Thoughts on Cranbrook

In order to be careful what you wish for I was wondering what peoples experience of Cranbrook and the surrounding area were, we spent a week in Fernie 10 years ago and hung out at the airport for a couple of hours one day and probably went to the grocery store. How does it fit in on the spectrum of small town BC. Cheers

Seems like a pretty busy small-town what with the aeroport and the railyard and the bars and whatnot.

they used to brew the Kokenee in Cranbrook

Cranbrook is ABV

Anywhere But Vancouver

they used to brew the Kokenee in Cranbrook

Cranbrook is ABV

Anywhere But Vancouver

Maybe you are thinking of Creston, about an hour down the Crowsnest? Last time I was in Cranbrook, it was full of shiny trucks and new buildings … a lot of people were flying back and forth to work in the AB oilfields. I suspect that's probably gone away somewhat.

Probably better known across the country as Dinktown. And, probably to some degree deserved. We no longer brew Kokenee here, but there is a fantastic brew pub/restaurant downtown. As mentioned above, we certainly have an airport, a rail yard and a few bars. The airport seems to function much like an airport. The trains block traffic as they are supposed to and the bars… well, not entirely sure about those.
I run the local bike store here in Cranbrook. As is probably obvious, I'm not a huge poster on there forum and will likely not become one in the future, but this thread popped up and it seemed like something I might be able to help with. Cranbrook, much like any other small town has its ups and downs. Since we're on a MTB website, I suspect that part of your inquiry might revolve around that part of the city. Being right in the middle between Fernie and Invermere (panorama) when accessed from Calgary, we certainly don't get the tourist traffic that either of those places get. And if you're coming from the west, it's quite likely that you're spending time in Rossland and Nelson.
The riding here is fantastic. It's cross country for sure with gnarly stuff mixed in all over. We've got some DH (shuttle) terrain, but it's quite good on a trail bike or really, what ever bike you have. We have several large riding areas spread out around the city. I might estimate our trail network at 200km or more.
The Cranbrook cycling community is quite well organized and active. Most of the riders are skiers or boarders in the winter, but there's a massive winter biking population as well that grooms close to 20 km of trails in the snowy months. Most people here work for a living just like anywhere else and we mostly live in houses. Most of us enjoy beer, but I suspect there's very little truth in Kokenee being the beer out here. I'm sure that any negative opinions of the city are somewhat well founded, but certainly don't apply to the entire population. Not too many small-ish cities who could 'cast the first stone' so to speak.
The main drag looks like a truck stop and that's OK with us. If you want to meet the characters who make this city a great place, get off the highway and have a look around, we'd love to have you in for a ride. Not sure if that helps at all, and there's a good chance I won't be back for a while to find out. If you're around, drop in and we'll go for a ride.

.Most of us enjoy beer, but I suspect there's very little truth in Kokenee being the beer out here.

I'm so old I remember the big Kokankee sticker on the road sign just this side of the Blueberry Paulson bridge and besides there was no craft beer back then

the good news … there is life ABV out there or out here or WTF

I grew up in Cranbrook and still have lots of friends/family there so spend a lot of time in the area…

I would say compared to other Kootenay towns it definitely has more of a redneck vibe than a hippie one (i.e. Nelson etc), but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm always pleasantly surprised when I can go for a 2 hour ride there and only see maybe 1-2 other people. The terrain is definitely way more XC oriented, especially compared to the Shore/Squamish/etc, but it seems like there are lots of people building new lines out there all the time as of late and have ridden some fairly fun newish trails in the area. If the local riding isn't quite enough to get you stoked though, like Favorit mentioned, Fernie is only an hour down the road. Some of the terrain around there is very old school Shore-ish - big cedars, lots of loam and roots, steeps etc. And they have the bike park at the ski hill.

Kimberley is also about half an hour away, decent riding there too and not a bad little ski hill either on the good snow days. They are revitalizing the town there too (since the mine closed) and there are some decent pubs/restaurants there.

If you're into anything else outdoors, camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, Cranbrook Is definitely not a bad place to be. Being the hub of the area too there are most of the amenities, but don't expect spectacular dining or shopping like in the city haha. It's 4 hours to Calgary though so if you like to go to shows or concerts it's not too far out of the way.

And as far back as I can remember Kokanee was brewed in Creston…

we mostly live in houses. .

What? No trailercourts?! :lol:

Stellar detailed reports from both locals thanks!
For me as a Rossland kid Cranbrook was a pit stop on the way to Calgary…it had Arby's the with horsey sauce for crying out loud!

My step dad is looking to escape the lower mainland madness real estate blah blah and he has fond memory's visiting there for some reason 😋.

How is that front looking? Real estate, economy….careful what you post up, you may get a flood of middle class west coasters lol!

Stellar detailed reports from both locals thanks! …How is that front looking? Real estate, economy….careful what you post up, you may get a flood of middle class west coasters lol!

Shit rumbled. Anyway talked about it at dinner it's time to do up the resume and through your hat in the ring…

Thanks for the feedback matches my brief memories

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Shit rumbled. Anyway talked about it at dinner it's time to do up the resume and through your hat in the ring…

Thanks for the feedback matches my brief memories

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Lol…
Nothing to loose. 😁

Best thing about Cranbrook is that it's close to Wallace, Idaho.

Best thing about Cranbrook is that it's close to Wallace, Idaho.

What's in Wallace?

The Cranbrook area is great, but it's best if you consider Kimberly for almost every reason imaginable if it's available to you. Outdoors, biking/skiing, less-rednecky.

Otherwise, look further afield if you're able. Fernie is stellar, for both ppl and the outdoors. Elko is cheap and could be thought of as 'cottage country'. If you go north, fairmont-invermere, lake and boating country w/ shittonnes of calgarians. For better and worse. Want a lonely ranch at the foot of some mountains then head to Bull River. Jaffery has a lovely par three golf course too.

All in all it's cheap w/ lots of outdoors with access to some superb skiing, biking, hiking and hot springs. Just have to deal with the yokels and what could be challenging job market depending on your skills/career.