1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (133 page)

The inviting Sussex-style Manor House offers luxurious lodging overlooking the peaceful Ganges Harbour.

H
ASTINGS
H
OUSE
: 160 Upper Ganges Rd. Tel 800-661-9255 or 250-537-2362;
www.hastingshouse.com
.
Cost:
from US$468/C$525; 4-course dinner US$36/C$40.
When:
mid-Mar–mid-Nov.
BC F
ERRIES
: from Tsawwassen on mainland, and Swartz Bay and Crofton on Vancouver Island. Tel 250-386-3431;
www.bcferries.com
.
B
EST TIMES
: Apr–Oct for weather.

High-Altitude Nirvana in Remote Backcountry

British Columbia

Just west of the continent-dividing Canadian Rockies rise waves of mountains: The Cariboo, Bugaboo, Monashee, Selkirk, and Purcell ranges are unknown to many, but famed to fans of high-mountain hiking and powder
skiing. These remote ranges are short on traditional mountaintop resorts, but their heavy snowfalls and breathtaking scenery make them irresistible year-round destinations to adventurers. There are no ski lifts on most (there are barely any roads) but getting to the mountain-top has never been so easy—or exhilarating.

In the Purcell Mountains, Crescent Towers is 9,285 feet tall.

Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH) solved that logistical problem beginning in 1965 by ferrying in skiers and outdoor enthusiasts aboard its fleet of helicopters. Today, CMH operates 12 comfortable backcountry lodges perched at about 4,000 feet in the majestic heights of southeastern British Columbia. The lodges, which are fully modern and very comfortable despite their isolation, each accommodate only 40-some guests at a time, guaranteeing individual attention and service while offering exclusive access to a wilderness area half the size of Switzerland—all without a chairlift (or chairlift line) in sight.

The challenges of high-country skiing require at least strong intermediate to advanced skills, but the rewards are generous. In the course of one mind-boggling powder-filled week, helicopters set skiers down for 8 to 15 different runs per day, all on snow uncrossed by another human’s tracks. The preferences and skills of the individual—and the expert guides’ and pilots’ consideration of weather and snow conditions—determine the day’s adventure. Meanwhile, back at the lodge, skiers can depend on mountain-man breakfasts and epicurean dinners, with a massage to make your day that much more perfect.

As soon as the snows melt, heli-tourist thoughts turn to summer hiking and trekking. The high country is transformed into a primordial world of alpine wildflowers, creaking glaciers, rivulets, and monumental views of dozens of snowcapped mile-high peaks. Five of the lodges remain open, enticing adventurers to remote and rarely visited backcountry for hiking, mountaineering, and climbing. Some heli-hiking ambles are gentle enough to accommodate four-generation family groups, but others require some technical climbing skill and mountaineering training, which guides can provide.

W
HERE
: Trips originate in Calgary.
C
ANADIAN
M
OUNTAIN
H
OLIDAYS
(CMH)
: Tel 800-661-0252 or 403-762-7100;
www.canadianmountainholidays.com
C
OST
: 8-day ski trips all-inclusive (with equipment) from US$4,604/C$5,155 per person, double occupancy; 3-night hiking trip from US$1,850/C$2,071 per person, all-inclusive. Transportation (2- to 6-hour road trip from Calgary, followed by 10-minute helicopter ride to any of the 12 mountain lodges) is included.
W
HEN
: ski trips Dec–May; hiking trips early July–late Sept.
B
EST TIMES
: Jan–Feb for best ski conditions; Dec and May for low-season ski trip rates; early July–mid-Aug for hikes among the wildflowers; early Sept for fall foliage.

A Duffer’s Paradise at the Columbia River Headwaters

Invermere, British Columbia

The southwest corner of British Columbia is a top destination for golfers with a long attention span. Between Cranbrook and Radium Hot Springs, a distance of 87 miles, there are 12 championship-level golf courses,
many consistently rated among Canada’s best. The reason this area is popular for building courses (many of them in the last 15 years) becomes clear as you gaze at the skyline. Here, at the headwaters of the Columbia River, the broad lake-filled valley is surrounded by the saw-toothed Canadian Rockies and the glaciered Purcell Mountains. Until recently, the valley floor was open ranch land, so the new golf courses have had plenty of room to limber up, stretch out—and then work in some kinks.

Of the many excellent courses in the area, perhaps the most notable is Greywolf Golf Course at Panorama Mountain Village, at the edge of the canyon-cut Purcells just west of Invermere. Canadian course architect Doug Carrick designed Greywolf to offer spectacular mountain vistas from every hole, making it nearly impossible to keep your eye on the ball. “Cliffhanger,” Greywolf’s signature hole, requires a carry of between 140 and 200 yards over a canyon onto a rocky crag that forms an “island” green with steep vertical drops on the front, left, and back. With dramatic beauty and challenges like this, it’s no wonder Greywolf was named best new Canadian course by
Golf Digest
magazine when it opened in 1999. For lodging, Panorama offers over 500 rooms, including the Gold Premium Condos just above the Panorama Springs Hot Pools. Six other top rated courses are within a 40-minute drive.

In winter, Panorama Mountain Village focuses on skiing: With a 4,300-foot vertical drop and nearly 3,000 patrolled acres, it has more than 120 trails, serviced by nine lifts. It has all the trappings of a great resort, including a much acclaimed ski school, but it never gets crowded—one of its many pluses.

W
HERE
: 183 miles/295 km west of Calgary. Tel 888-473-9965 or 250-341-4100;
www.greywolfgolf.com
.
Cost:
greens fees from US$70/C$79 (off-peak), from US$106/C$119 (peak).
When:
May–early Oct.
P
ANORAMA
M
OUNTAIN
V
ILLAGE
: Tel 800-663-2929 or 250-342-6941;
www.panoramaresort.com
.
Cost:
from US$160/C$179; lift tickets US$53/C$59.
When:
early Dec–mid-Apr for ski season; mid-May–mid-Oct for golfing.
B
EST TIMES
: Jan–Mar for skiing; July–Oct for golfing; Oct for foliage.

Bliss in the Wilderness on the Edge of the Map

British Columbia

The adventure begins as the helicopter whisks you away, soaring above the islands of Queen Charlotte Strait, nosing toward the craggy, glaciered peaks of the Coast Mountains on the largely unsung western coast of Canada.
Your destination is Nimmo Bay Resort, an 18-guest wilderness retreat carved into this remote corner of Great Bear Rain Forest. No roads lead to Nimmo Bay; at this pocket-size enclave of luxury and ecological stewardship, guests experience the serenity of a verdant waterfront paradise with opportunities for action-packed adventures in the primordial wilderness—all far from the rigors and disruptions of modern life.

Nimmo Bay Resort was a pioneer in using helicopters for adventure tourism, and the resort’s private helicopter is the conveyance for a series of thrilling “heli-ventures”—ascending 6,000 feet up and over ancient rain forests to the toe of a glacier for a gourmet mountaintop picnic hike; flying to a small Kwakiutl Indian village surmounted by totem poles; or heading to the area’s pristine rivers and streams for catch-and-release fishing. For a less lofty day, guests can begin the morning with a massage or yoga session, then go beachcombing for shells and driftwood, or get a seal’s-eye view of the bay during a guided sea kayaking trip.

At the end of the day’s adventure, return to the resort’s nine elegantly furnished, cedar-paneled chalets, built on stilts above a fjordlike bay. The dining room competes with Vancouver’s best: locally grown organic produce, fish and shellfish pulled this morning from neighboring bays, paired with wines from around the world.

Owners Craig and Deborah Murray have built the resort into a wilderness paradise after almost a quarter century of hard work and dedication. Once written off as eccentric dreamers, they now hold the gold standard to which all others aspire.

W
HERE
: 200 miles/322 km north of Vancouver. Tel 800-837-4354 or 250-956-4000;
www.nimmobay.com
.
C
OST
: numerous packages available; 3-night package from US$5,268/C$5,995 per person; includes meals, activities, and helicopter rides, including transfer from Port Hardy to Nimmo Bay.
W
HEN
: May–Oct.
B
EST TIMES
: Aug–Oct for fishing; May–July for most other activities.

The Napa Valley of Canada

British Columbia

To early settlers of central British Columbia, this steep and craggy valley with a number of interconnected lakes (
okanagan
is the Salishan word for “lake”) must have seemed barren and forlorn. With less than 12 inches of
rain a year and summer temperatures that can spike up to 100°F/38°C, the Okanagan Valley effectively comprises a glacial lake flanked by desert. But this landscape holds a secret—just add water to create a fruit-growing oasis. With irrigation, the narrow arid valley was transformed from desert to an orchardist’s paradise: Today you’ll see roadside farm stands selling cherries, apricots, plums, pears, peaches—and especially apples.

Although French missionaries first planted wine grapes in Kelowna in the 1860s, it wasn’t until a century later that modern winemaking took root in the Okanagan Valley. Today, with more than 7,000 acres in wine grape production and over 50 wineries (70, if you include the small artisanal operations), the dry yet fertile valley is Canada’s second-largest wine-producing area (after the Niagara region in Ontario; see p. 1000), with wines very similar to nearby Washington State’s in power and finesse (see p. 883). Like California’s Napa Valley 30 years ago (see p. 833), the Okanagan remains relatively unknown outside Canada. It is a wine success story waiting to be written.

The Okanagan’s wine-growing area begins immediately north of the U.S.-Canada border at Osoyoos and extends along the lake-filled valley to Vernon, a distance of 118 miles. Kelowna—a bustling city of 104,000 that essentially straddles Okanagan Lake—is the valley’s most sophisticated destination for dining and lodging and is central for tasting expeditions into wine country. Over a dozen wineries are within a half hour’s drive of Kelowna, so ask for local recommendations and set out (or let Okanagan Wine Country Tours do the driving so you can sample to your palate’s content). Wineries not to miss include Quails’ Gate Estate—try its pinot noir and chardonnay in a tasting room located in an 1873 stone home or at their Old Vines Patio, with alfresco dining and views over vineyards and Okanagan Lake. Mission Hill Family Estate Winery was one of the first serious vineyards on board, established in 1981. Its handsome, upscale $40 million winery looks like a cross between a Tuscan hill town and a French monastery. The tasting room offers award-winning chardonnay, merlot, ice wine, and the estate’s signature Bordeaux-inspired Oculus. Terrace, Mission Hill’s restaurant, offers light regional cuisine paired with estate wines and, on summer evenings, live music.

Where there’s good wine there’s always good food, and Kelowna has become a chef’s playground. See what’s cooking at Fresco Restaurant, known for some of the most exciting and stylish dining in town. Its excellent local wine list and regionally sourced cuisine are prepared with contemporary savvy by chef-owner Rod Butters, who is one of Kelowna’s better-known and most innovative chefs. One of the area’s most characterful lodgings is the lakeside Hotel Eldorado. Of its 55 all-unique rooms, some of the best, appointed entirely with antiques, are the suites that have balconies and views of the lake. You just might spot Ogopogo, the lake’s own “Loch Ness monster,” especially after a day spent tippling.