With an envious lakefront location nestled in the heart of the mountainous Columbia Valley, it’s no wonder families love visiting Invermere with kids.
A family vacation to Invermere, BC is worth it for the stunning Purcell Mountain setting alone. Throw in all the fun activities from around Lake Windermere and you’ll soon realize why this is one of the best places to visit in BC with kids. In addition to some almost mandatory family fun at the beach, there are so many fun things to do in Invermere with kids, including hot springs, mountain biking and kid-friendly hiking.
The list of things to do with kids in Invermere, BC is nearly endless. With so many fun family activities and amazing mountain scenery, you will love visiting Invermere with kids!
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Here is what you need to know about taking a family vacation to Invermere with kids:
Getting into Invermere with Kids
Invermere, BC isn’t the easiest place to get to, but its remote location is a big part of its charm. It’s close enough to drive to Invermere in a day from several major cities, but far enough away that you’ll feel like your family really got away.
The closest international airports to Invermere, BC are in Calgary and Kelowna.
To get to Invermere from the Calgary Airport, it’s a 3 hour 15 minute drive with a rental car. There are no buses between Calgary and Invermere, but you can get sedan service if you’d like.
To get to Invermere from the Kelowna airport, it’s a 5 hour and 15 minute drive with a rental car. There are also no buses between Kelowna and Invermere.
In addition to Kelowna and Calgary, you can also drive to Invermere in less than a day from Banff (1.75 hours), Kamloops (5.5 hours), Edmonton (5.75 hours), Seattle (8.75 hours) and Vancouver (9 hours).
Please note that winter tires are mandatory in British Columbia between October – April.
Where to Stay in Invermere with Kids
We love camping with our kids! For our trip to Invermere with our kids we enjoyed bringing our tent for some camping in the Columbia Valley wilderness. Recognizing that not all families enjoy camping, we have researched the best kid-friendly accommodations in Invermere for you to choose from:
Kid-Friendly Invermere Hotels
With its amazing lakefront location in-between Fairmont Hot Springs and Radium Hot Springs, Invermere is a beautiful, fun and convenient place to stay with your kids on your visit to the Lake Windermere area. The distance between Radium Hot Springs, Invermere and Fairmont Hot Springs is so short that you could easily stay at any of these resort towns. We’ve listed the best kid-friendly hotels in each for your convenience:
Family-Friendly Hotels in Invermere:
- Copper Point Resort: Your kids will love the Copper Point Resort for its indoor pool and/or the seasonal outdoor pool. Parents will love the fully equipped kitchens and separate bedrooms (which help everyone get a better night’s sleep).
- The Kanata Inns Invermere: Featuring a convenient location for exploring the Columbia Valley, the Kanata Inns Invermere offers a selection of family suites for families – some even have bunk beds! After a day of enjoying the best activities in Invermere for kids, you’ll love soaking in the hot tub.
- Headwaters at Eagle Ranch Resort: Boasting excellent mountain and Columbia River views, the Headwaters at Eagle Ranch Resort is an ideal Invermere hotel for large families. The Superior Chalets are beautiful 4-bedroom cabins with a full kitchen, a large outdoor patio complete with an outdoor fireplace and BBQ. Kids will love the pool table and selection of games in the downstairs recreation rooms!
Family-Friendly Hotels in Radium Hot Springs:
- Bighorn Meadows Resort: Located on the beautiful Springs Golf Course, the Bighorn Meadows Resort offers families a seasonal heated outdoor pool and hot tub. Treat yourself to a room for every member of the family in the 1, 2 or 3-bedroom suites with full kitchen facilities.
Family-Friendly Hotels in Fairmont Hot Springs:
- Fairmont Mountain Bungalows: If you’d like to rent a cabin near Invermere, look no further than the Fairmont Mountain Bungalows. Your kids will love the fun playground and the heated outdoor pool, while you’ll love the 1, 2 or 3 bedroom cottages with fully equipped kitchens.
- Mountain View Suites at Fairmont Hot Springs: If your kids love to get wet, they will love the huge waterslide and water park at the Mountain View Suites at Fairmont Hot Springs. For accommodations, you can choose between 1 – 2 bedroom apartments with fireplaces and fully equipped kitchens.
- Fairmont Hot Springs Resort: Located right next door to the Fairmont Hot Springs pools, the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort is a great choice for a family-friendly hotel near Invermere. There’s a wide variety of family-friendly rooms to choose from, but it’s the fun amenities which will make your stay most special. Included in your daily resort experience fee is unlimited access to the resort’s hot pools (including a private hot pool just for guests), hot and cold plunge pools, gentle yoga, mini golf, kayak river float tours and much more!
If you’d like to see the full list of kid-friendly hotels in Invermere, hop on over to Booking.com to see their Top Picks for Families. When we stay at a hotel with kids, we love using Booking.com as we trust their kid-friendly hotel search results.
Vacation Rental Homes in Invermere
When we travel with kids, we typically look at our Airbnb and VRBO options first. As a family, we find that everyone sleeps better when they have their own bedrooms, and well rested kids are better travelers!
Related: 7 Tips to Find the Best Airbnb with Kids
We also don’t enjoy eating out at restaurants three times a day with our kids, so we are grateful for having a full kitchen. A big benefit of renting a Invermere vacation rental is that you can pack less clothes and simply do laundry throughout your stay.
Camping with Kids in Invermere
As you’d expect in a wild mountain wilderness environment, there are plenty of kid-friendly Invermere campgrounds to choose from.
Kootenay National Park Camping
Just 18 minutes north of Invermere, the very popular Parks Canada Redstreak Campground is located just outside Radium Hot Springs. The Redstreak Campground is quite large with over 230 sites with services ranging from unserviced sites, to electricity only sites to 3-way sites with electricity, water and sewer.
For a fun Invermere camping experience, try renting one of the 10 oTENTik sites available at the Redstreak Campground. oTENTIk’s are permanent tents with heating, electricity, a table and enough beds for 5 people.6.
The Redstreak Campground is one of the most sought after campgrounds near Invermere, so reserve your campground spot as early as possible.
BC Provincial Parks Camping near Invermere, BC
There is only one campground near Invermere within a BC Provincial Park:
Dry Gulch Park Campground: Located halfway between Radium Hot Springs and Invermere, the Dry Gulch campground is reasonably small with only 27 campsites, split between RV sites and tenting sites. Given the modest size of this provincial park campground near Invermere, reservations are recommended (first-come, first-served).
Despite being provincial parks near Invermere, there are no camping facilities at James Chabot Provincial Park or Columbia Lake Provincial Park.
Other Campgrounds Near Invermere
In addition to the Invermere campgrounds in Kootenay National Park and the nearby BC provincial parks, there are many additional family-friendly campgrounds near Revelstoke:
Raven’s Nest Resort & Campground: Located on the Akisqnuk First Nation overlooking the Columbia Valley Wetlands Nature Reserve, the Raven’s Nest campground is one of the newest campgrounds near Invermere. Campers can choose from 25 campsites or 8 log cabins.
Canyon RV Resort & Campground: Located on the banks of Sinclair Creek in a valley near Radium Hot Springs, the Canyon RV campground is only 15 minutes away from Invermere. The Canyon RV Resort features plenty of big trees, fully serviced washrooms and a playground for the kids.
Spruce Grove RV & Campground: This is where we stayed during our trip to Invermere with kids. We chose to stay here due to its proximity to the Fairmont Hot Springs. The campground was nice enough, but we were very unimpressed with their very lax approach to bear safety. Thanks to their lack of enforcement of bear safety rules (many campers leaving food out overnight), a food conditioned black bear was frequenting the campsite and was in the process of being captured & relocated.
The 8 Best Things to do in Invermere with Kids
Our family was drawn to Invermere, BC for its beautiful lakes and mountain scenery. In addition to the natural beauty of the Columbia Valley, there are tons of fun things to do in Invermere with kids including lots of kid-friendly hiking, easy mountain biking trails, canoeing and Lake Windermere beaches.
With so many great things to do with kids in Invermere, it’s a great place for your family holiday!
1. Lilian Lake Mountain Bike Trails
Lilian Lake is a very popular lake near Invermere on the road to the Panorama Mountain Resort. During the summer, families flock to Lilian Lake to have a picnic in an idyllic mountain lake setting.
But there’s much more to Lilian Lake than swimming and picnics, it’s home to some of the best easy mountain biking trails in Invermere. The Lilian Lake mountain biking area is very a popular Invermere mountain biking area and has trails for all skill levels.
Popular Invermere mountain biking trails for kids and beginners at Lilian Lake include Junior Johnson, a double-wide, well-groomed 3.2 km mountain bike trail through a beautiful forest.
A slightly harder kid-friendly mountain bike trail at Lilian Lake is Arch Potential. A single track mountain biking trail, Arch Potential has a few more challenging elements than Junior Johnson, including a fun stretch through a tight valley where riders go up and down the valley walls.
Junior Johnson mountain bike trail map
Arch Potential mountain bike trail map
2. Deja View Kid-Friendly Mountain Biking Trail
Deja View is one of the best kid-friendly mountain bike trails near Invermere. Located halfway between Invermere and Radium Hot Springs, the Deja View Trail is a fun mountain bike trail for the whole family.
After a short ride from the Old Coach Trail parking lot, Deja View trail reaches the edge of a hill overlooking the Columbia River wetlands. From here, the kid-friendly Deja View mountain bike trail follows the top of the hill from a safe distance, affording riders some outstanding views, while having a ton of fun on the trail. The Deja View trail is quite flat with lots of fun turns, although there may be a few short, steep hills which little kids may choose to walk.
Smaller kids may not notice, but the hilltop location of the Deja View mountain biking trail makes for an incredibly scenic mountain bike ride. Even if your kids don’t notice the Columbia Valley scenery, they’ll be having so much fun that they’ll barely notice how far they’ve gone.
You can ride as far as you want along the Deja View trail before turning back, but you can ride as far as 6.5km one-way before the trail starts to get noticeably harder.
Deja View mountain bike trail map
3. Canoe the Columbia River from Invermere to Radium
Another fun thing to do in Invermere with kids is to rent a canoe for a fun family outing on the Columbia River.
Columbia River Paddle makes it super easy for families to canoe from Invermere to Radium Hot Springs. You simply show up at their location in Invermere where Lake Windermere flows into the Columbia River, gear up and hop in the canoe.
The good folks at Columbia River Paddle will pick you up with a shuttle bus at a prearranged location Radium Hot Springs. From there, they load you and your canoe on their shuttle bus back to where you started in Invermere. How easy is that?!?
You’ll have 4-5 hours to enjoy a leisurely family canoe trip from Invermere to Radium. Columbia River Paddle offers offer tandem canoe rentals with seating for up to 4 people, making it ideal for families.
While canoeing to Radium, you’ll pass a beaver dam, the beautiful & tranquil Columbia River wetlands with abundant bird species. We were lucky enough to see several bald eagles, including one who was actively swooping over the water trying to catch a fish for dinner.
There’s plenty of spots along the gentle Columbia River where you can go ashore to enjoy a break or have a little picnic. Our kids had a great time on a sandbar at the confluence of the Columbia River and another smaller river. It was a bit muddy, but that simply increased the fun for the kids – they loved playing in the mud and then washing up in the in the shallow river water.
If you are looking for an Invermere canoe rental for your family, we recommend you try this fun and easy canoe trip from Invermere to Radium Hot Springs!
4. Fairmont Hot Springs
One of the most fun things to do with kids in Invermere is to enjoy one of the many hot springs in the area. Families staying in Invermere with kids can choose between the Radium Hot Springs (15 minutes to the north) or the Fairmont Hot Springs (20 minutes to the south).
Given we were camping near Fairmont Hot Springs, we chose to take the kids for a soak there. The Fairmont Hot Springs are Canada’s largest natural hot springs. They have three pools for guests to enjoy – a medium sized pool with the hottest spring water, a small deep pool with a diving board, while the largest pool has a nice warm water to enjoy.
The water in the hottest pool at the Fairmont Hot Springs is so hot (39°C/102°F) that most guests will need a break after 20 minutes or so. Thankfully, the warm pool at the Fairmont Hot Springs is warm enough (32°C/89°F) that you’ll love soaking in it for extended periods. Most guests alternate between the two pools throughout their visit.
The warm pool and the hot pool at the Fairmont Hot Springs have large areas which are shallow enough for small kids to walk on their own, although many parents (including us) opted to have their kids in life jackets for an additional layer of safety. It’s pretty easy to zen out in the Fairmont Hot Springs and lose track of your kid for a moment or two, so life jackets are a smart idea.
Most kids spend their time playing in the warm pool at the Fairmont Hot Springs as the hot pool tends to be too hot for them to enjoy for long.
With a hot pool and a cool pool, the Radium Hot Springs has a similar offering to the Fairmont Hot Springs. The hot pool at the Radium Hot Springs is kept between 37-40°C (98-104°F) while the cooler pool ranges between 27-29°C.
Regardless of whether you choose to visit the Fairmont Hot Springs or the Radium Hot Springs, you’ll find that a visit to either is a fun thing to do in Invermere with kids!
5. Kid-Friendly Hiking in Fairmont Hot Springs
If you have any time left in the day after your family soak at the Fairmont Hot Springs, why not enjoy one of the many kid-friendly hikes on the resort property.
The Fairmont Hot Springs resort has many popular kid-friendly hikes including the 4km Montezuma’s Revenge and Owl Loop hike. The trailhead for the Montezuma’s Revenge and Owl Loop hike is near the shores of Fairmont Creek, in-between the Fairmont Hot Springs complex and the Fairmont RV Resort.
The first 1km is a moderate uphill climb, but then the trail is either flat or downhill for the duration of the kid-friendly hike. There is no real payoff (like a waterfall or a viewpoint) along the Montezuma’s Revenge and Owl Loop, but you will be treated to a walk through a magical, lush forest. The tree trunks are covered with a thick layer of lichen, while huge amounts of old man lichen dangle from the branches.
Kids love walking through fun forest trails like this one. It’s easy enough to keep them from grumbling and filled with all sorts of discoveries and adventures. If you are looking for a short activity near Invermere with kids, the Montezuma’s Revenge and Owl Loop hike is a great option.
Montezuma’s Revenge and Owl Loops trail map
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6. Cycling the Legacy Trail
Another excellent thing to do around Invermere with kids is to bike the Legacy Trail. Newly built in 2020, the 25km Markin MacPhail Westside Legacy Trail is a paved bike trail which stretches from the Fairmont Hot Springs all the way to Invermere.
The Legacy Trail is a popular family activity which leads cyclists through beautiful forests and past charming little ponds. There are many spots which are fun to stop with kids, including an interesting interpretive station near a pond, which teaches kids all about the wildlife that calls the pond home.
In a mountain environment such as the Columbia Valley, it’s amazing the Legacy Trail is as flat as it is. That said, there are a few hills along the Legacy Trail which may be difficult for little kids, but the majority of the trail is surprisingly flat given its location within the mountains.
The full length of the Legacy Trail may be too long for some younger bikers, but you can easily turn back at any point. We were cycling the Legacy Trail with another family, so the moms and the kids kept cycling towards Invermere, while the dads turned back to get the cars and drive them to the Invermere Legacy Trail trailhead.
Markin-MacPhail Westside Legacy Trail map
7. Kinsmen Beach
What better way to reward kids for a great effort cycling the Legacy Trail than a fun afternoon at an Invermere beach. The Kinsmen Beach is a very popular family beach in Invermere, not far from the end of the Markin MacPhail Westside Legacy Trail.
Visiting Kinsmen Beach is a very popular thing to do in Invermere with kids. This central Invermere beach will be packed on any warm day in summer, even midweek.
Kinsmen Beach has two docks near the beach, each with a slide into the water. The water at the dock is only waist deep on an adult, but it’s far enough from shore that it’ll be an exciting, confidence building adventure for kids.
In addition to the beach, Kinsmen Beach has a large playground, a splash park, equipment rentals (SUP’s, etc.) and a confession stand selling fun family treats.
8. Mini Golf
As with most family-friendly tourist destinations, there’s a wide variety of mini-golf courses for families to choose from. We usually take a pass on kitschy tourist attractions, but our kids begged us to go every time we passed the mini golf course and go-karts at Ozzie’s Amusements, so we gave it a go and we’re glad we did!
Our kids loved this Invermere mini-golf course, especially the holes with moving parts like the water mill hole.
We hope you love visiting Invermere with kids as much as we did!
MORE BRITISH COLUMBIA WITH KIDS
Dan Brewer is an intrepid family travel blogger with a passion for exploring the world's most captivating destinations. With 58 countries under his belt and a sense of wanderlust that knows no bounds, he has made it his life's mission to share his travel experiences and insights with fellow families who love to travel.
When Dan isn't traveling with his wife and kids, he's either out enjoying the Canadian Rockies he calls home or working on one of his three travel sites (Family Can Travel, Travel Banff Canada and Ultimate Sports Road Trip).