Top 14 things to do and attractions in Nelson

It was extremely rewarding for me to play a show at this theatre over a concerto as a soloist and the Principal Percussionist of Symphony of the Kootenays, . The stage management personnel - both employed and volunteer - are great to deal with. As I have recently left full-time music, I will really miss coming here on a recurring basis, but here are some photos of my favourite memories here. The only reason why I gave the venue four stars - as opposed to five - is because the entire orchestra had to travel to Nelson for a matinee show on the Sunday after having done an evening show in Cranbrook the night before, and the theatre staff were 100% unflexible with respect to modifying their mandatory noon-until-1pm lunchbreak, which made the commute difficult in light of factors such as the time zone difference and also the people who are not familiar with the roads - myself included - getting lost on the way from Cranbrook to Nelson. In any case, thank you for everything, everyone. <3 :-)

Nice and amazing of Nelson to have this quaint theatre and saw The little mermaid it was a great show but New songs were added I have not heard before but the original ones were still there the cast had great talent and fun Visiting Nelson.

Beautiful performance. Incredible venue. It's the place to see a show in Nelson.

I’ve had numerous memorable experiences at the Capitol Theatre. They are huge community supporters and I loved the Christmas panto this year - my son was in it, so that was extra special! I love how they give opportunities to budding actors.

Fun place in Nelson. The comedy events have been enjoyable as well as the movie festival. I plan to go to more shows. It is nice to have in a small town like Nelson.

Nice older theater with a vaudeville stage. We watched a summer theater production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame which was very entertaining!

Omg! So good to wander in here the other night slash evening and have my folks be on board to watch a year end tangent show whatever extravaganza, Hahaha. Good music, lively dancing, great place to have a laugh, and after having to leave the yumsun or whatever it is called down the road and get Ash's Smash burger Poutine and feed someone along the way... Incredible to feel so welcomed by the staff who obviously saw I was barefoot a d it was a delight to be able to go to some other places and feel accepted. I remember someone even commented that we had come back. They remembered us from earlier, no comments about our appearance. They were happy for us to spend there. Let us have a good time we all deserve to have no matter how others may perceive us. I am writing this from my car, because to be honest, I still get a little nervous about going into town and being accepted. I really feel much better not having to speak most of the day and knowing that there was goi g to be shopping etc today of I joined. I just don't.... I want to go and have a good day and not have to speak or explain my beliefs to people merely by existing. Thank you for fostering a please t environment. I deeply appreciate that. It is nice to be welcomed by your community as a barefoot man.

I found it interesting reading about the counterculture history of Nelson, providing some insights into its laid back character and culture. The museum also had numerous exhibits dedicated to historically underrepresented people, such as First Nations and Chinese. The museum had signs up suggesting they want to continue rebalancing these disparities, however I feel they've already done a great job!

A nice balance of history and modern life and art. I love the fairly balanced ethnic treatment and that they include all the women they could find!! Excellent. A few updates to do on Bill C8 and the pot legality but I hope they don't change too much, it's great how it is.

We really liked the bunker experience tour. It sounds boring but it really isn’t. Go and check it out to see a lot of cool 60’s and 70’s stuff. Also the museum is nice and gift shop too.

Museum staff were lovely and provided some great recommendations for the next stops on my trip! The gallery room had a beautiful exhibit, and the history section upstairs had some nice displays as well. Some of the displays had pretty long walls of text, so I'd love to see some more short, digestible segments in the future as well. Loved sitting and watching the Missing Voices video project, a great touch, especially for visitors to get to know the people of the area and the values they hold.

Small but lovely museum & gallery, the place is well illuminated and has a lot of historic facts, also you can appreciate the effort and love the community of artist and also the staff working there put, if you arrive after 4 pm but the price is worth it just 8 cad each, the entrance is free, they have restrooms and a small pretty shop!

Maureen in archives is so amazing, had the opportunity to look at some old yearbooks with her, she actually took the time to tell us about some of her friends in the books. Will definitely make time to spend more time in the archives next time!

The museum representative Astrid made our visit to Nelson Museum worth the trip from Spokane. She reminded us of the movie "Roxanne" with Steve Martin. It was filmed there in 1987. She provided so much additional information which assisted my friend and I. Thank you. The only confusing part was trying to locate the museum in the first place. We received so many conflicting directions of how to get there. I recommend you just ask for the OLD POST OFFICE. See the attached photo. They have so many wonderful items in their gift shop. Thanks again.

My girlfriend and I went to visit the Nelson Visitor Centre June 26 2025. Staff were friendly, and seemed to be knowledgeable. Washrooms were available here. And there were quite a few pamphlets advertising different fun things to do in the area. The ambiance for the most part was nice. And the wood work was phenomenal. Though, the first things I started noticing upon arrival were: social distancing measures, 10 person limit, and a request to sanitize ones hands. I had to have a staff member validate that we are in fact in the year 2025, before letting her know about signage. It's been 6 years since the plandemic! I don't know what's more believable. That government workers forgot about the plandemic paraphanalia at their place of work everyday of the week for the last few years. Or that that government representatives just don't seem to care about our rights and freedoms. In any case, I hope people start talking more about how much corruption is acceptable. Cheers.

We were surprised by the quality of the art exhibits at the Visitor Centre! Check it out. We didn't try the coffee shop, but it smelled good.

The Nelson Visitor Information Centre is located on west end of historic Baker Street..the very helpful and friendly visitor centre staff are full of interesting ideas dealing with the community of Nelson and the surrounding communities…Nelson is known for its history and heritage buildings..the staff’s itinerary planning was super helpful in the 8 days we spent in the area..

If your going to be in Nelson please stop by the visitor center, its inside a nicely preserved historical train station. Has a excellent coffee shop next door. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. They can answer all your Nelson related questions. They provided us with an itinerary you can follow to visit and learn about the historical sites throughout the beautiful unique city of Nelson BC. The center provides the typical tourist information and a wide selection of Nelson branded items and local crafts. We couldn't resist purchasing some items to commemorate our experience. I encourage you to drop by, you wont be disappointed.

Without the ladies at the info section we wouldn’t make it! Shout out to the staff👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻they make an amalzing job and with passion!, they gave us a lot of info, maps and recomendations!

Very helpful staff with a great knowledge of the area, would highly recommend this as a first stop!

Super friendly and helpful! Great art too

The hike to Pulpit is approximately 2.5 km up the mountain. It does switch back but the trail is rocky and I recommend a walking stick. It is worth the view.

Getting to the viewpoint takes a while if youre a beginner like me, but I promise the view is worth it. I went in the late afternoon which was nice because it wasn't too hot. The trails are winding with a lot of rock/wooden steps. Its a good thing because it does help you navigate and get good footing, but make sure you watch your step because you can slip pretty easily. There are quite a few places on the way up that you can stop and rest. No benches or anything like that but there are places to catch your breath. The main trails have signs on them so you dont have to worry about getting lost. And the View. Is. Worth. It. A really rewarding experience! (PS careful on the way down. Loose dirt+uneven path)

We of course did this hike in 32° weather so I can honestly say bring water and good hiking shoes. The panoramic views of Nelson are well worth the hike up. As the trail is steep and rocky in spots down might be more difficult than up without poles.

Great hike, moderate difficulty. If you hate climbing, you may want to pass. It's a good workout and not too strenuous, and the views are terrific from the top.

A great place to climb, even with small children. The climb is quite steep, but we managed to get there with our 5-year-old. The view from the top is beautiful. It would be helpful to know how long the hike takes. It took us about one hour and a half.

Challenging trail with a view that is worth the effort. I would say the trail is intermediate to advanced. While it is relatively short, it is steep and the gain in altitude is significant. I think most people who are relatively fit will have no problem with it. Watch your foot placement on the way back down.

Pretty steep, but rewarding hike! You could continue upwards to the flagpost... but to me and my friend (beginner hikers). This was a perfect workout to do. Definitely worth it!

Best ski hill around! 20 minutes from Nelson with friendly staff and amazing terrain! No data/WiFi which is nice, like the good ol days! There is a small/medium sized lodge and other food huts around, on a busy day it can get packed in the lodge and you might have to share a table. There are 4 lifts to access 3 different mountain sides/peaks, no gondolas!

Unpretentious and simple, they have the snow and the terrain, and don't need any other resort gimmicks. Amazing terrain with some great glading, and easily accessible. Favourite ski hill to pilgrimage to every Winter!

Go for the snow, drive a big vehicle or take a ride. Most amazing ski area. Loved the spring skiing. My son loved the powder skiing on his visit too. Nelson is great. Hot tub on top of the roof of the Savoy hotel helped my burning legs. Second time did a cabin in the woods just down the road. Great views and relaxed community.

Wow, amazing Mountain Hosts! So pleased today to have Coleen as our amazing ski host to show us this amazing mountain which we were trying for our very first time! We were using our reciprocal from Silver Star seasons passes. We had some difficulties showing proof of purchase as there was no wifi to pull it up ?? That was a bit frustrating. Amazing terrain! What a great day!

Had a great time at Whitewater. Good snow, happy staff, decent food, decent prices. Close to Nelson, and lots of parking available along the freshly-paved access road. It's time to expand the capacity of the chalet though.

Great variety in terrain, love that there’s no mess of ski-in/out cat tracks at the village / base. No criss-cross traffic, easy access to all lifts from chalet. Cool resort I’ll be back

First time to Whitewater was during a boys trip. Not only was Nelson, BC an amazing town filled with great foods, drinks, and snow shops to enjoy when not riding. The people we met were also the nicest people and great suggestions for riding and what places to go in town. On the mountain was no different, the staff was awesome and so helpful. The food was some of the best I have had anywhere, and this was on top a mountain! I recently saw that they are selling trail map blankets, with no way to order online I sent an email. I was greeted by Tessa, she explained that I could purchase at their downtown office or on the mountain when they opened. I did not include my location in my email. Once I explained that she got me in contact with Joesph Johns who was great and let me know he could ship them to me buy paying over the phone. I paid for them today and he even gave me a discount since I was buying 4 so I could give them to my friends for Xmas. All and all you cannot go wrong with Whitewater and the staff who make it all happen! Thank you to the staff and hope to see you this year, let it snow!!!

This property was donated to the city of Nelson.B.C. it has some amazing old orchard trees. Apples- so delicious. Yellow plums and giant red plums- yummy and beautiful well maintained trails and of coarse a pind with turtles Downsides- no washrooms or pit toilets

Short but pretty, and the turtle log is cool. The only downside is its proximity to the highway which is an ever present drone.

Nice little park. Come walk on the flat little trail to the tiny pond that usually has turtles sunbathing on a log.

A hidden little gem underutilized by the city. Tons of old apple trees and one looped walk. I suppose there isn't much attraction with the railway tracks and water treatment plant at the end of the park.

Western painted turtles!

There is no beach here. To be honest, not much of anything.

Quiet "wild" park/nature reserve. Easy woodland walks and a pond

Amazing museum and beautiful restoration work done on the tram. Jim went above and beyond on the tour of the museum, such a kind, knowledgeable, and passionate man. Our favourite stop in Nelson

This was a nice quick little ride to see the park. The gentleman at the station was very informative

Short but sweet, this niche museum is conveniently located in the beach park.

Lovely ride along the waterfront. A nice way to see the sights and rest your legs! The staff were very knowledgeable and friendly!

We had a great time riding the tram and also visiting the museum. The conductor was very entertaining and informative telling us about the tram and its history. The museum was very interesting to me and has a nice display of artifacts and old photos. I would recommend taking a ride when visiting Nelson.

Great little tram museum with a second street car to look at. The 94 year old guide was amazing - full of energy and loving his volunteer job!

Awesome 👏 beautiful British Columbia

Beautiful sandy beach and forested park that gets the evening sun. The regional park has basic facilities, outhouses, BBQ's, fire pits. It can be busy on sunny days between June and September but quiet the rest of the year. Dog friendly (on a leash). Water quality is monitored and can be a concern as it is downstream from Nelson's sewage treatment. If there are problems it is publicly posted in the parking lot.

Not very many shaded spots, but otherwise it’s a very nice beach!!

Absolutely gorgeous! Recommend to anyone who likes water sport, swimming to just lazying on the beach catching some rays.

Amazing beaches, one of the best around. Has outdoor grills should you wish to make food. Has a volleyball net as well. Great for family/friend get togethers. This beach is down from the sewer treatment center so care for health risk warnings of swimming in the water.

Great little beach tucked away off highway 3A. 10 mins west of Nelson. Busy spot but well worth the visit

I'll begin by boasting, it's basically the best barefoot beach around. Bring your brats or your barking buds! Barbecues, benches and bathrooms are provided. Nice fine sand, dog friendly as long as they're leashed and under control. Relatively calm waters. Friends Family Kids and Furballs Taghum all along.

A small local friendly beach with amenities such as pit toilets, garbage cans and a fire pit. No potable water. The beach is soft sand and kid friendly. It's in a little bay just off the main current so as always, be mindful.