Not to be confused with nearby Invermere, Windermere is a lakeside community of around 1,500 people with a handful of things to do.
Somehow, I had spent 30+ years of my life in the Kootenays without pulling off Highway 93 into Windermere.
One frosty May Long weekend in 2025, that changed. A group of friends and I rented a massive log cabin (remodeled from a turn-of-the-century RCMP barracks, no less) and had a great time in Windermere without once venturing into nearby Invermere.
Herer are the must see things to do around Windermere and Windermere Lake, British Columbia.
Fast Facts About Windermere
Name Origin? Appropriately, the town of Windermere in the Lake District of England.
Population? Roughly 1,500.
Breweries? 0
Bars? 2
Swim at Windermere Public Beach
Chilly May weather didn’t dampen our enthusiasm for a BC lake. Windermere Lake isn’t warm in the middle of summer and it was near-freezing on a chilly May Long Weekend – but it was still my prettiest swim of the year.
Run into the lake at Windermere Public Beach, which has plenty of space while being smack in the middle of town. There are even docks and boat slips if you’re lucky enough to have a Friend With a Boat.™
Local gear rental places also have kayaks, standup paddleboards, and other gear to make the most of your lake day.
Eat & Drink at POW Pizza
You wouldn’t expect a town of 1,500 to have a pizza place like POW Pizza.
But there it is, right in the heart of downtown Windermere. A Detroit-style pizza place with brewpub-like outdoor space.
Both the pizza and patio at POW are better than you would expect for small town BC. In small towns like this, hungry families and Albertans will eat whatever is available on a long weekend.
Our group got every pizza on the menu and quickly devoured all of them. As a Canadian now living in the United States, I missed donair meat pizza dearly – and POW had multiple options to help me out.
You see those crunchy bits on the side? I can’t even describe how good they tasted after a day of too many beers and not enough food.
Grab takeaway or sit and enjoy a beer. POW Pizza is the place to be, just a stone’s throw away from every house in Windermere.
Play at Ozzie’s Amusements – Mini Golf & Go-Karts
In addition to a punches-above-its-weight-class pizza place and patio, Windermere has a fun little entertainment complex in the form of Ozzie’s Amusements.
Open 10am to 7pm (with night golf until 10pm Friday to Sunday), Ozzie’s is a great place to spend a chunk of change to keep your family entertained:
Mini Golf: $18 per person (or $15 per person for groups of 4 or more)
Go-Karts: $18 per kart
Conveniently located just off the highway and walking distance from literally every property in town, Ozzie’s Amusements is worth a visit for family-friendly fun.
Golf at Windermere Valley Golf Course
There are like 50 good golf courses within a two-hour drive of Windermere, so we’ll focus on the only one with Windermere in the name: Windermere Valley Golf Course.
It might not have the prestige of your Eagle Ranches and Copper Points. But you know what it does have? 18-holes with a cart for around $60 and annual memberships for under $1,200.
Go Bowling at the Valley Alley Bowling Centre
Valley Alley is an icon in this part of BC. It’s been updated just enough since the 1930s (I’m guessing) to keep it clean and functional – but not so much that it loses its charm.
With six lanes, Valley Alley fills up quick on a rainy long weekend. But like most small town BC bowling alleys, there’s a licensed lounge on-site to keep you busy.
Check Out the View (Respectfully) from Windermere Cemetery
We’re running out of things to do in Windermere at this point but that’s okay, because there’s one more (sorta) hidden gem to share: Windermere Cemetery.
Opened in 1886 thanks to a donation from R.L.T. Galbraith, the cemetery is easily one of the most picturesque places to be buried in BC. You’ll also find some of the earliest settlers buried around here, with some gravestones belonging to people born in the early 1800s – decades before Canada was a country or BC was a province.
According to the Windermere Community Association (WCA), the cemetery was divided into three sections: Catholics, Protestants, and “Others.”
The Windermere Cemetery may not be a conventional tourist stop, but it’s a beautiful spot to reflect on the beauty of Windermere Lake and a special corner of the Kootenays.
Where to Stay
For a group of our size (10+ large Canadian men), I can’t recommend our Airbnb enough.
The Barracks (view on Airbnb here) is big enough to accommodate multiple families and large groups. It also has some serious history: it was originally built in 1886 by the RCMP and was the first barracks in the Rocky Mountains. There’s a hot tub, fully equipped kitchen, covered outdoor patio, treehouse, and even a hockey practice area. It’s a 30-second walk to the lake and not nearly as expensive as you think it would be.
There are plenty of other short-term vacation rentals in and around Windermere – from lakefront cabins to townhouses on all of the usual rental sites.
Windermere has three hotels:
- Windermere Village Inn Motel
- White House Hotel
- Windermere Lakeside Bed & Breakfast
Explore Other Regional Sights
I wanted to focus specifically on the small town of Windermere – not nearby Invermere or Fairmont Hot Springs – for this guide.
However, there’s realistically plenty more to do within a 30 to 60 minute drive of Windermere. Top sights include:
- Hiking the hoodoos at Fairmont Hot Springs
- Enjoying the hot springs at Fairmont or Radium
- Exploring the region’s history at the Windermere Valley Museum
- Ziplines, golf, breweries, boating, mountain biking, skiing, and all the other usual small town BC activities
Final Word: Is Windermere Worth Visiting?
Windermere a cute, lowkey, resort-lite town filled with the usual mix of older locals and younger Albertans you encounter in this part of British Columbia.
If you want to escape the hustle of Invermere while still being close to Windermere Lake, then Windermere is your best (and only) option with enough things to keep you entertained for a weekend – and enough ways to relax to keep you here for longer.
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