Lake Windermere is a local tourist attraction year-round. During the summer, sandy beaches offer swimming, kayaking and lounging in the sun are the norm. During winter, once the lake is frozen, ice skating, cross country skiing, hockey games, ice ring or just building a snowman it what's happening. Inside the skating trail, at the end of January, one of Canada's largest outdoor curling bonspiels has taken place for about 35 years.
The Whiteway, the World's Longest Ice Skating Trail at over 30 kilomeres in length, was awarded the
Guinness World Record in 2014. Each year, The Whiteway is carved out and maintained by the
Toby Creek Nordic Ski Club.
The ski club also incorporated cross-country ski trails into the plan, yielding probably as much ski trail as skating trail on the lake.
The District of Invermere had this to say about the Lake Windermere Whiteway:
What is the Lake Windermere Whiteway?
A unique project of a partnership between the Columbia River Greenways Alliance (CRGA) and the Toby Creek Nordic Ski Club, the Lake Windermere Whiteway is a 30+ km groomed track that links Invermere and Windermere together on the ice.
The track forms 4 loops of varying lengths, that lazily meander around the lake, allowing users to choose a loop or two, or even all of them, depending upon how far they wish to travel.
Everybody gets to have fun!
There are well-groomed tracks for classic cross-country skiing and skate skiing, plus a cleared track for ice skating, offering family recreation adventures for all ages and abilities right in the heart of the two communities, while, at the same time, having a negligible carbon impact on the environment.
Skiers, skaters, snowshoers, fat bicyclers, runners, or walkers with infant strollers and sleds enjoy getting out on the ice for fun and exercise. Even dogs are welcome off the leash as long as owners clean up after them. And because motorized vehicles are not permitted on the Lake Windermere Whiteway, the atmosphere is peaceful, making for a pleasant experience for all.
Those using the facility are asked to purchase a membership to the club or pay an individual day-use fee of $5, which goes toward promotion and maintenance of the trails. A membership application may be completed online at http://tobycreeknordic.ca/join-club and dropped into one of the donation boxes. Memberships include group insurance coverage through Cross Country BC while the Lake Windermere Whiteway is being used.
Read more at Invermere Dot Com