Halcyon Hot Springs Resort

What to expect

Halcyon sits on a bench above Upper Arrow Lake, a long, narrow lake on the Columbia River between Revelstoke and Nakusp. The pools are terraced so that almost every seat faces across the water to the Monashee Mountains. There is not much else around: forest, the highway, the lake and a few cabins and chalets on the slope behind the pools.

The pool line-up, as the resort lists it:

• Hot pool: 104°F40°C.
• Warm pool: 99°F37°C, with a jetted swim channel and pressure jets.
• Mineral swimming pool: 86°F30°C, on the lower deck, seasonal from May 15.
• Cold plunge: up to 58°F14°C.
• Splash park: on the lower deck for children.

The mineral content is what made Halcyon famous. The resort lists sodium, magnesium, calcium, strontium and lithium in the water, and it posts lab analyses on its website. It still bottles the spring water. Lithium in the water was the basis of the old spa’s reputation, but treat any health claims you see as marketing.

History

The Sinixt are the people of the Arrow Lakes, and the resort’s history page says they knew and used the spring for centuries before they guided Captain Robert Sanderson to it. Sanderson bought 400 acres around the spring in 1890 and opened a hotel with wooden soaking plunges in 1894. In 1897 he and his partner sold it to new owners, who formed the Halcyon Hot Springs Sanitarium Company and expanded it, and the first bottling works went up in 1898. Halcyon water was shipped as far as London, sold on the claim that it held far more lithia than other North American springs.

In 1924 Brigadier General Frederick Burnham bought the resort and ran it as a health retreat. The main hotel burned down on February 19, 1955, and the resort’s history says Burnham died in the fire. When the Arrow Lakes were raised in the 1960s, most of the remaining buildings were lost. Only a small chapel Burnham built beside his wife’s grave survived. Rebuilding of the current resort began in 1998, and the chapel still stands on the property.

Getting there

Halcyon is at 5655 Highway 23 North, above the lakeshore.

• From Nakusp: drive north on Highway 23 for about 32 km (20 miles). On the way you cross the Halfway River, where the forest service road to Halfway Hot Springs turns off.
• From Revelstoke: drive south on Highway 23 to Shelter Bay, about 68 km (42 miles) from Revelstoke to the resort in total. The free Upper Arrow Lake ferry crosses to Galena Bay in about 20 minutes. It leaves Shelter Bay on the hour from 5 a.m. to midnight and Galena Bay on the half hour from 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. From Galena Bay, the resort is a short drive south.
• From farther away: the resort puts Calgary at about 475 km (295 miles) and Vancouver at about 785 km (488 miles).

The highway is paved all the way. In winter, Highway 23 is a mountain road with snow and ice, and the ferry timetable controls your arrival time from the north. Check DriveBC for conditions and ferry status before you set out.

When to go

The hot and warm pools are open year-round. Summer brings the full set of pools and the busiest decks, especially on weekends, and drop-in capacity is limited, so arrive early in July and August. Winter is quieter and the lake views are at their best with snow on the peaks. Thursdays are cheaper all year.

If you want a quiet soak without children, the last hour, 9 to 10 p.m., is adults only.

Prices and booking

Drop-in rates posted in October 2026:

Day	Single (day or evening session)	Family
Friday to Wednesday	C$25	C$55
Thursday	C$18	C$48

A family pass covers one or two adults with one or two children aged 5 to 12. Children 4 and under are free with a parent. The day session runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the evening session 5 to 10 p.m.

Passes are sold at Guest Services and you cannot reserve them. Bring your own towel or buy one there for C$7.50.

Spa guests: any treatment of at least C$100 per person includes free hot springs access, a robe and towel service on the same day.

Overnight guests: accommodation guests get pool access and towels. The resort has chalets, cabins, cottages and studio suites, all within walking distance of the pools, and a two-night minimum on Friday and Saturday nights. Book through the resort website or at 250-265-3554 (toll-free 1-888-689-4699). Private hot springs sessions can be booked for groups.

Rules and etiquette

• Swimwear is expected; this is a family resort.
• 9 to 10 p.m. is adults only.
• Drop-in numbers are capped, so you may wait at peak times.
• Shower before you soak and keep voices down in the hot pool.

Where to stay nearby

• Halcyon Hot Springs Resort has 15 types of chalets, cabins, cottages and suites, sleeping two to six people.
• Halcyon Heights RV Park, about 1 km north on the same side of Highway 23, is a separate business with 22 RV sites, power hook-ups, washrooms, showers and a dump station. In 2025 it opened on May 15 and planned to stay open until late October, weather permitting (250-265-1239).
• Halfway Hot Springs recreation site, up the Halfway River road, has first-come, first-served campsites from May to October.
• Nakusp, 32 km south, has motels, groceries and fuel.

Safety notes

• Heat: the hot pool is 104°F40°C. Take breaks, drink water, and keep children in the cooler pools.
• Cold plunge: switching from 104°F to 57°F40°C to 14°C water is a shock. Ease in.
• Winter driving: Highway 23 has long stretches with no services and patchy cell coverage. Fill up in Nakusp or Revelstoke and carry winter gear.
• Ferry timing: if you are heading to Revelstoke after the evening session, check the last Galena Bay sailing.

Nearby stops worth adding

Pair Halcyon with the free, wild Halfway Hot Springs up the Halfway River road. Nakusp Hot Springs, a separate developed pool, is near Nakusp itself. East of Revelstoke on the Trans-Canada, Canyon Hot Springs Resort runs a summer-only pool complex, and the Kootenay Lake side of the region has Ainsworth Hot Springs and its caves.