Once hailed as the “Capital City of the Silvery Slocan,” Sandon drew thousands upon thousands of miners, merchants, gamblers and madames from all around the world. Today, Sandon is known as a truly unique and unspoiled ghost town that draws thousands upon thousands of visitors from all points of the globe. Where once hundreds of homes and businesses thrived, today tall forests surround the ghostly remnants of the once-booming city.
The best place to begin your tour of this fantastic ghost town is at the Sandon Museum and Visitor’s Centre, located in the old Slocan Mercantile Block. A brick building constructed following the catastrophic fire that levelled half the city in 1900, it was originally a general store. After extensive and ongoing restoration work, today it houses one of the finest museums in the entire Kootenay region. With exhaustively researched interpretive displays, many unique and intriguing artifacts, and a truly stunning collection of historical photographs, the Sandon Museum is not to be missed. An excellent selection of local history books and souvenirs are also available at the museum’s retail counter. You can even take home an authentic piece of Sandon’s history with the purchase of one of the antique local bottles that are on sale there. Visit the Sandon Museum website
The Silversmith Powerhouse, just up the hill from the museum, houses the oldest continually-operating hydro-electric generating system in Western Canada. Once only one of eight powerhouses operating in the Sandon area, this plant was built in 1916 to supply electricity and compressed air to the Silversmith Mine, high on the hillside above. Today it still houses a working 1905 Westinghouse generator and Pelton-Doble water turbine, as well as such static displays as a huge 1919 Fairbanks Morse diesel engine and an enormous 1916 Ingersoll-Rand air compressor. A must-see for heritage machinery buffs and novices alike! Visit the Silversmith Powerhouse website
A short walk over the small footbridge over Carpenter Creek brings you to the “Upper Gulch” area of Sandon. Once crowded with hotels, businesses and houses, the Upper Gulch today holds several private residences, as well as the old Sandon Laundry, the Tin Cup Cafe, the last original fire hydrant in town, and the last remaining original Sandon fire shack. A reconstruction of the old K&S Railway station stands here, beside the spot where the historic narrow-gauge line once entered the city. Although the rails and ties are long-gone, today the K&S Trail provides a delightful 5-km (3 mile) hike along a level grade out to Payne Bluff, where the famous line rounded the cliffs almost 1,000 feet above the level of the valley floor.
Walking along the north side of Carpenter Creek, where Reco Avenue once teemed with traffic, you can see the collapsed remains of old hotels and other businesses that stood there. Across the creek, you can still see the remains of the famous Sandon Main Street flume that once contained both Sandon and Carpenter Creeks, with the large wooden Main Street built on top of it! Today, the wreckage of the old flume is all that remains to show the destruction that was wreaked when the flume plugged and caused a devastating wash-out in 1955.
At the lower end of Reco Avenue is the infamous “Red Light District,” where once 85 bordellos did a thriving business. Today a handful of dilapidated shacks still stand, along with the beautifully-restored “Molly Brown’s Brothel.” At one time part of the largest red-light district in Western Canada, this French Provincial structure was one of the most elegant brothel in town. Although it is a private summer cottage today, you are still encouraged to visit and take pictures of this or any of the other “houses of sin” in Lower Sandon.
Just downstream from the brothels is the Sandon millyard where a huge concentrator mill complex stands. Although the site is not open to the public, it can easily be viewed from the road. Constructed in 1952, this is the third concentrator mill located on this spot. Although not currently a working mill, it is in operational condition, should the prices for silver ore improve in the future. It is presently owned by Klondike Gold, Inc. of Vancouver.
On the other side of Carpenter Creek again, you will find a static CPR steam train display on the old CPR siding. This 1908 steam locomotive, coal tender and vintage rolling stock is a splendid example of one of the two rail lines which once served the city. Across the street from the locomotive is the old Sandon City Hall. Built following the 1900 fire, it served as city hall, courthouse, jail and fire hall until 1920, when the city went bankrupt. From 1925 to 1954, it served as the second Sandon schoolhouse before it was abandoned. On ongoing restoration project, today it houses a small gift shop during the summer months.
As well, Sandon provides easy access to fabulous Idaho Peak, one of the tallest and most accessible mountains in the entire area. Driving up behind the museum, you will see a sign directing you to the Idaho Peak access road. After a 12-km (8 mile) drive past magnificent lakes, lush valleys and old minesites, you will reach the parking lot, located in a beautiful alpine meadow filled with wildflowers. Visitors are reminded not to pick any of the flowers, but make sure you take your camera, as it is a sight you’ll want to keep forever! From there, it is a short 2-km (1.25 mile) hike up the ridge to the peak itself. At 2,244 m. (7,479 feet), there is a breathtaking panoramic view of Slocan Lake, the Selkirk and Valhalla mountain ranges, New Denver Glacier, and the villages of New Denver, Silverton and Rosebery.