Located less than five minutes north of Invermere, overlooking acres of spectacular wetlands, is the historic village of Wilmer. Founded in 1886 and originally named Peterborough, this was the first community established in the heart of the Columbia Valley.
Wilmer is a quaint and peaceful village, filled with many late-1800s buildings, including the beautiful Delphine Lodge, built in 1899. Wilmer boasts the tranquility of a hamlet, with the convenience of Invermere’s nearby stores, restaurants, art galleries, accommodations and entertainment.
Wilmer enjoys a spectacular position on a bench overlooking the Columbia River Wetlands, 200 square kilometres of spectacular wetlands and lakes. This is the one of the longest unspoiled areas of wetland in North America and is home to an unparalleled diversity of wildlife.
Nature enthusiasts can while away the hours seeking the hundreds of species found around Wilmer, including the bald eagle (above right) and the endangered peregrine falcon, American badger and leopard frog. Float trips via canoe and kayak can also be enjoyed through the wetlands, with a variety of boat rentals available from Invermere.
It was 1807 when famed explorer and mapmaker David Thompson founded a Northwest Trading Company post near the site of present-day Wilmer, named Kootenae House. This was the first trading post in the Columbia Valley and the base from which Thompson spent five years exploring and mapping the region. The spot is now a National Historic Site.
It wasn’t until the 1880s that Wilmer began attracting European settlers, mostly single men who came to work at the Paradise and Ptarmigan mines. With the Canadian Pacific Railway incomplete, and few navigable roads, they travelled by steamboat along the Columbia River.
Conrad Kain, arrived from Austria in 1909 with the promise of employment as the Alpine Club of Canada’s first professional guide. Over the next quarter century Kain made climbing history and is credited with the first ascents of many nearby peaks, including Bugaboo Spire and Mount Farnham. The Conrad Kain Cairn and Park in the centre of Wilmer is dedicated to his memory, as is a permanent exhibition at the Windermere Valley Museum in Invermere and a cairn on Highway 93, just north of Radium Hot Springs.
With a rich array of nearby climbing, hiking trails, boating, fishing, bird and nature watching, and a wealth of activities at Panorama Mountain Village (just 18 kilometres up the road), Wilmer is a spot not to be missed during your stay.
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