Trail

Trail grew up around its smelter on the banks of the Columbia River, and the city's remarkable record of producing national and world sports champions has earned it the nickname the Home of Champions.

The Teck smelter, one of the world's largest zinc and lead operations, has anchored Trail's economy for more than a century, drawing generations of skilled workers and giving the city a strong, steady industrial base rare among Kootenay communities.

That same tight knit, hardworking culture has produced an outsized number of national team and Olympic athletes, celebrated locally and by the Trail Smoke Eaters, the city's storied junior hockey club. Gyro Park and the riverfront walkway along the Columbia offer green space right in town.

Highway 3B and the Columbia River both run through the city, connecting Trail to Rossland, Castlegar and the rest of the West Kootenay. Housing remains affordable, with solid family homes on hillside streets overlooking the river valley.