Camping In An Abandoned Ghost Town - Sandon BC

As I continue with my Ultimate Summer adventure vanlife roadtrip, I pulled into historic Sandon BC for one night of van camping. Sandon was once a booming metropolis, the heart of BCs silver county. Boasting a population of 5000 people, Sandon was actually the largest city in the Kootenays, but that was over 100 years ago. Sandon peaked in 1897, and was eventually left abandoned as a ghost town. Much of Sandon is gone, but due to preservation efforts by it's owner, there's some interesting things left behind. There's a well preserved 1900's city hall, that was actually being painted while I was there, which shows off how hard the owners are working to preserve this place. There's also BC's oldest continually running hydro electric power station. Sandon has a rich history of hydro electric power, and taking a tour of the silversmith power house is a great way to dive into it. There's other old buildings to look at, unfortunately none of the 85 brothels that once ljned the streets were still around, but there was enogh other history to keep me entertained. There's a museum, a little store, and an eclectic mix of historic artifacts lining the grounds. I say eclectic because, while there is old mining equipment and stuff laying around, there's also a large collection of 1950s brill trolleys just hanging around. The buses don't have historical context to Sandon itself, but they did once roam the streets in Vancouver BC and beyond. These ghost busses have become a defining feature of Sandon, and the make for a great Instagram photo. this place is great for photos of all kinds, it's very visually interesting, and a stoll though Sandon is great for all ages. They also offer camping for $15 a night, $20 with electricity, and since that came with free firewood, camping in Sandon was the best value campsite on my whole trip. I wrapped up my stay with a breakfast sandwich from the 14th street bistro, this was delicious and a great way to start my morning. The day I was there was the first day of fall, and there was an unmistakable chill in the air. It was just another reminder that my trip was quickly coming to a close. So as much as I enjoyed my night camped in Sandon, I was off the next morning, and on to the next adventure.

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Have a good day