This May we decided to take a week long trip to the little town of Nelson in British Columbia (Canada). It looked like the perfect place to do outdoorsy things with our 1-year-old and 3-year-old while also getting to enjoy a touristy little mountain town. We weren’t disappointed and will definitely be visiting again soon! It’s a great place to go with little kids! We decided to stay in Airbnb’s during this trip, but there were tons of fantastic looking campgrounds in the area, so that’s definitely an option if your family likes to camp. We chose to stay in two different Airbnb’s to get a better sense of the area and loved that decision. The first Airbnb was a condo on historic Baker Street located above a restaurant and the location couldn’t have been better for exploring the town. The second Airbnb was a few minutes out of town to enjoy nature a bit more.

Play at Rotary Lakeside Park

Rotary Lakeside Park is an amazing place to head with kids of any age. Located right along the lake, this sprawling park features lots of green spaces with shade, tennis courts, a really nice playground, and a huge sandy beach with a protected swim area. Plus, Nelson’s historic streetcar #23, which gives rides along the lake during the summer, stops right next to the playground. Jasper and Freya enjoyed the playground for awhile and then we headed to the beach, which is just across from the playground. It was honestly the nicest beach we visited while in Nelson with a huge swathe of sand and lovely shallow water for the kids to splash around in. Jasper was in 7th heaven playing in the sand with his construction cars and we noticed too late that there were two metal excavator toy installations on the beach for kids to play with. The one downside to to the beach area is that there is minimal shade, but if you’re desperate there were a couple of small trees on the beach.

Tip - Street park along 2nd street right by the big orange bridge that crosses the lake if you want to be as close as possible to the playground and beach

*The massive beach with roped off swim area at Rotary Lakeside Park*

*Awesome playground at Rotary Lakeside Park*

Explore Around Town

We had a lot of fun just walking around town taking in the sites. It’s not very big and very walkable for a toddler with all sorts of fun things to look at in display windows and a ton of cool murals. A couple of extra fun stops are the visitor center, which is located in a historic train depot and features two real locomotives out front that Jasper loved exploring, and the Nelson Public Library, which had a wonderful kid’s area downstairs including coloring pages and toys. The library also holds events for little ones like story time and craft sessions.

*Poster in the library their weekly programming for children*

Go Shopping

There are lots of fantastic shops in downtown Nelson with fun things for kids. I was surprised at how many kid specific stores there were! Take your toddler or go on your own to find something special for them. I got a couple of wonderful books for Jasper for his birthday and scored some of my favorite Bonds wondersuit pajamas for Freya. We also loved window shopping cool toys like Playmobil and Bruder. Some of our favorite kid centric stores we visited were:

Otter Books - Great bookstore with a huge kid’s selection from board books for babies to beautifully presented classics like Winnie the Pooh. I purchased a really cool illustrated history of transportation and a gorgeous “an animal a day” book for Jasper here.
Play it Again Kids - Classy consignment shop with such beautifully displayed items I thought they were new at first! This is where I got the Bonds wondersuit pajamas for Freya. The prices aren’t as cheap as a thrift shop, but the items are really nice and include everything from clothes to baby carriers to books and toys. A really fun browse.
Mountain Baby - They advertise themselves as the biggest little-kids store in Nelson and it is pretty expansive. If you forgot something for your trip for your little one (Sun hat? Swimwear? Hiking shoes? Sippy cup?) they’ve probably got it! Plus, they had an assortment of adorable Petit Lem clothes and some really great toys.
Secret Garden Toys - So many unique and fun toys here! This is where we drooled over Playmobil sets :) A great place to pick up something fun for your kiddo or get gifts for other kids in your life.
Snowpack Outdoor Experiences - If you’re looking for outdoor clothes for your toddler, this is the place to go! The downstairs is all Patagonia with an entire section for babies, toddlers, and kiddos featuring sample items for deep discounts. They had everything from fleece overalls to down jackets to baby Baggies shorts.
Cartolina - An amazing place to find something special for your home, gifts for others, or puzzles if your family is into that. We love puzzles so I got a vintage travel poster puzzle here. Not really a place to get toys but one of my favorite shops I went into in Nelson so couldn’t help but add it here :)

*A sample of the kid’s selection at Otter Books*

Visit Cottonwood Falls Park

This little park is on the edge of town featuring a decent sized waterfall where the creek crosses under the main road into town. I walked from our Airbnb with Jasper and we spend about 15 minutes wandering around. He enjoyed it, but overall I wouldn’t say this park was anything too special. The waterfall was cool, but it was honestly a little nerve wracking having a toddler running around since the waterfall and creek were raging with the spring runoff and there were no fences on the path up to the falls. The rest of the park consisted of a couple of paths and was very small. There’s also a tiny shaded green area near the parking lot where some folks were doing yoga. If you’re short on time, I’d skip this park.

Eat Some Treats

We visited a number of places in town for tasty treats that we all enjoyed (and let’s me honest - a number of coffee shops just for me!):

Gina’s Gelato - Super cute interior! Prices were a bit high and some of the gelato we tried was a bit icy instead of smooth, but flavors were lovely.
Big Dee’s Fancy Wiener’s and Quality Ice Cream - A very fun old school vibe complete with a disco ball and cute outdoor eating area. The ice cream was delicious and you can get fun different kinds of waffle cones. So many fun things to try here including ice cream sandwiches, various drinks, milkshakes, and build your own (including a vegetarian option!) wieners.
Kootenay Tamil Kitchen - We got some fantastic take away here. If your family enjoys Indian food it’s a delicious option with reasonable prices. The paneer tikka masala was some of the best we’ve had the pleasure of enjoying and our toddler gobbled it up. An easy walk down Baker Street if you’re staying in town.
John Ward Fine Coffee - Nice coffee shop on the main shopping section of Baker Street with ample seating and beautiful decor. Fun for people and car watching for kiddos due to the location. I had several lovely lattes here, but price is average and they don’t do any flavored coffees if that’s your thing.
Oso Negro Cafe - Just blocks from Baker Street with a beautiful garden with outdoor seating, so a fantastic option if you have a rambunctious toddler who doesn’t do well inside coffee shops! Best priced coffee (nothing flavored though same as John Ward) and lots of baked goodies, sandwiches etc. Also dog friendly.
Dominion Cafe - Also located on Baker Street. Not the cutest place and limited seating, but they actually made me my favorite tasting coffee while in Nelson - a perfect lavender latte. Price was average.

*Lavender vanilla ice cream in a home made waffle cone at Big Dee’s*

*Ice cream sandwich and vegetarian hot dog at Big Dee’s*

*Wonderful outdoor spaces at Oso Negro Cafe - perfect for little kiddos*

*A latte and scone at Oso Negro with our littlest one*

*Lavender latte at Dominion Cafe - my favorite tasting coffee while in Nelson*

*We didn’t personally try El Taco but they had a sign out front saying kid friendly and had a kid menu so definitely worth a try!*

Go for a Hike

We did the two mile round trip hike to Pulpit Rock overlooking the town and the lake. It was pretty rigorous for a toddler, with 1000ft of elevation gain over a mile, but if you feel up to something that will get your heart pounding and don’t mind carrying your little one for part of your hike (or lets be honest - a lot of your hike!) then this is a cool option just minutes from town with some seriously great views. If you want to do something more moderate, a local family told us that the hike to Fletcher Falls is really easy with a toddler and super beautiful - their favorite hike in the area.

Visit a Provincial Park

We went to both Kokanee Creek Provincial Park and Grohman Narrows Provincial Park. Kokanee Creek is free for day use and features hiking trails, a large beach area, campgrounds, and a playground. We went to play on the beach and it was super spacious with nice shallow water for the kids and shade for parents. The one downside was that the shoreline was a bit muddy/slimy in places, which was a little weird since it looked so sandy. The kids still had a wonderful time though. In retrospect, the beach in Rotary Lakeside Park was nicer, in our opinion, but it was still fun to get a change of scenery in Kokanee Creek. Grohman Narrows is located along the river just outside of town and is also free. It’s day use only with a few picnic tables near the parking lot and a port-a-potty. We hiked down a trail and the road that left from the parking lot and were able to get down by the river. The views of gravel bars and a little island are pretty, but there’s not easy water access and we ended up climbing down a steep bank across some train tracks. Overall, it’s an okay place to take a little hike and stretch your legs, but nothing special and definitely not a must do place!

*The beach at Kokanee Creek Provincial Park*

*Views of the sandbars extending into the river in the Grohman Narrows area*

Take the Free Ferry Across Kootenay Lake

A fun option if you have time to spare and your littles have never been on a ferry. The route runs from the ferry dock in Balfour to the dock in Kootenay Bay across the lake. You can walk on or take your car, so we chose to drive our car on since it’s free so we wanted to have options on the other side and a place to store things. We showed up too early for the ferry as we didn’t realize it was still running on the more limited winter schedule in May, so killed some time by getting some baked goodies at Old World Bakery, located right next to the car lanes at the dock. I also took the kids down to the beach beside the dock and it was actually really lovely. The ferry takes approximately 35 minutes one way, and since we did it just for the ride and views of the lake from the water, we turned right around and drove back onto the same ferry for a round trip without having to sit around Kootenay Bay for almost 2 hours waiting for the next scheduled ferry. A good option if you’re doing it just for the ride! If you want to explore Kootenay Bay though, there’s a big gravel beach on one side of the dock and you can drive 5 minutes to Crawford Bay to visit a variety of interesting artisan shops that sell everything from brooms to blacksmith items. You can access the ferry schedule here.

FYI - There were bathrooms and an area to purchase snacks on the ferry. Both potentially important with a toddler!

*The lovely sandy beach at the ferry dock in Balfour*

*Enjoying some baked goods from Old World Bakery while waiting for the ferry*

*Area on the ferry to take in the view without having to sit in your car the whole time*

*The beach in Kootenay Bay - definitely a place a toddler could spend some significant time with all those fun rocks :)*

Been to Nelson yourself with a toddler or young kids? What were your favorite experiences and recommendations? Share them in the comments for our readers!