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Airport
Salmon
Arm: Gateway to Shuswap Country and the North
Okanagan
by
Jerry W. Bird
 For
years our family spend its summer holidays in and
around a pleasant, prosperous community in central
British Columbia. It was a fairly short and scenic
drive from Calgary, and convenient to several
lakes, one of which was the mighty Shuswap. You
guessed it-- the location was Salmon Arm. I fell in
love with the town a few years earlier, when as a
teenager, I went there to look for work, and made
an immediate circle of friends during a very short
stay. This visit may have changed my life had I
found a civilian job in Salmon Arm instead of
returning to Vancouver and joining the RCAF. All
said and done, it's an ideal vacation paradise and
still an attractive place to visit.
.Here's
what Tourism BC has to
say.
Situated at the north entrance to the Okanagan is
the community of Salmon Arm, often called "The Gem
of the Shuswap". Positioned right on Shuswap Lake,
there is the nice feature of a wharf offering
downtown access to the lake and its many amenities
and activities, including boat charters, houseboat
rentals and bird and wildlife viewing.
Salmon Arm
is the main regional service and trade centre for
the Shuswap and, as with most interior B.C.
communities, forestry is the mainstay of local
residents. There are a number of sawmills and at
least three companies building log houses for
export to Japan. The community also has strong
roots in agriculture, with fruit and produce
growing and dairy farming playing a strong role in
the local economy.
Shuswap Lake
is one of the most popular recreational
destinations in BC. The 1000 km of shoreline
contains 22 Provincial Parks and offers uncrowded
boating, fishing, swimming and extensive resort
facilities.
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