S.S. Moyie

The SS Moyie is one of Kaslo’s gems. 

She holds within her hull the history of an entire region and the stories of its settlement. It has been over 50 years since the SS Moyie, the oldest intact passenger sternwheeler in the world, made her last sailing on Kootenay Lake. Today the ship is dry-docked and open to the public. Spend a morning touring its interior and see elegant Victorian decor, historic artifacts, and realistic displays.

For nearly 60 years, sternwheelers provided a transportation lifeline to the many isolated communities on Kootenay Lake. The SS Moyie and her sister ships literally opened the Kootenay region to miners, businesses, farmers and pioneer families. When she was launched on October 22, 1898, there were no roads, no trains, and of course no air travel into these hidden mountain valleys. The ships were the only means of mass transportation, freight and mail service. And so they came – the rich, the poor, prospectors and settlers – sailing up the pristine waterways on ships that were themselves works of art. The sternwheelers were the bearers of our destiny.

When she was finally dry docked in 1957 the Village of Kaslo purchased the Moyie from the CPR for the grand sum of $1.00. Breathing life into her history has involved thousands of hours of labour, research and the skills of a generation of workers. Storyboards at street level describe the scope and scale of the renovations that are still ongoing today. 

Now a designated National Historic Site and BC Landmark, the sternwheeler is open daily for guided or self-guided tours from Mother’s Day through to Thanksgiving weekend.The Moyie is located at 324 Front Street.

For more information see www.klhs.bc.ca  or phone/fax 250-353-2525, or write a letter to Box 537, Kaslo, BC V0G 1M0.