Fairmont Hot Springs, a resort community located between Columbia Lake and Lake Windermere, offers breathtaking scenery with the Rockies serving as its backyard.

Fairmont Hot Springs are located in the Columbia Valley which is located along the narrow Columbia River, where the Region's two largest natural lakes, COLUMBIA and WINDERMERE, are located. Mountains rise steeply on either side of this valley, restricting development to a narrow band along its length. The gradient of the Columbia River along this valley is gentle, resulting in creation of extensive marsh lands, intermingling channels, and shallow lakes which forms an important habitat for migratory waterfowl and wintering areas for big game species. Also located in this Sub-Region is the Upper Kootenay River Valley, draining the Rocky Mountains to the east. Because of its altitude, steep slope, and narrow width, this valley has not been settled.

Some 50 million years ago, the geologist tell us, the ancient rocks of what is now North America lay quiet and placid. Then through some mysterious geological process, the rocks began to lift and heave.

Over the next 20 million years, it is conjectured, they continued their slow process and restless motion until the range of mountains that we know as the The process that raised the mountains left deep faults in the rock. Water collected high in the mountains, enters the rocks through these faults and ran deep into the mountains.

After long travel, it bubbled back to the surface. Warmed by the heat of the rocks. it emerged much hotter that it had entered. to form hot springs at the rock surface. Every year the process was repeated as snow high in the mountains melted and the water disappeared into the fissures in the rocks. One of the places where it bubbled back to the surface was in south eastern British Columbia, a place now called Fairmont Hot Springs.

Fairmont Hot Springs is located at the base of the spectacular Rocky Mountains, with the Purcell Mountains across the Columbia Valley to the west. Columbia Lake to the south, the headwaters of the mighty Columbia River, stretches in the distance to the town of Canal Flats where the infant Columbia and the powerful Kootenay River flow in opposite directions, only a mile apart.

This fact prompted ambitious men in the 1880s to try to build a canal between the two; is was never a successful route for steamboat travel, and steamboats too large for the locks had damaged them beyond repair five years after it was completed. The Columbia River meanders through Fairmont Hot Springs into Windermere Lake. near Fairmont stand weirdly-shaped hoodoos, impressive pillars of sand and silt.

The geological explanation for these hoodoos talks about differential rates of erosion in semi-arid regions. However, the legendary explanation for this geological phenomenon is much more picturesque. Indian legend says that back in the midst of time, an enormous fish tried to make its way along the Rocky Mountain Trench. It was a difficult journey. Finally the fish gave up, and died at Canal Flats. As its flesh decomposed, its ribs fell apart. One half became the hoodoos of Fairmont, the other half became the hoodoos further south near Fort Steele.

The recorded history of Fairmont Hot Springs begins in the 1800s when first explorers discovered the land of the smoking waters, and the curative powers of these warm sweet-smelling waters without the odiferous sulfur that permeates the waters of many hot springs. The first homesteader in the Fairmont Hot Springs area was George Geary, described only as an Englishman. Geary came to the area in 1887 and homesteaded a vast tract of land that included the hot springs. However, he soon tired of the night life (lack thereof) at Fairmont, and in 1888, he turned his holdings over to Sam Brewer, who came to Canada from the United States. Geary's home still stands at the south end of the Mountainside Golf Course. Sam Brewer operated a stopping place for stage coached running through the valley. His house stands at the entrance to the Resort and today is the family home of one of Lloyd Wilder's sons.

The name Fairmont Hot Springs was given to the area by Mrs. John Galbraith, wife of a ferry operator a Galbraith's Landing near Fort Steele. Fort Steele, north of Cranbrook, was once a North West Mounted Police fort. It has now been reconstructed and restored, and is well worth a visit. In the early 1900s, W.Heap Holland, a manufacturer from Manchester, England came to the area. Intrigued by the flowing hot waters, he purchased the property from Sam Brewer and operated it as ranch and resort. On his death, his son took over as absentee owner with a manager in residence. In 1957, Earl and Lloyd Wilder, who came from Saskatchewan, purchased the property with a group of Invermere businessmen. At that time, the Resort consisted of a few tent cabins which surrounded one small pool and some "very cold" outdoor change rooms. Shortly after hits, the Wilder brothers bought out the other partners, and began development of the Resort property. In 1965, Lloyd purchased Earl's share to become the sole owner. He immediately began the major expansion which resulted in the transformation to the internationally recognized destination Resort you see today.

This transformation has taken over 40 years, and has been archived with the loyalty and dedication of a very committed group of employees. Lloyd Wilder was considered a visionary, and while he would not have thought of himself as a salesman, he did an outstanding job of "selling his dream" to the many people who have helped Fairmont become a recreational paradise. Lloyd Wilder was a very committed family man, and the Resort's focus on the hot pools, family activities and recreational opportunities, reflects these values. The golf courses and airport were built to attract conference business in the Spring and Fall seasons, and the ski hill was added to enable the Resort to stay open year round, thus providing full-time employment for our employees.

More that 750 homesites have been developed at Fairmont to meet the demand for retirement and vacation homes, and more recently, for full-time residential homes as families seek the peace, safety and quality of life which Fairmont environment offers.

Future development will be done with out on-going commitment to preserve with great care the natural beauty and unique environment of the area.

Fairmont is also internationally recognized for its Vacation Interval Ownership programs and now welcomes over 12,000 families annually, who have committed to a lifetime of vacationing at Fairmont. Fairmont has come a long way during the past 40 years, and continues to look to the future with optimism and enthusiasm.