The Canadian Rockies: A guide to Fernie, British Columbia 🇨🇦

Nestled deep in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Fernie, British Columbia is a small town which, until today’s Filter guide moved there, had no coffee scene to speak of. The origin story of Rooftop Coffee Roasters is perhaps the most interesting of a cafe yet featured in Filter—all I’ll say here is that as a 17-year-old, Keegan bootstrapped Rooftop into existence. The full story is worth reading below, and while you’re at it don’t miss Keegan’s guide to his favorite spots in British Columbia.

*Keegan cofounded Rooftop Coffee Roasters at age 17 on his parents’ rooftop. Photo courtesy of Vinnie Botton*

Filter: What’s an ideal day in Fernie look like for you?

Being tucked in the Rocky Mountains in western Canada, Fernie is home to some spectacular natural beauty and most people move here for all the outdoor fun. My family actually came here specifically for the skiing!

With that, most of my leisure time is spent outside. In the winter, that means I probably have skis on my feet, whether that's downhill or cross-country skiing. In the summer, I like to go out mountain biking, hiking, fishing, camping, and just about everything in between.

An ideal summer day in Fernie involves getting out into the mountains, swimming, and finishing off with a great meal. A mountain bike ride or a hike to get a nice view of the valley is key—Mount Fernie, Spineback Ridge [trailhead and info), Swine Flu [trailhead and info], or Mount Hosmer are all classics, and decently manageable day hikes.

Following it up with a dip in some water, I'd either go for a float down the Elk River, cliff jumping at Silver Springs, or hang out at the beach at Waldo's Cove on Lake Koocanusa. Or, get the nature walk and the swim all in one by going fly fishing on the Wigwam River (Elk River Guiding Co. offers day trips).

Dinner plans are looking like tacos and a margarita at Nevados, or sushi and sake at Yama Goya. Looking for a nice cocktail to finish off the night? Head over to Fernie Distillers. In the winter, basically do the same thing but swap the hike for a ski or a snowshoe, and change swimming with a bit of retail therapy at Cold Storage looking for some new records. Rinse and repeat.

All that being said, I feel like this part of British Columbia gets a rep for being full of adrenaline junkies but there's a lot more than just extreme sports around here! Floating around in an inner tube or finding a nice place to lounge by the Elk River are some of my favourite ways to relax in the summer.

Fernie also has a solid music scene for such a small town, and I try to get out and jam at the open mic nights at the Fernie Taphouse whenever I can. If you're lucky, you might be in town for a concert at one of the venues in town.

*Fernie, British Columbia. Photos courtesy of Rooftop Coffee Roasters unless otherwise noted*

Filter: What do you like to do to escape the city?

Fernie itself is a place people flock to "escape the city," so you wouldn't think that the people who live here would feel the need to escape too. But to be fully honest, when we're in the middle of our peak tourist seasons, the town can start to feel super packed, so locals absolutely start looking for places to escape the bustle!

In the summer, the hiking trails around Fernie stay surprisingly quiet, especially if you go early in the morning. The easiest day hike would be going to Castle Rock or the Montane Cabin [trailhead for both is here], and then the most strenuous would be the Three Sisters/Heiko's Trail. We also have some cozy backcountry cabins you can book through the Fernie Trails and Ski Touring Club, which makes for a nice overnight trip away from the crowds. It's always good to keep track of the weather forecast because things can change pretty quickly out there, and reading up on bear safety is essential before heading out on the trails.

In the wintertime, exploring the mountains becomes more difficult due to the risk of avalanches, so I only recommend going into the backcountry if you have the training and proper safety equipment. That being said, our cross-country skiing and snowshoeing networks in the valley are a great way to get out of town and into nature, and they are all very safe if you've dressed warm enough!

Filter: What touristy things in Fernie are worth the hype?

Whitewater rafting is one you'll see in all the tourist brochures, but it's totally worth it! Canyon Raft Co. and Tunnel 49 both offer a variety of day trips down a bunch of rivers in the area, but I would highly recommend doing the lower Elk River. You get some exciting rapids, you float through a scenic canyon landscape, and the guides are all super fun and knowledgeable.

If you're a skier and visiting in the winter, our ski hill (Fernie Alpine Resort) is a mandatory stop. The day ticket cost will hurt a little, but if you can score good conditions it's totally worth it. If you want to get a couple laps without breaking the bank and are into a more "mom n' pop" vibe, I'd drive 45 minutes over to Pass Powderkeg in Alberta for some night skiing. It's a tiny ski hill for sure, but skiing at night for less than 25 bucks, are you kidding me?

Filter: Where are your favorite quiet corners or hidden gems there?

Ah, there are so many! I love the forest around Mount Fernie Provincial Park. It's the least affected by logging, so there are big patches of old growth. It almost feels coastal, with really dense forests and massive cedar trees. Closer to town, James White is a cute park nestled in the forest. There are a few swimming spots for hot summer days if you take the trails from there along the river.

The ultimate hidden gem of Fernie is the morel, which is a specific kind of wild mushroom you can find in the forest around here in May and June. People keep their morel spots pretty close to the chest though, so you'll have to sweet talk some locals to get them to point you in the right direction. If you're still looking for a foraging experience though, definitely go huckleberry picking. They're a lot easier to find and identify than mushrooms, so it's a safer and all around more rewarding experience. The best season is June to August, and there are loads that grow near the Montane trail network. Grab a berry-identifying guide at the local bookstore and hit the trails!

Filter: What's another coffee shop around there that you really admire, and why?

Mugshots Cafe, right down the street from us. They're a local institution, been around for almost 25 years, but recently changed ownership. Florence, the new owner, has really breathed new life into that place—elevating the menu without departing too much from the original character. They're also motivated to collaborate locally, which I really respect. They serve our coffee as well as Fernie Roasting, another local roasting outfit—they're always featuring and supporting local artists, and are starting to do collaborative pop-up dinners with local chefs. Cool stuff on the horizon with Mugshots!

Filter: What makes Fernie feel like home to you?

The community really makes this place feel like home to me. I moved here 10 years ago, and in a small town like this you end up intertwined in a circle of great people. On any given day I'll run into everyone: friends, past co-workers, people I know from the restaurant/hospitality industry, old high school teachers, skiing buddies, and just a lot of familiar faces in general. I feel like most people who move here find their community pretty fast, and it soon starts to feel very much like home. Fernie's also a very community-focused place. To give you an idea, in the summertime we have a concert series every week on Wednesday. In the center of town there's a free concert with a beer garden and food trucks, and it's always packed with people. You're pretty much guaranteed to run into a friend, and that's the kind of place Fernie is.

Filter: How did you end up starting a coffee shop in Fernie?

I'm originally from Calgary, I lived there until I was 14. It's a 3-hour drive away so it's pretty common for Calgarians to go skiing in Fernie on the weekends. I fell in love at a young age with the coffee scene in Calgary because roasters like Phil & Sebastian and Monogram were starting to grow around that time.

When we moved to Fernie in 2014, it was great in just about every way... except for coffee. The specialty, third-wavey scene hadn't found its way to most small towns yet. After nerding out on coffee forums for a bit, I found out that home roasting was a thing and couldn't get it out of my head. When I was 16, I convinced my parents that roasting our own coffee at home would actually be a lot cheaper than buying coffee online and begged them to let me buy a Gene Cafe home roaster.

The first batch was in the kitchen, which was instantly filled with smoke. So the second roast was on the rooftop terrace of my parents’ place (hence the name). One of my teachers at the time was opening a cafe in Fernie and wanted to serve lighter-roast coffee. I presented a rough business plan to my first "angel investors" (again, my parents), and we partnered to officially open Rooftop Coffee Roasters in June 2016, right as I graduated high school. They both have business backgrounds so they were, and continue to be, instrumental in Rooftop's growth and success. Since then we've moved around a bit, but now have a roastery-cafe in downtown Fernie.

Filter: Can you share about your role at Rooftop?

My main focus is the roastery. I'm lucky to have a fantastic team that runs the cafe side of things, which allows me to narrow in on green coffee selection, roast profiling, planning our rotation, blending, and wholesale development. I spend most of my time cupping samples, doing quality control, reaching out to new accounts, coordinating with our current clients, and messing around with our roast curves to make sure everything is tasting delicious. I most recently was able to travel to South America for our first ever origin trip, and visited our suppliers in Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia.

I absolutely love the food and coffee scene in Canada, and I love connecting the passionate folks in this industry to the innovative and talented coffee producers we purchase our coffee from. Opening a cafe in Fernie has also been so rewarding, because it's allowed us to craft a community space in our hometown.

Filter: If you could move to any place in the world just for the coffee scene, where would you move, and what shop would be the biggest reason?

Lima, and the biggest reason being Milimetrica Coffee. The roastery-cafe is co-owned by Jose Rivera, who also owns Origin Coffee Lab, an exporter based in northern Peru. Their cafe offers up a huge selection from Jose's farm, Finca La Palestina, as well as many other producers that OCL works with.

I find the coffee culture in producing countries so exciting, because they have such close links to producers. There's no time or energy lost with export/import so they have access to such fresh green coffee, and it opens up some really cool possibilities for collaboration between roasters, baristas, and producers. When I was there in October, I cupped through a bunch of samples alongside Jose, Merci Fernandez (a coffee producer in Cajamarca), and Aleph Van Oort (a barista at Milimetrica). At that cupping, Aleph selected one of Merci's coffees, which he then competed with at the nationals and placed second. I don't know of many other places where all those people are in the same room on a regular basis like that, and that's more exciting than anything I can think of.

Filter: Any last recommendations?

This is kind of my "wild card" Fernie activity, but hear me out—bowling in Montana. Just an hour drive away, in the tiny border town of Eureka, Montana, there's an absolute blast-from-the-past of a bowling alley. If your time in Fernie is limited, this is definitely not worth the trip. But if you're here for a while, bowling a few frames in cowboy country makes for a nice rainy day trip.

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Rooftop Coffee Roasters is located in the town of Fernie, British Columbia, nestled in the Rocky Mountains.

Hiking

Mount Fernie

Spineback Ridge [trailhead and info)

Swine Flu [trailhead and info]

Mount Hosmer

Castle Rock or the Montane Cabin [trailhead for both is here]

Three Sisters/Heiko's Trail

Rivers & Lakes

Elk River

Silver Springs