Fernie's downtown is the town's best non-skiing walk: a short grid of brick and stone buildings rebuilt after the fires of 1904 and 1908. The heritage walk links the courthouse, old bank buildings, churches, and commercial blocks, with the mountains constantly visible at the end of the streets.
It is a good first stop because it explains why Fernie feels different from many newer resort towns in British Columbia. This was a coal and railway town first, and the ski culture came later.