Cranbrook has a population of 20,000 people located in the eastern part of the Kootenay mountain range. It is closer to Calgary (400 km, or a four to five hour drive) than Vancouver (850 km, or a nine to 10 hour drive). It is sometimes called the capital of Little Alberta, because of its proximity to Calgary.

It is on the Crowsnest Highway (No. 3), a relatively slow but picturesque road that meanders through the Kootenays before entering Alberta. Highlights of the drive from Vancouver include Greenwood (once the copper capital of the world, now a small town with a marvelous collection of Victorian homes), Nelson (a beautiful hippie hotspot which is actually on 3A, an offshoot), Boswell (a small resort community on the eastern shore of Kootenay Lake that has a house made of half a million embalming fluid bottles, also on the 3A), and Yahk, a tiny village that seems to have almost as many antique stores as residents. Just east of Cranbrook there is skiing in Kimberly and Fernie. Fort Steele, a restored heritage town circa 1890, is only 16 km east of Cranbrook.

Cranbrook has a nice old downtown itself, as well as several golf courses. A BC government website says that it has the most sunshine in the province, and it can get very hot in the summer. If you're going to the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel and want to take the Canadian Pacific Railway experience one step further, a couple recently opened up a bed and breakfast in a 4,000 square foot heritage home that used to house the CPR supervisor in the area.