Wilderness revival
A new breed of Canadian lodges is bringing comfort to the backcountry
So it's not surprising that a new kind of cabin fever is sweeping the backwoods, one which has less to do with black flies and bad plumbing, and more to do with luxury accommodations and great food.
Whether you're looking for mountain heli-lodges, floating ocean spas or Arctic fine dining, you can explore luxury in some of the country's most beautiful and remote surroundings.
The
North
Dalton Trail Lodge, Haines Junction, YK
(tel: 867-634-2099; www.daltontrail.com)
Snug beneath majestic snowcaps, this Swiss-run lodge offers 21st-century
comfort — including vintage wines, gourmet game meals and Internet
access — in primeval surroundings. The St. Elias mountains,
Canada's tallest, rule over spectacular Kluane National Park, a
lost world of grizzly bears, hurtling white water and the largest
glacial icefields outside the Poles. The emphasis here is on floatplanes
and King-Kong size sportfishing — king salmon go over 27 kilograms
and catching 10 in an afternoon is an everyday occurrence.
Rates for meals and accommodation start at $230 per day. A seven-day eco-adventure is $3050; one-week king salmon fishing packages are $2700.
Blachford Lake Lodge, Great Slave Lake,
NWT
(tel: 867-873-3303; www.blachfordlakelodge.com)
Discovering this roadless resort near Great Slave Lake takes a floatplane
and a sense of direction. Set in the heart of the taiga, the sprawling
spruce and moose country north of 60, the lodge has a gourmet chef,
astronomy room and golf course. There are enough rooms and cabins
for 35 guests, each equipped with a goose-down duvet. The month
of August is the time for Northern Lights — night skies here
lie within the most active part of the giant aurora oval. The resort
also offers cultural weekends with the Dene Nation.
Rates range from $249 to $425 per day, excluding airfare. An eight-day, all-inclusive cottage stay with a return flight to Yellowknife is $2749. The lodge has deals on Canadian North and First Air for flights from Calgary and Edmonton.
Arctic Watch Lodge, Somerset Island, NU
(tel: 877-272-8426/819-459-1794; www.canadianarcticholidays.ca)
Located 800 kilometres above the Arctic Circle, this unique resort
— the most northerly in the world — offers heated cabins
with full plumbing. Summer guests kayak, river raft, hike, mountain
bike and drive ATVs through the incomparable scenery of mountains,
tundra, white water and pack ice. Bask in the midnight sun (the
weather's a gentle 15°C), fish for Arctic char that the kitchen
can transform into sushi, or wander beaches littered with whalebones
and artifacts of the ancient Thule Inuit. Polar bears, muskox, caribou,
seals and whales are all close by. Each July, you can get within
a few metres of 2000 migrating beluga whales. Week-long packages
are $4000 (excluding airfare).
Western
Canada
King Pacific Lodge, Princess Royal Island, BC
(tel: 888-592-5464/604-987-5452; www.kingpacificlodge.com)
Fly north for this extravagant floating hotel hidden off the Great
Bear Rainforest, south of Prince Rupert. The King Pacific is as
opulent as it gets: with only 17 rooms and a wraparound deck, accommodations
range from 55-square-metre rooms with slate tubs to the two-floor
Princess Royal Suite. The full-treatment spa has saunas and therapeutic
pools. Award-winning champagnes and wines accompany gourmet dining.
Great Bear is the home of the white Spirit Bear, a black bear subspecies with a recessive gene (best seen in September). Activities include whale watching, sea kayaking, saltwater trolling, fly-fishing, wildlife viewing, heli-hiking, floatplane excursions and nature seminars. All-inclusive three-day rates start at $4095 per person.
Echo Valley Ranch and Spa, Jesmond, BC
(tel: 800-253-8831; www.evranch.com)
This place flies you in to spend sunburnt days in the saddle with
working cowboys and devotes the spicy nights to the world of The
King and I. The wonderful staff are Thai, the delicious food is
Thai, and the spa experience could only be from Thailand. The explanation?
One of the owners hails from Thailand. Echo Valley is an Asian fantasy
come to life in the High Chaparral. All-inclusive three-night packages
start at $700 per person.
Rafter Six Ranch Resort, Exshaw, AB
(tel: 403-673-3622; www.raftersix.com)
Cowboy traditions meet the high country in the Rockies, known as
the best place for horseback thrills and alpine trail rides. The
Rafter Six, the best of the area's many dude ranches, sits at the
feet of the Bow and Kananaskis Valleys, an hour and a half from
Calgary. The grand lodge has 18 rooms with log frame beds; also
available are four-person cabins and six-person chalets with fireplaces.
There are restaurants, saloons, shops and a Western museum. Guests
enjoy rodeos, and ponies are available for kids. Riding packages
are tailored to every taste; backcountry trips are offered. Double
occupancy rates start from $159 per day.
The Inn & Spa at Heartwood Manor, Drumheller,
AB
(tel: 888-823-6495/403-823-6495; www.innsatheartwood.com)
This small resort is a multifaceted gem. Period suites filled with
antiques are the setting for champagne and chocolate breakfasts.
At the spa, herbal baths, stone therapy and body polishing are all
available. Waiting outside are canyon hikes and dinosaur bones in
a hard-bitten land of wind, sky and bizarre rock spires. Hunt for
fossils with the pros, or sip a cocktail as pronghorn antelopes
race the sun to the horizon. All-inclusive packages start at $569
per person for two nights. Two hours of dinosaur hunting with paleontology
experts is $120.
The
Prairies
Eagle Point Lodge & Marina, La Ronge, SK
(tel: 888-332-4536/306-425-2273; www.eaglepoint.ca)
This northern big-lake resort is all about the water. Explore 1000
kilometres of shoreline where every bend is a frontier and every
bay is empty. Relax in your own log cottage, or captain a houseboat
(which sleeps six) through the 1300 islands dotting the 64-kilometre-wide
lake. The waterfalls and wilds of La Ronge Provincial Park are close
by. Cottages start at $175 per day. Motorized, fully equipped houseboats
that sleep four are available from $2360 per week.
North Knife Lake Lodge, Thompson, MB
(tel: 888-932-2377; www.webberslodges.com/northknife)
It's the lure of leaping fish in mirror-like lakes that fill floatplanes
to this deep woods resort 700 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Only
16 guests at a time experience this one-of-a-kind fishery featuring
trophy northern pike and lake trout. The lake offers 45 kilometres
of backwater bays, boulder-strewn shorelines and manicured sand
bars for fly-fishing. After paddling along the lake at sunset, return
to the wood-fired hot tub and a meal by award-winning cookbook authors.
In addition to fishing, spot birds, bears and belugas on an eco-tour
along Hudson's Bay. Four-day Amer-ican-plan fishing packages are
$3395 per person. Seven-day stays at one of the river outposts start
at $1400 per person, quad occupancy.
Central
Canada
Kesagami Wilderness Lodge, Cochrane, ON
(tel: 888-234-8882; www.kesagami.com)
About as far from Toronto's streets as the moon, this fly-in resort
is definitely closer to the caribou and wolves framed by its picture
windows. Kesagami is the place to tackle James Bay's summer monsters
— river sturgeon, brook trout and prize northern pike. Full-service
cabins are offered, and the lodge has staterooms with deep baths.
There's also a bar, movie lounge and BBQ restaurant serving moose.
Non-anglers are welcome at nature seminars. Seven-day packages range
from $1600 to $2400.
Hummingbird Hill Country Spa Retreat, Astorville,
ON
(tel: 800-661-4976/705-752-4547; www.hummingbirdhill.ca)
This unique, small, boutique resort is located in northeastern Ontario
cottage country. A stylish counter-culture survivor, it's housed
in two remarkable, hotel-sized, cedar geodesic domes built in the
1970s. Once a private home, everything here has been imaginatively
handcrafted with an enthusiasm still evident in the resort's award-winning
flower gardens, spa treatments (including hot chocolate massage
and body sugaring) and inimitable cuisine (featuring brie in puff
pastry with hot pepper jelly and basil scallops). Horse riding,
hiking and canoeing are offered. Double occupancy rates start at
$115 a day. One- to two-day spa packages start at $350.
Odyssée Boréale, Lac Sébastien,
QC
(tel: 866-772-2882; www.odysseeboreale.com)
Giving out latitude and longitude numbers instead of an address,
this eco-adventure resort in the Saguenay is the new breed in the
deep woods. A refined approach to wilderness combines back-of-beyond
pursuits with "green" ideas and award-winning dining. Lodge rooms
and chalets are designed with Scandinavian flair, and meals are
game meats and chic nouvelle cuisine. Astronomy courses and archery
are offered along with outdoor activities and nature seminars. Two-night
packages with return flight to Montreal are $2530 per person; four-night
packages, $3440 return.
Atlantic
Canada
The Ledges Inn, Doaktown, NB
(tel: 877-365-1820; www.ledgesinn.com)
In July, 12-kilogram Atlantic salmon gather in the river in front
of the inn, filling "cold water pools" reserved for guests. There's
also boating, the New Brunswick Trail, and Kouchibouguac Beach.
Those who want food with a bang have acres of habitat to hunt woodcock,
wildfowl, pheasant and grouse.
Life's gentler side includes massages along with fireplaces and king-size beds. The dining room offers four-course meals of fare such as warm blueberry-duck salad, fresh cedar-planked salmon, and scallop aumonière with brie. Salmon fly-fishing on the Miramichi River runs from July 1 to October 1. Packages start at $425 per person per day in the spring, $500 in season.
Trout Point Lodge, Kemptville, NS
(tel: 902-482-8360/749-7629; www.troutpoint.com)
Trout Point is only 40 kilometres from Yarmouth, but it is remote
enough that access is a narrow dirt road. An eco-lodge with Italian
tile, the resort is on a 80-hec-tare wooded estate bordering two
rivers and a wilderness preserve. Enjoy water activities and wildlife
watching, along with hot tubs, culinary lessons and a dining room
specializing in French, New World cookery. The Louisiana proprietors
recently published a recipe book to accompany their on-site cooking
school, which is one of Canada's best.
The Inn at Spry Point, Souris, PEI
(tel: 902-583-2400; www.innatsprypoint.com)
Facing away from the pastoral charms of King's County, the 45-hectare
peninsula of Spry Point juts into the sea, setting the tone for
secluded walks. Over two kilometres of undeveloped shorefront invites
exploration, as do trails that traverse red-clay cliffs where visitors
can get a great view of the Northumberland Strait. There are kayak
rentals and three four-star golf courses nearby. The inn's 15 rooms
have canopied king-size beds and sitting areas, most with private
balconies. The contemporary dining room features locally grown organic
vegetables. Room rates start at $185.
Quirpon Lighthouse Inn, L' Anse-aux-Meadows,
NL
(tel: 877-254-6586/709-634-2285; www.explorenewfoundland.com)
As hard to get to as it is to pronounce, Quirpon (mumble it like
"harpoon") is worth the effort. Bolted across the jagged top of
sheer cliffs, this former lighthouse keeper's residence is now an
impeccable period inn that guards the Labrador Strait and amazing
Iceberg Alley. In summer, drifting armadas of "bergs" collect close
to shore amid squads of humpback and minke whales. Sea kayak with
orcas, slap a paddle at 12-metre humpbacks and slip through the
sculptured world of the iceberg flotilla. Double rates are $325
for a standard room, $375 for a suite. Outfitting fees are extra.
This article was accurate when it was published. Please confirm rates and details directly with the companies in question.
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