Fernie lies tucked away in a narrow valley in the rugged Canadian Rocky Mountains, right in the heart of southeast British Columbia.

From its boom town status at the turn of the twentieth century to its reputation as the Whiskey Gap during the prohibition era of the 1920s, Fernie has a unique and colourful history.

A town with a strong history of coal mining, Fernie was named after mining magnate William Fernie, who reported a major coal discovery in the area in 1897.  This led to formation of the Crowsnest Pass Coal Company, which in turn helped develop Fernie into the coal industry's largest centre in the Elk Valley

During one of his many prospecting trips, William Fernie is reputed to have met a tribe of Indians.  He enquired about the source of the shiny black stones adorning a necklace worn by the Indian Chieftain's daughter.  The Chief agreed to reveal the stones' origin if William Fernie agreed to marry the princess.  Having learnt of the stone's origin, however, the prospector did not keep his promise and refused to marry the princess, whereupon the enraged chief placed a curse of fire, flood and famine on the valley.  Fire indeed ravaged Fernie town in 1904 and again in 1908.  On August 15, 1964, Chief Ambrose Gravelle of the Kootenai tribe, known as Chief Red Eagle, smoked the pipe of peace with the then mayor of Fernie to finally lift the Fernie Curse.

Abandoned mines, museums and heritage sites all invite visitors to step back in time to explore the area's bustling boom years. The beauty of the Elk Valley entices campers and hikers, and a challenging world-class 18-hole golf course sits at the foot of towering peaks.