A municipality, Invermere is governed by a mayor and council, of which at present there are four members. Municipal offices, mayor's office and council chambers are all housed in the Municipal Office. A smallish, single story, almost Art Deco building in appearance, it is the site of the only electric car charging station in Invermere that we encountered.
A town of 4,000, Invermere is the hub of the Columbia Valley Region, the largest town between Cranbrook, to the south, and Golden, to the north. A tourist and recreation mecca, the population of Invermere can grow to as much as 40,000 on summer weekends as (primarily) Albertans make the trek over the Rockies for some fun in the sun. Many second home owners from Calgary also swell the summer population.
The large influx of summertime vacationers shouldn't surprise us, as there is a lot of recreation and entertainment offered in the area. First, there is the lake, Windermere Lake, on which the town sits. All the common water activities associated with lakes and rivers are to be had here as Windermere Lake is on the Columbia River, as well. The second largest tourist draws to the area are the hot springs. They can be found to the north of Invermere at
Radium Hot Springs and at
Fairmont Hot Springs, to the south.
Invermere has several parks within its boundaries, each with recreational facilities such as fitness trails, ball fields, beaches, skate parks, playgrounds, tennis, pickle ball, hiking and biking trails, mountain and rock climbing and whatever else one may imagine. Within a 20 minute drive are eight golf courses. There is also a soaring club, the
Canadian Rockies Soaring Club at the Invermere Airport.
All this is not to say that Invermere curls up and hibernates in the winter. It seems that it has nearly as much to offer in the way of winter sports. Foremost are
Panorama Mountain Village, 30 minutes to the west and
Fairmont Hot Springs Resort ski area, 25 minutes to the south. Many other ski hills can be found within an hour's drive or so. Right in Invermere are two "
Largest" winter facilities, the
World's Longest Ice Skating Trail and one of Canada's largest outdoor curling bonspiels,
Bonspiel on the Lake, held each year on the frozen Windermere Lake. And, of course, the town has the obligatory curling rink and skating/hockey arena, both beehives of activity through the winter.