Waterfront Development Opportunity with Marina - Kootenay Lake, BC

Showings are strictly by appointment only.

Without zoning restrictions, this lakeshore property has numerous development options; a strata or monthly RV rental pads, a townhome community, an executive home strata, or a family compound. Ideally located, the Motel and Manager’s residence can make for great guest or tourist accommodation, each having views of the lake and Balfour-Crawford Bay ferry terminal.

The upper property can be accessed on the north side of Highway 3A. It is also divided by Balfour Wharf Road, providing access on both sides. The land slopes gently from the north, down to the lakeshore. This slope and southern exposure provide excellent design concepts.

Known as the Cedars Motel, RV Park and Marina; its infrastructure offers 29 boat slips, 29 seasonal RV pads, and a 5-room motel with 2 rooms rented monthly that bring in a reasonable income. There is also a 24' x 46' modular home that is occupied by an on-site manager.

The RV Park has plentiful cedar trees that provide cool shade in the summer months. There is easy access to the sandy beach and sparkling Kootenay Lake. A recently renovated washroom block provides showers, toilets, and a washup area.

The deep moorage marina is in excellent condition and provides 29 slips. This marina provides a rare and valuable asset to the property and is the only marina in the area that has a boat launch, with a poured concrete base. The marina has a 30-year renewable Crown lease which was renewed in 2015.

7782 3A Highway - Balfour, BC

From Nelson, drive over the big orange bridge (BOB). Take Highway 3A toward the Balfour ferry. In 33 km turn right onto Balfour Wharf Road (East), behind the store. In 200m the property is on both sides.

Flanked by the steep jagged peaks of the Purcell and Selkirk mountains, the Balfour area is home to approximately 1,200 residents. Summer tourism swells the number of people in this tiny area attracted to enjoy the longest free ferry in the world. The trip from Balfour to eastern Kootenay Bay affords views up and down the lake, the Kokanee Glacier, and vast wild unoccupied forested mountains. The scenic trip down this highway passes through eclectic and quaint villages to Creston.

The Balfour Landing area sports permanent and pop-up retail and food outlets. A pub/restaurant alongside the landing prepares gourmet flame-broiled beef burgers, pizzas, oven-roasted chicken, wings, baby back ribs, and fish ‘n chips—a welcome and convenient way to dine alongside the lake.

To the south of Balfour, the city of Nelson spreads along the shores of Kootenay Lake's West Arm. Nelson has a growing population of 10,600, with the Greater Area encompassing 18,000. With a trading area of nearly 70,000, this city features a heritage downtown and 300-plus restored heritage homes, businesses, and churches.

Nelson is among just a handful of small cities in North America that can lay claim to a unique mix and abundance of big-city cosmopolitan amenities coupled with an authentic small-town charm. There are over 50 restaurants and cafes, many with outdoor seasonal patios, more per capita than San Francisco. With craft breweries and coffee shops, this city is perfect for enjoying and relaxing with family and friends while sipping your favorite beverage.

The area is known for its mild climate with four distinct seasons, averaging winter temperatures from -5°C to 1°C, and summer temperatures between 14°C and 27°C. The lands consist mostly of steep, treed banks, with approximately 650 m (2,133 ft) of water frontage.

Notable Distances

33 km to Nelson (largest retail)
77 km to Castlegar (regional airport)
379 to Kelowna (international airport)

Kootenay Lake provides adrenaline-pumping activities and thrilling exploits! Everything from mountain biking to hiking to paddle boarding to ziplining in Balfour . . . and that’s just scratching the surface of summertime activities. In the winter, you’ll be enticed with incredible downhill/Nordic/backcountry/heli-skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and more.

As the Kootenay Lake does not freeze in the winter, year-round fishing produces kokanee, rainbow trout, and burbot. Fishing derbies mainly take place in the spring and fall with winter being a favourite season as big fish rise from the depths.

With a pick of 6 ziplines, high up in the forest canopy, you can experience a bird’s eye view of the stunning environment as you soar over the canyon at Kokanee Creek Provincial Park.

The Balfour Golf & Recreation course presents a 6,800-yard, 18-hole layout with features you would expect only from a premium-rated golf experience while maintaining Balfour’s small-town feel. The on-site restaurant serves up pub food, along with pasta, sandwiches, and salads.

Just 15 km to the north, Ainsworth Hot Springs is considered to offer the best commercial hot springs in BC. Set into the mountainside overlooking Kootenay Lake and the Purcell Mountains, Ainsworth is open year-round and is popular with families and residents wishing to enjoy the therapeutic waters.

The community of Balfour, BC, was established in May 1889 by Charles Busk when he staked a two-hundred-acre claim at the outlet of Kootenay Lake. He immediately set to work establishing roads and subdividing the claim into lots and by April 1892 all but four acres of land had been sold. By this point, the community already included the St. Michaels and All Angels Church, the Balfour House Hotel, a general store, a post office, and telephone service.

Many settlers of this time used Balfour as a ‘home’ community while working across the lake for the smelter at Pilot Bay. Other locals were engaged in logging, mining, and farming to support their families while more still found employment upon the sternwheelers and steamboats which transported goods and passengers along Kootenay Lake.

The construction and opening of the Canadian Pacific Railways Kootenay Lake Hotel in 1910 gave a short-lived boost to the Balfour economy. Unfortunately, ten years after opening, the Hotel was closed and in 1929 it was destroyed. Many residents in the Nelson and Balfour area still showcase the materials used in the construction of this Tudor-style structure.

In 1946, when the terminals for the Kootenay Lake Ferry were relocated to Balfour and Kootenay Bay, the economy in Balfour began to re-establish, and is now known as the western terminal of the longest free ferry ride in the world!

49°37'25.78"N and 116°57'47.76"W