Kootenay time zone oddities

If the provincial government makes good on a promise this fall to do away with the bi-annual time change and stick with permanent Daylight Saving Time, BC will be one hour behind Washington state from November through March. So you’ll have to adjust your watch when you cross the border. (There is still plenty of time, no pun intended, for the government to change its mind.)

The whole history of time zones, especially in the Kootenays, makes my head hurt. Fortunately, Tammy Bradford of the Creston Museum has provided a detailed history of this highly confusing subject here and here.

Creston has been on Mountain Standard Time year-round since 1918, making it one of the few places in North America that doesn’t tinker with its clocks. The same goes for the broadest definition of the Creston Valley, stretching from Riondel to Ryan and Kootenay Bay to Kingsgate, although I am not sure if it has always been that way or evolved over time (still no pun intended).

While the cross-border time difference with Washington state will be a novelty, it is not unprecedented. You already have to switch time zones in the winter when crossing from BC into Idaho at Rykerts/Porthill or Kingsgate/Eastport. Idaho has a very unusual time zone structure. We normally think of time zones as changing west-east, but Idaho’s northern panhandle is on Pacific Time, while the southern part of the state is on Mountain Time.

The differing times between BC and Idaho led to a unique tradition at Kingsgate/Eastport, as described in the Bonners Ferry Herald of Jan. 6, 1966:

The New Year came in with the usual loud bang being celebrated at the Gateway. One of the unique features of a Kingsgate-Eastport New Years is the time change, allowing the participants to celebrate the arrival of the New Year at one-hour intervals, first for the Kingsgate crew and then an hour later for the US people. The advantage of course is obvious if you should be the kind of a person that goes around kissing people on the stroke of midnight. The situation sometimes gets to the point where the Canadian New Year runs right into the US New Year with hardly a break. It is fine if you are aware of the situation but is surely confusing to strangers.

I have no idea when this tradition began or how long it persisted, but it would have faded out as Kingsgate ceased to be much of a community. It’s still possible to celebrate New Year’s twice on either side of that border, since Kingsgate/Eastport is a 24-hour crossing.

For that matter, if the BC government sticks to its guns this fall, celebrating New Year’s twice will be possible on either side of any 24-hour crossing between BC and Washington. A dual celebration can’t be accomplished at Rykerts-Porthill, though, because the Porthill side closes at 7 p.m.

Kingsgate, BC and Eastport, Idaho, are seen in a circa 1960s postcard. For many decades, they were essentially one community, although in different countries and different time zones. (Greg Nesteroff collection)

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Another oddity: the east shore of Kootenay Lake’s north arm is split between two time zones. Riondel is on Mountain Standard Time year-round, but to the north, Argenta, Johnsons Landing, Fry Creek, and Birchdale are all on Pacific Time and observe Daylight Saving Time. Where is the dividing line?

I think it is safe to assume that Regional District of Central Kootenay boundaries apply here. Therefore, Garland Bay and everything north (which is in Area D) is on Pacific Time. Everything south (which is in Area A) is on Mountain Time. But if you’re camping in that area, you’re probably at liberty to use whatever time you want.

Longtime Riondel resident and historian Terry Turner told me he once wrote an April Fool’s gag for the East Shore Mainstreet, announcing that henceforth the dividing line for the time zone would be the centre line of Highway 3A. He cautioned drivers not to change their watches while in the passing lanes.

I noticed Wikipedia claims that “some parts east of Kootenay Lake that are south of and include Riondel” alternate between Mountain Standard Time and Mountain Daylight Time, but I confirmed with Turner as well as regional district director Garry Jackman that this is no longer the case, if it ever was. Good thing too, because it would be an extra headache when trying to remember the ferry schedule.

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The Kootenay Lake ferry has long been promoted, accurately, as the longest free ferry ride in the world. But it has another less-heralded claim to fame: it’s a time machine.

In the winter, when heading west on the ferry, you will arrive in Balfour about 25 minutes earlier than when you left Kootenay Bay. That’s because the 35-minute ferry ride straddles the time zone. This horological oddity probably trips up many ferry passengers, and is one of the strongest arguments for a unified time zone, although at least the problem occurs outside of prime tourist season.

My theory, which will be difficult to test, is that if the Kootenay Lake ferry is struck by lightning at the exact moment of the time change (2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March or 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November), all time will stand still.

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The time zone conundrum extends to signage.

Between November and March, upon arriving at the Kootenay Bay terminal from Balfour, a sign instructs you to set your time one hour ahead. Arriving at Kootenay Bay en route to Balfour, you are told to set your time one hour back. The rest of the year, the signs are found on Highway 3 at Irishman Creek. The following story by the late Tom Lymbery discusses those wandering signs.

Nelson Daily News, April 25, 1985

The signs on Highway 3 that are used to signify the time zone change from March to November are actually placed about seven kilometers too far east. Assuming they ought to coincide with the border of the Regional District of Central Kootenay and the Regional District of East Kootenay, they should be at Ryan Park. I am guessing the signs are where they are out of convenience.

The East Kootenay is still trying to figure out what to do about the time change. The RDEK board initially voted to adopt permanent Mountain Standard Time. But they soon changed their minds and decided to do more public consultation. They’re now surveying residents, asking whether they would rather stick to Mountain Standard Time (which would align with the rest of BC), Mountain Daylight Time (which would align with Alberta), or keep changing the clocks twice a year. 

Creston, meanwhile, shrugs and worries about other things. 

Sign at Kootenay Bay, seen in 2017 and 2025. If this sign becomes redundant due to BC switching to a single time zone, I hope it is donated to the Creston Museum.