1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (132 page)

Hollyhock had its beginnings in the late 1960s, when the retreat offered Gestalt therapy. A group of friends and fellow thinkers bought the property in the 1980s and expanded its offerings to include an ever-widening array of programs and workshops. Today, visitors come to Hollyhock for retreats on subjects as varied as memoir writing, holistic healing for pets, Metta Vipassana meditation, studies in chant and shamanic ritual, and programs on ecology activism. However, Hollyhock also offers family vacations focused on use of the facilities (hot tubs, beach swimming, hiking, and morning yoga and stretching), plus gourmet organic meals and the option to join in classes, guided kayak trips, or bodywork sessions. For many return visitors, the other guests are a prime draw, and a regular community of familiar faces returns annually, whether to teach or attend programs, or for some simple R&R of the body and soul.

W
HERE
: 100 miles/161 km north of Vancouver. Tel 800-933-6339 or 250-935-6576;
www.hollyhock.ca
.
C
OST
: from US$132/C$155 per person, double occupancy, includes all meals; workshops, programs, kayaking extra.
W
HEN
: Mar–Nov; programs and workshops from May–mid-Oct.
B
EST TIMES
: July–Sept for weather; late July for Cortes Island Arts Festival (
www.cortesisland.com/tideline
).

Powder Snow Capital of Canada

Golden, British Columbia

Want to get a little high for dinner? And tread where only mountain goats dared to dine? Eagle’s Eye Restaurant is Canada’s highest-elevation restaurant—a soaring glass and timber lodge at the very
crest of the Purcell Range. Massive windows overlook the Columbia Valley, the main spine of the Canadian Rockies, and the jagged Selkirk Mountains. Located on a rocky summit 7,700 feet above sea level, Eagle’s Eye is reached via a 11,266-foot gondola ride in just 12 breathtaking minutes. It is a unique place for dinner—chef David Knoop creates a Rocky Mountain cuisine featuring local lamb, beef, and buffalo, as well as caribou and char, that is as elevated as the landscape. And do what you have to do to nab either of the two luxury guest suites, for the inimitable sensation of waking up on top of the world.

The restaurant is just one newsworthy element of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, a four-season ski and summer activities destination high above the small alpine town of Golden. The ski area also has the second-greatest vertical drop in the Canadian Rockies—4,133 feet (surpassed only by Whistler’s at 5,020 feet; see p. 1062). Speedy lifts take skiers to elevations as high as 8,033 feet at the summit of Blue Heaven, opening up the kind of high-elevation terrain once reserved for heli-skiers, a sport that was, by the way, born in these very mountains in the 1960s (see p. 1040).

However, it’s the quality of Kicking Horse snow that has caught the attention of serious skiers and snowboarders. Climatic patterns provide the right mixture of moist high-level air and super-dry, low-level air to create massive falls of perfect powder, and the resort’s excellent snow retention has earned Purcell Powder world reknown as “the champagne of powder.”

In summer, mountain bikers ride Canada’s longest lift with their two-wheeled steeds while below some of the best white-water rafting in the Rockies awaits.

W
HERE
: 84 miles/135 km northwest of Banff. Tel 866-754-5425 or 250-439-5424;
www.kickinghorseresort.com
.
Cost:
from US$125/C$140; lift tickets US$51/C$57.
When:
ski season mid-Dec–mid-Apr.
E
AGLE’S
E
YE
R
ESTAURANT
: Tel 256-344-8626.
Cost:
dinner US$31/C$36.
B
EST TIMES
: Jan–Mar for skiing; June for rafting.

Floating Beauties Full of Charm and Great Country Inns

British Columbia

The rural Gulf Islands archipelago is a laid-back haven for celebrities, back-to-the-earth ecofarmers, artists, and travelers seeking quiet back roads and stunning maritime beauty. These forested, rock-faced islands—
almost 100 of them, each with its own unique character—lie sprinkled between mainland Vancouver and Vancouver Island in the Strait of Georgia. Relatively undeveloped, the Gulf Islands are rustic but not undiscovered and are known for their impressive and ever-growing choice of classy country inns, B&Bs, and culinary outposts, some of western Canada’s best.

Spend a day kayaking the islands’ rugged and otherwise inaccessible coastline (populated by bald eagles, seals, sea otters, and innumerable shorebirds) and return to an evening of expertly prepared regional cuisine and sumptuous accommodations. And with much of the area now protected by the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, the wildlife, natural beauty, and resources of this marvelous archipelago will be preserved forever.

Five of the Gulf Islands are easily reached on BC Ferries, from Tsawwassen on the mainland or Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island. Salt Spring Island is the largest, with 82 miles of ragged coastline and a population of 10,000. The main town, Ganges, sits on a protected cove filled with bobbing sailboats and is known as a thriving artists colony as well as the “Organic Gardening Capital of Canada.” Get a taste of the local bounty at the boisterous Salt Spring Saturday Market held in Ganges’ Centennial Park. Delightfully incongruous to the setting is Hastings House Country Estate, a stately English manor and one of the country’s most exclusive luxury hideaways (see next page).

Galiano is a long string bean of an island whose cliff-lined southern reaches drop straight into the churning waters of Active Pass. Full of getaways where you can check your hat, it is a Vancouver favorite for an island escape. The gracious, art-filled Woodstone Country Inn, known for dining as much as for its beautifully furnished guest rooms, offers up lovely views from the terrace, where you can sit at dusk or dawn and watch abundant birdlife, grazing horses, and deer. Galiano Oceanfront Inn and Spa is a charming alternative on Sturdies Bay, located above a private beach with views onto the boat harbor and a distant lighthouse.

Across the busy waters of Active Pass is Mayne Island, once an agricultural center known for apples, tomatoes, and sheep farms. The island’s relaxed, genteel atmosphere is perfectly captured by Oceanwood Country Inn, a rambling lodge with attentive service, a splendid dining room featuring regional haute cuisine, and luxury-level rooms overlooking sea and islands.

The highlight of the Pender Islands—two rural islands joined by a short bridge—is the new Poet’s Cove Resort and Spa. Just a mile north of the U.S.-Canada border, this marina and resort on Bedwell Harbour is the primary port of call for pleasure boats passing between the two countries. Overlooking the busy marina, the large wood-beamed resort features elegant guest rooms, sumptuous two-and three-bedroom cottages, and villas scattered along the forested headland. This is the perfect spot for days of kayaking, whale-watching, or sailing, followed by massage treatments at the spa and alfresco dining on the terrace.

The Gulf Islands coastal terrain is perfect for mountain biking.

Almost half of Saturna Island is now protected in Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. Pair the island’s pristine beauty with the cozy, low-key Saturna Lodge and you’ve got the best of both worlds—a supremely comfortable small inn with elegant rooms overlooking a rock-lined bay, a dining room noted for excellent Northwest cuisine, and a chance to taste delicious, award-winning wines from local Saturna Island Vineyards. You may never leave.

W
HERE
: between Victoria and Vancouver in the Strait of Georgia.
Visitor info:
Tel 250-754-3500;
www.islands.bc.ca
.
BC F
ERRIES
: Tel 888-BCFERRY or 250-386-3431;
www.bcferries.com
.
S
ALT
S
PRING
S
ATURDAY
M
ARKET
:
www.saltspringmarket.com
.
When:
Apr–Oct.
W
OODSTONE
C
OUNTRY
I
NN
: Galiano Island. Tel 888-339-2022 or 250-539-2022;
www.woodstoneinn.com
.
Cost:
from US$122/C$137 (off-peak), from US$142/C$159 (peak).
When:
closed Dec–mid-Feb.
G
ALIANO
O
CEANFRONT
I
NN AND
S
PA
: Tel 877-530-3939 or 250-539-3388;
www.galianoinn.com
.
Cost:
from US$133/C$149 (off-peak), from US$222/C$249 (peak).
O
CEANWOOD
C
OUNTRY
I
NN
: Mayne Island.
Tel 250-539-5074;
www.oceanwood.com
.
Cost:
from US$124/C$139 (off-peak), from US$160/C$179 (peak).
When:
closed late Oct–mid-Mar.
P
OETS
C
OVE
R
ESORT AND
S
PA
: South Pender Island. Tel 888-512-7638 or 250-629-2100;
www.poetscove.com
.
Cost:
from US$142/C$159 (off-peak), from US$258/C$289 (peak).
S
ATURNA
L
ODGE
: Saturna Island. Tel 888-539-8800 or 250-539-2254;
www.saturna.ca
.
Cost:
from US$112/C$125.
When:
closed Jan–Feb.
B
EST TIMES
: Apr–Oct for best weather.

An English Manor with a Pacific View

Salt Spring Island, Gulf Islands, British Columbia

Of the dozens of islands that make up the Gulf Islands archipelago in the Strait of Georgia between Vancouver and Victoria (see p. 1037), Salt Spring Island is the largest and most developed. But it is still a world apart
for the urbanites who flock here, especially if they have booked at the Tudor-style Hastings House, an exemplary luxury retreat perched above the town of Ganges amid 22 lush acres of flowering English gardens and towering Douglas firs.

One of western Canada’s most exclusive hideaways, Hastings House Country Estate has a long history, and each of its historic buildings has had its individual era and style preserved into a curious mix of luxury-level accommodations. Reserve a room in the old plank barn for example: Totally transformed from the inside out, it now houses a set of wonderfully quirky, elegant suites and an intimate spa. There’s nothing rustic about the Hayloft suite except the comfortable, Canadian country-style furniture and the high, gabled ceiling. The original Hudson’s Bay Company trading post has been transformed into a two-room garden cottage complete with French doors that open onto a lawn where sheep graze and deep views look down to the sea. The 19th-century farmhouse has been converted into two-story suites, complete with a friendly ghost (or tales of one).

The rural estate’s centerpiece is the imposing Manor House, courtesy of English-born former owners, who in the 1930s built a home to resemble the centuries-old Sussex country manse they were forced to leave behind. The Manor House now features two elegant suites, plus the renowned Manor Dining Room, which offers some of the best dining in Canada. Dinner here, overlooking lavender gardens and the sea, is the romantic, let’s-dress-for-dinner highlight of a stay at Hastings House. Meals are prepared with ingredients harvested from the inn’s gardens and orchards and pulled from the islands’ fish-rich waters and fertile farmland—try the Local Salt Spring Island lamb; it’s justly famous.