Rockies Exploring with Golden Views and Epic Brews
As summer turns to fall in the Kootenays, autumn’s golden larches will entice you to paddle calm waters against the backdrop of golden views, hike trails hugged in amber warmth, drive along windy roads through the caramel-kissed countryside, and sip seasonally-inspired brews.
Fill Your Passport to Win!
How do you participate?
- Visit any of the participating businesses listed below from September 16 – October 16 and ask for a stamp with purchase.
- Once you have collected unique stamps from six different locations, hand in the passport at a local Visitor Information Centre (800C Baker St in Cranbrook or 270 Kimberley Ave in Kimberley) to receive a custom enamel mug. You will also get entered in the draw for a chance to win the Grand Prize package. Tip: the Visitor Info Centre counts as your 6th stamp!
The random prize draw will take place following the contest period once all of the completed passports have been collected.
Multiple entries encouraged!
Great Prizes to be Won!
The Grand Prize is a 2-night stay at the Prestige Rocky Mountain Resort, including a Picnic at the Peak helicopter adventure with a local provider and The Heid Out & Fisher Peak Brewing.
Picnic At The Peak: The ultimate tour! Offering up to 2 hours at a secluded location in the southern rockies including a picnic of exceptional cuisine provided by the Heid Out Restaurant. The flight includes breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountains, majestic ridges, alpine meadows and a flyby of an alpine lake culminating with a flight over Ft. Steele prior to returning to the base.
The Grand Prize package also includes:
- $100 to spend at a BC Ale Trail brewery
- BC Ale Trail swag pack valued at $200
Several other prize packages featuring merchandise or gift cards from the participating businesses will also be awarded.
Check out the Kootenay Rockies East Ale Trail
There are three breweries location in the Kootenay towns of Cranbrook and Kimberley, as well as several other great restaurants, tap houses, liquor stores, and even a craft distillery. Check out Days 3 and 4 on the Kootenay Rockies East Ale Trail for more information about the breweries and related activities.
Cranbrook is home to Fisher Peak Brewing at the Heid Out Restaurant. Heidi’s Restaurant was already a popular Cranbrook establishment for years. When the owners chose to renovate and update the restaurant in 2013, they added a brewery. The result is a welcoming and comfortable restaurant that has a kitchen focused on seasonally produced local ingredients and serves delicious, fresh and award-winning craft beer.
Kimberley, BC, was recently named BC’s best small town by the CBC as voted on by audience members. It is a charming mountain town with a Bavarian theme, including a car-free downtown square, the Platzl, where you can put a coin in the world’s largest cuckoo clock and then witness the emergence of Happy Hans, a yodelling, mustachioed man clad in lederhosen, hoisting a beer stein. Pros’t!
You can sample craft beer flights at Grist & Mash Brewery, which was founded by a couple who relocated to British Columbia from Oregon in 2019. They honed their brewing approach at Freehand Brewery in Eugene, Oregon, which focused solely on barrel-aged sours and specialty ales.
Also in Kimberley is Over Time Beer Works, which was founded by an entrepreneur who grew up in the area, moved away and then returned to Kimberley in his 30s because he felt that “No self-respecting mountain town should be without a brewery.” Over Time took advantage of “time off” during the pandemic to add a comfortable patio beside the brewery, complete with a bocce pit. It even has heaters for the cooler months.
Where can you pick up a Passport?
The Cranbrook and Kimberley Tasting Passport is available for free at any of the participating businesses, as well as the local tourism Visitor Information Centres:
Cranbrook
The Blind Pig
21 Cranbrook St N
Ella’s
1019 Cranbrook St N
Fenwick & Baker Public House
1017 Baker St
Fire and Oak
209 Van Horne St S
Firehall Kitchen and Tap
37 11 Ave S
The Heid Out & Fisher Peak Brewing
821 Baker St
Hot Shots Café
1924 8 St N
St Eugene Resort
7777 Mission Road
Visitor Information Centre
800C Baker St
Kimberley
Biscuit: A Place To Sup
180 Spokane St
Bohemian Spirits
215 Mark St
Grist & Mash Brewery
345 Wallinger Ave
Overtime Beer Works
136A Wallinger Ave
The Hourglass
130 Spokane St
Visitor Information Centre
270 Kimberley Ave
