Flagstone Murals

Salmo is home to many stone murals celebrating the history and natural beauty of the area. Take a walking tour around the village and visit these unique murals erected by the students from the local Kootenay Stone Training Institute.

One mural is located on the side of the Salmo Museum on Highway 6, a grand mural is on the wall of the Salmo Hotel. Falkins Insurance and The Salmo Arcade and Coffee Shop (SACS) buildings on 4th Street boast murals as well. The first mural that was completed is on Highway 6 at the Whiteline Cafe. Make sure to stop and look at the wonderful flagstone murals, they are truly magnificent!

For more information on the flagstone murals visit the Salmo website www.salmovillage.ca

Salmo Museum

While the village itself offers many attractions, first on your list should be this informative museum. You will really get a feel for the village and how it became what it is today. There are exhibits of mining artifacts, photographs and maps of the Dewdney Trail, as well as other unique articles.

The Salmo Arts and Museum Society was established in 1970 and administers the Salmo Museum. Th e museum acquires archival material relating to Salmo and area, including Ymir, Sheep Creek, Pend O’Reille, and Erie.

Hours: November-May. Monday and Wednesday 6pm-9pm; Tuesdays 2pm-5pm; Fridays 10am-4:30pm

The World’s Largest Penny

Salmo is home to the world’s largest penny. It was dedicated on July 1, 1995, Canada’s birthday, in honour of Penny Power. Penny Power started in Salmo, on March 10, 1995 as a campaign to collect hoarded pennies and donate them to the government to reduce the national debt. Salmo residents made this donation as their Greatest Birthday Present, demonstrating a renewed faith in their ability to make a difference. You can see this penny on Highway 6 North.

The World’s Oldest Telephone Booth

On the property of the Sal-Crest Motel, just off Hwy 3, you will see the world’s oldest, and perhaps most unusual, telephone booth. The booth itself was carved out of the trunk of a grand old cedar tree that, according to its tree rings, was 465 years of age. The tree was hauled out of Trout Lake by Merlin Thompson and sold to John Patrick (Trapper John) in 1977 for a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label. Call a friend from the pay phone inside and say where you are!

Salmo Valley Youth & Community Centre

What do you do with an old high school that has been slated for demolition?Form a community group for the sole purpose of doing whatever it takes to save the building for use by the residents of the community. In 2004 the Salmo Valley Youth & Community Centre Society was incorporated as a non-profit society and the school district sold the building to the Village of Salmo for $1. Building saved! Now the real work could begin.

Grants, donations, memberships and volunteers were needed to remodel the facility.

Through hard work, many spaces and programs have been developed in the past seven years including a fully equipped music studio

– a space for “all things musical”. The facility also boasts an indoor skate park (well,

technically not a skate park but a skate bowl), youth lounge, a 6090 square foot gymnasium with built-in bleachers, family resource centre,

and kitchen. The SVYCC offers a variety of these spaces to rent for meetings and/or special events as another method of generating revenue.

Th e centre is well used and well supported by residents in

Salmo and area. Every day there is something going on, from

Mother Goose children’s group to step aerobics to youth writing

groups. Grab your skateboard or your gym shorts and

check out what’s happening at the centre.

Big Horn Sheep

The nearby Salmo/Creston skyway mountain pass not only boasts being the highest point of elevation of any major highway in Canada, it is also the home of a small herd of big horn sheep. A feeding station is located just 10 km from Salmo where you can view these animals in their natural habitat.

Erie Lake

If you can’t get to the large lakes in the Kootenays for winter fishing, don’t fret. Ice fishing is a popular sport around Salmo in the winter. Erie Lake is located just 6 km west of Salmo. It is a small calm lake that usually freezes. The lake is rich in wildlife and plant life, an ecosystem in itself, which makes it a perfect spot to snag a largemouth bass, smallmouth bass or trout. Ask the locals about their fi shing holes...being the friendly people they are, they will probably let you know how the fishing is.