page_title: British Columbia Highway 3A
section_title: Castlegar-Nelson-Creston Highway
hierarchical_section_title: British Columbia Highway 3A / Castlegar-Nelson-Creston Highway
caption_attribution_description: English: Cyclists on the International Selkirk Loop along British Columbia Highway 3A near Kootenay Lake.
context_page_description: Highway 3A is the designation of two segments of highway in the southern part of British Columbia.
context_section_description: This was the first segment of highway in British Columbia to receive the '3A' designation. It acquired this designation when the Crowsnest Highway was routed into the Kootenay Pass area in 1964. Originally, a ferry was used to route Highway 3A over the Columbia River near Castlegar, which was replaced by a bridge in 1967.
  The 154 km (96 mi) long Kootenay section of Highway 3A begins at Castlegar, where it leaves Highway 3 and travels 20 km (12 mi) northeast to South Slocan, where Highway 6 merges onto Highway 3A. The two highways proceed east for 22 km (14 mi) to Nelson, where Highway 6 diverges south. 34 km (21 mi) northeast of Nelson, Highway 3A reaches Balfour, on the western shore of Kootenay Lake. A ferry takes Highway 3A across Kootenay Lake to Kootenay Bay. Highway 3A then follows the eastern shore of Kootenay Lake for 78 km (48 mi) south through Crawford Bay, Boswell, and Wynndel to Creston, where it rejoins Highway 3.
caption: Cyclists along British Columbia Highway 3A near Kootenay Lake.
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