43 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 2003 and 2010 with three teams: the Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, and Ne ...

was born in Invermere. ;Skiing *

Panorama Mountain Village Panorama Mountain Resort is a ski and golf resort in Canada, located in the Purcell Mountains of southeastern British Columbia. Part of the Columbia Valley sub-region of the East Kootenay region, it is a tourist destination known for its rolling ...

lies about 30 minutes west. * Fairmont Hot Springs Resort ski area lies 25 minutes south. *

Kimberley Alpine Resort Kimberley Alpine Resort is a ski resort in southwestern Canada, located in Kimberley, British Columbia. In the Purcell Mountains on the northeast face of ''North Star Hill'', Kimberley's vertical drop is with a summit elevation of above sea leve ...

is about 1 hour south in Kimberley. *

Kicking Horse Mountain Resort Kicking Horse Mountain Resort (KHMR) is a ski resort located west of Golden, British Columbia, Canada. It features over 120 trails across more than of skiable terrain and a vertical drop, currently the sixth largest of any North American ski ...

is about 1.5 hours north of Invermere in

, British Columbia ;Skating The longest ice skating trail in the world can be found on the Lake Windermere Whiteway. The naturally frozen trail measures . ;Golfing Invermere is a major centre for

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. *Copper Point Golf Club is a newer golf course about east of Invermere along Highway 95/93. *Eagle Ranch Golf Course is located northeast of Invermere, also along Highway 93/95 and was rated 4.5/5.0 stars by

Golf Digest ''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit under its Warner Bros. Discovery Golf division. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competiti ...

. *Greywolf Golf Course is located in

is about west of Invermere, along the Toby Creek canyon. *The Resort Course and Springs Course at Radium Resort,

Radium Hot Springs Radium Hot Springs, informally and commonly called Radium, is a village of 1,339 residents situated in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia. The village is named for the hot springs located in the nearby Kootenay National Park. From Banff ...

are very popular. *Mountainside, Creekside, and Riverside golf courses are located in Fairmont Hot Springs, 20 minutes south of Invermere. * Edgewater Hill Top Par 3 is located in Edgewater, 20 minutes north of Invermere. * Setekwa Golf Course is located about north of Invermere on Highway 93/95. * Windermere Valley Golf Course is located approximately south of Invermere, by the town of Windermere ;Gliding and soaring Inveremereairport

The Invermere Airport is home to the non-profit Canadian Rockies Soaring Club. The club is active during the summer months, when it welcomes dozens of student pilots and private owners. The Invermere Soaring Centre is a separate commercial operation which provides aerotowing services and glider rides to the general public. *Canadian Rockies Soaring Club *Invermere Soaring Centre The local area is also a popular destination for other non-motorized forms of flying including

hang-gliding Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

and

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...

. There are designated launch sites at nearby Mount Swansea. ;Curling The Valley is host to the biggest outdoor bonspiel in Canada every January. The spiel is held on the frozen Windermere Lake. The curling club is also host to many leagues and bonspiels throughout the season. ;Hot springs Hot springs are numerous in the area, with the major developed ones being Fairmont and

; the latter is located inside

. Less developed 'wilderness' hot springs can be found in the southern Columbia Valley, in

Whiteswan Lake Provincial Park Whiteswan Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located in the Kootenay Ranges of the Rocky Mountains, 22 km east of Canal Flats. Access Access is East off Highway 93/95 at the Whiteswan Lake Provincial P ...

Lussier Hot Springs Lussier Hot Springs is an undeveloped hot spring just inside Whiteswan Lake Provincial Park in British Columbia, a province of Canada. History The hot springs are in traditional territory of the Ktunaxa people. In the early 20th century, the ...

is located south of Invermere and can be accessed from the Whiteswan Forestry Road. Ram Creek Warm Springs, a less visited and cooler natural spring, can also be accessed along the same route.

Media

Invermere is home to one newspaper, the '' Columbia Valley Pioneer''. On July 1, 2017, the "Pioneer" (founded in 2004) and the '' Invermere Valley Echo'' (founded in 1956) merged to one paper retaining the ''Columbia Valley Pioneer'' designation. The "Pioneer" serves the Columbia Valley region, from Spillimacheen in the north to Canal Flats in the south and is published once a week, every Thursday.

Notable people

–

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player and coach * Christine Keshen – Curler * Patrick Morrow –

Photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

Benjamin Thomsen Benjamin Thomsen (born August 25, 1987), also known as Ben Thomsen, is a World Cup alpine ski racer from Canada. Born in Invermere, British Columbia, he primarily competes in the speed events of Downhill and Super G. Thomsen's father Glenn is a ...

– Professional skier

References

External links

* * {{authority control District municipalities in British Columbia Columbia Valley British Columbia populated places on the Columbia River Populated places in the Regional District of East Kootenay