Invermere is a community in eastern

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

, 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 ...

between Golden 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 anc ...

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, maki ...

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 (rathe ...

, and south of Golden 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 on ...

. Invermere is also north of Fairmont Hot Springs, north of Canal Flats, north of Fort Steele, north of

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

, and north of the hub of Cranbrook and the Crowsnest Highway. 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, 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 Ve ...

, 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 The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, 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 an ...

(2,380 persons or 62.7%) *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

(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 ...

(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 po ...

(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 play in Invermere. Former New York Islanders and University of Denver goaltender Wade Dubielewicz was born in Invermere. ;Skiing * Panorama Mountain Village lies about 30 minutes west. * Fairmont Hot Springs Resort ski area lies 25 minutes south. * Kimberley Alpine Resort is about 1 hour south in

. * Kicking Horse Mountain Resort is about 1.5 hours north of Invermere in Golden, 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 ...

. *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 compet ...

. *Greywolf Golf Course is located in Panorama Mountain Village is about west of Invermere, along the Toby Creek canyon. *The Resort Course and Springs Course at Radium Resort, Radium Hot Springs 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 and

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched Glider (aircraft), glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a :wikt:harness, harness o ...

. 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 Radium Hot Springs; the latter is located inside

. Less developed 'wilderness' hot springs can be found in the southern Columbia Valley, in Whiteswan Lake Provincial Park. Lussier Hot Springs 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 Invermere is a community in eastern British Columbia, Canada, near the border of Alberta. It is the hub of the Columbia Valley between Golden to the north and Cranbrook to the south. Invermere sits on the northwest shore of Windermere Lake and ...

'' (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

* Wade Dubielewicz –

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

player and coach *

Christine Keshen Christine Keshen (born February 6, 1978) is a Canadian curler from Invermere, British Columbia. She played lead for Team Canada, skipped by Shannon Kleibrink at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Keshen joined the team in 2005, and helped them win the C ...

– Curler * Patrick Morrow –

Photographer A photographer (the 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 photographers As in other ...

* Benjamin Thomsen – 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