South of Crawford Bay and surrounded by the mountains of the Selkirk and Purcell ranges, is the small community of Gray Creek. The oldest operational general store in the area is located here and has a great collection of BC history books and continues to display its wares in the original display cases. Nearby Lockhart Creek Park provides easy access to Kootenay Lake including a sand and fine gravel beach. Take a lake tour and enjoy a fascinating day on the water in this mountain paradise. Intricate rock formations and the unusual geology of the Kootenays provide pictures of the past and present living together in this tranquil valley. Recreational trails through the forests are easily accessible from the highway. Year-round fishing is popular on the lake and golf is nearby.
History of Gray Creek
The Oliver family were settlers in Gray Creek coming from Portage La Prairie in 1905, purchasing property that professional gambler Sydney Cummings had won on a turn of the cards at the Klondyke Hotel in Nelson.
Henry Croasdaille came with the Royal Navy to Esquimalt near Victoria and purchased 200 or more acres at Gray Creek where he built a house and planted apple trees in 1908. We consider him the father of Gray Creek as his impetus brought the Post Office with Tom Oliver, senior becoming Postmaster.
