While there has been a hot springs hotel at Harrison since 1886, today the Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa is a world class cuttingedge relaxation destination.
Harrison revealed
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BC Getaways
where to stay where to play where to dine
a children’s waterpark, tennis courts, 3 outdoor and two indoor hot spring mineral pools and in 2001, the Healing Springs Spa.
PHOTOS AND STORY BY MARK HOOD
We checked in and it wasn’t long before the resort ‘feel’ began to Just over an hour from Vancouver by car there is a world of luxurious resorts, take hold. On our way down to dinner, Laura remarked that spas, artisan food makers and wineries perched on the edge of some of it reminded her of some BC’s wildest outdoors. of the more opulent resorts on Maui. A little research There has been Harrison Mills have mustered Harrison Hot Springs revealed that a hot springs their resources and created and the Fraser Valley The Copper hotel at the self-guided Circle Farm have quietly become a place I thought Room is easily Harrison since Tours providing first hand rural one of the most exciting the finest dining I knew offered much, 1886. Today, contact and fresh-from-the-field and interesting holiday room in the much more than the Harrison ingredients for people from destinations in the province. Fraser Valley I expected. Hot Springs the city. A little research revealed and can hold it’s Resort and Spa that a place I thought I knew own with anything We booked our first night and is one of Western offered much, much more you’ll find in Vancouver. dinner at the Harrison Hot Canada’s premier resort than I expected. Service was polished, Springs Resort and Spa, our destinations. Not content to rest professional and attentive without second night at the new Harrison The Fraser Valley on their historic laurels, over the being obtrusive. Beach Hotel and our final night municipalities of Abbotsford, years the resort expanded to 337 at Rowena’s Inn on the River in Langley, Maple Ridge, There was a Las Vegas showroom/ rooms, added meeting facilities, Nearby Harrison Mills. Chilliwack and AgassizRat Pack vibe to it. Maybe it was
“Fall Exclusive” All Inclusive! A fabulous all inclusive stay in a deluxe lakeview guestroom at the Penticton Lakeside Resort! Your visit begins with a bottle of your choice of Mission Hill Pinot Blanc or Mission Hill Cabernet Merlot delivered to your room upon arrival, followed by dinner at the Bufflehead Pasta & Tapas Room. Your dinner includes a caesar salad to start, your choice of chicken parmigiana, broiled salmon or a 10 oz flat iron steak and profiteroles or gelato for dessert. For breakfast you will enjoy a full Canadian Breakfast in the Hooded Merganser on top of Okanagan Lake. All meals include coffee, tea or juice. This package is available until December 30th, 2011.
This fabulous package for two starts at only $210.00 + taxes. *Some restrictions apply.
PENTICTON LAKESIDE RESORT Convention Centre & Casino 21 lakeshore dr w penticton bc
1.800.663.9400 www.pentictonlakesideresort.com
A26 - North Shore News - Sunday, October 9, 2011
The new pet-friendly Harrison Beach Hotel offers comprehensive amenities and great views of Harrison Lake.
the nightly entertainment and large dance floor, maybe it was the grandeur of the décor, maybe it was the kitchen’s high culinary standards. Whatever it was, it all combined to create an atmosphere that banished any worries you might be packing around with you. It was magic. Laura ordered rack of lamb, medium, and I chose the evening special — a savoury ragout of venison, buffalo and caribou served in a large Yorkshire pudding — both with mashed potatoes and fresh seasonal vegetables. Though full, we couldn’t resist splitting a desert — a Praline Chocolate Royale served with roasted Agassiz hazelnuts. The next morning began with breakfast in the hotel’s Lakeview Terrace. There were comprehensive hot and cold buffet selections and an omelette station where you could select your ingredients and have eggs prepared while you watched. Laura had a post-breakfast appointment at the hotel’s Healing Springs Spa. Opened in the year 2001, Healing Springs is a gorgeous compliment to the resort’s hot mineral pools.
There you can indulge yourself with massage, facial and body care treatments as well as multitreatment packages. For Laura, the traditional European Relaxation Massage was just the thing to chase away the last twinges of a hectic week and left her recharged for the start of the next one.
explained away as something else. His tales of sightings and tell-tale signs are well-reasoned and he has become a valuable resource for people investigating what many dismiss as mere myth.
...an atmosphere that banished any worries you might be packing around with you. It was magic.
While she enjoyed her spa treatment, I met up in the lobby with North America’s only full time Sasquatch hunter. I had arranged the meeting through the people at Tourism Harrison and wasn’t sure what to expect. Bill Miller was reassuringly normal. He had his first Sasquatch encounter in 1980 in Minnesota and has gone on to try to get to the bottom of an enduring wilderness mystery. The area around Harrison Hot Springs is Sasquatch Ground Zero and Miller, originally from Illinois, began visiting in 2002. He brings the seasoned eye of an experienced outdoorsman to tracking a creature that cannot be
Harrison is now his full time home and he is in the process of setting up a wilderness guiding business to take visitors up in the country that surrounds the lake and share with them the beauty he sees every day. After checking out of the resort, we moved a little eastward to the new Harrison Beach Hotel. Located just across the street from the lake front, the Harrison Beach Hotel is part of the True Key Resort group that offers holiday rentals and fractional boutique
resort ownership opportunities in Harrison, Parksville, Sooke and Radium Hotsprings. Rooms in The Harrison Beach Hotel are bright and spacious with either lake or mountain views. There is an indoor pool, fitness centre, free wi-fi, a meeting room and concierge services. With advance notice you can book a wheelchair accessible room and they also have pet-friendly accommodations. This is a big plus as Harrison, with its forest trails and long sandy beaches is an ideal place to take a dog. We left the pooch at home, but noted it for next time. Each room comes equipped with a mini-fridge, microwave, coffee maker and some rooms offer cooking facilities. The unspoiled view of the lake and the cooking facilities — with pots and utensils — were just what we were after.
Abbotsford’s Lepp Farm Market is a busy family owned and operated year-round country market with a great selection of fresh meats and veggies, its own smokehouse and a focus on locally produced foodstuffs.
Our mission: create a meal from locally sourced foods. The Circle Farm Tour web site is a great resource and a little more research helped fill in the blanks. We started at the Farm House Natural Cheeses shop in Harrison.
Winery in Abbotsford. Nestled in the rolling countryside between the Fraser River and the highway, today Mt Lehman produces reds and whites at a respectable range of price points from their 15 acre vineyard and their wines picked up 22 medals in four competitions in 2010 alone.
Here a range of dairy products and artisan cheeses are produced using We picked up their Pinot Grigio milk from the farm’s own goats and a bottle of their 2009 Cabernet and cows. There are Cheddars, Sauvignon Reserve having sampled Bleus, fresh Chevres and more. We both in the tasting room. The white opted for a wedge of fresh Brie, a was big on apple and citrus chunk of Farmhouse Bleu flavours and would and half a pound of make a great fresh-made unsalted summer patio All from within butter. gulper. The red an hour’s drive, was a jammy Next stop: The all fresh, and full-bodied Town Butcher stunner, aged on Yale Road all bursting 13 months in in Chilliwack. with flavour. American and Though not French Oak. officially on the Circle Farm Tour, Our final stop was proprietors Bill and Liv the Lepp Farm Market on Turnbull have been receiving the Abbotsford Mission highway. rave reviews for their fresh meat This is a busy family owned and and poultry selections, almost operated year-round country all sourced from within a 50 market with a great selection of kilometre radius of their shop. fresh meats and veggies, its own smokehouse and a focus on locally We picked up some plump pork produced foodstuffs. chops and a fresh head of Russian Red garlic grown in the nearby We picked up fresh corn on the Columbia Valley. cob, nugget potatoes, a baguette and a little olive oil to finish off the From there we proceeded to the evening’s grocery requirements. tasting room of the Mt. Lehman
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Sunday, October 9, 2011 - North Shore News - A27
Early bird: a bald eagle gathers on the banks of the Harrison River to feed on spawning salmon. By mid-November there will be over 3,000 bald eagles in the area.
Back in the comfort of our Harrison Beach Hotel base camp, we unpacked our treasures and began to assemble the meal. First up — a little of the Mt Lehman Pinot Grigio and some Brie. I sliced off a creamy chunk, spread it on a baguette slice and popped it in to Laura’s mouth. Her eyes lit up and she immediately asked for more. A short while later it was the Bleu and the Cabernet Sauvignon. The cheese was a Stiltony musty masterpiece of texture and flavour and the red was a robust compliment. It was epic pre-meal pyrotechnics. The main course consisted of nugget potatoes sautéed in a little
Located 1 hour from Vancouver in the majestic village of Harrison Hot Springs, Harrison Beach Hotel offers unparalleled quality and affordability. Close to dining and shopping and boasting stunning views of Harrison Lake, Harrison Beach Hotel offers something for everyone.
160 Esplanade Ave, Harrison Hot Springs 866-338-8111 | www.harrisonbeachhotel.ca
A28 - North Shore News - Sunday, October 9, 2011
With a wood-burning fireplace, jetted soaker tub and king sized bed, Fenn’s Cottage at Rowena’s Inn on the River is the kind of getaway cottage you’d build for yourself if you had the time and resources.
olive oil and fresh butter, steaming hot corn on the cob with more fresh butter, and pork chops pan fried in olive oil and garlic. All from within an hour’s drive, all fresh, and all bursting with flavour. After dinner we went out on the deck to watch the last fingers of daylight play out across the lake. It was getting chilly, but a perfect prelude to cozy night for two. The next day began with a stop the Back Porch basketry, pottery studio and artisan coffee roasting emporium in Harrison. Here Lynda Scobie creates and sells willow baskets and pottery. The baskets are made from willow grown on the property and carefully prepared to ensure lasting beauty. Off to the side of the pottery studio, Dan Laurenson uses a 1919 flame coffee roaster to produce his own blends of certified organic and estate coffees that are available by the cup or by the pound. Our next stop on the Circle Tour that day was a historic site with connections to the North
and thoughtful, Shore: the Kilby Historic a wealth of Site at Harrison Mills. information and Built in 1906 by The Fraser Valley... had a keen eye Thomas Kilby, the For luxury getaways, for the eagles, Kilby General local food sourcing, herons and Store, Hotel outdoor exploration other wildlife and Post Office and history, it’s hard that call the was operated by estuary home. Thomas’ son Acton to think of its equal. from 1922 until He showed 1977 when he turned us some ancient the complex, including his petroglyphs carved Waterloo Farm, into a museum. into a granite cliff face, the half submerged wreckage of an old There are numerous outbuildings paddle wheeler and the largely and the farmyard is alive with untouched country along the chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats, banks of one of BC’s most cattle, horses and pigs. important salmon rivers. The North Shore connection? There were a few eagles on Acton’s son, Acton Jr., moved to North Vancouver where he hand to feed on the first of the raised his family. His son, the third spawning Pink, Coho, Sockeye, Acton in the Kilby line, owned Chinook and Chum salmon that and operated Kilby’s restaurant return each year to continue in the Edgemont Village for a nature’s inscrutable design. number of years. In a few weeks when the level The last leg of our Harrison of the river drops, revealing the spent carcasses of countless fish, exploration was a wildlife viewing the eagle population will swell to tour of the Harrison River. I had over 3,000 as they gather to play arranged the trip on Saturday morning at the reservation desk of their part in the annual ritual of renewal. Harrison Eco Tours in the lobby of the Harrison Hot Springs Hotel. That night we moved to our Our guide, Bill Sivak, had travelled final stop at Rowena’s Inn on the and fished the waters since he was River at Harrison Mills. Built as a private country home on land a teenager and knew every bend granted to the Pretty family — one in the river. He was soft spoken
of BC’s pioneer lumber families — by Queen Victoria, Rowena’s is also home to the Sandpiper Golf Club and the River’s Edge Restaurant. It was Laura’s first visit to Rowena’s but I had golfed and stayed there before and it remains one of my favourite vacation getaway haunts. We had been travelling a good chunk of the day so the first order of business was dinner in the River’s Edge. Laura was eyeing a large salad but my order of prime rib with Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables was too good to resist and she joined me. It was Sunday night after all.
From humble beginnings, Fraser Valley vineyards are now producing wines that consistently win awards across North America.
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Vancouver Coast & Mountains Abbotsford | Agassiz & Harrison Mills | Chilliwack | Langley | Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows
www.circlefarmtour.com
Sunday, October 9, 2011 - North Shore News - A29
The Inn’s five suites were bedrooms for members of the Pretty family and today are tastefully accented with period furnishings, overstuffed bedding and views of the Harrison River. There are also four log cottages in early West Coast Chalet style, and The Gatehouse — a two bedroom residence at the resort’s entrance. Fenn’s Cottage, our destination for the night, was exactly the sort of place you would build as a getaway cottage for yourself if you had the resources. The king sized bed, jetted soaker tub, sitting area and wood burning fireplace all combined with the subtle aroma of cedar to create an almost dream-like atmosphere. The Fraser Valley — the Lower Mainland literally flows from it. We think we know it yet for many people it remains terra incognita, ground to be crossed on their way elsewhere. For luxury getaways, local food sourcing, outdoor exploration and history, it’s hard to think of its equal. All this just over an hours’ drive away. Each journey in the BC Getaways series has an accompanying photo gallery and video of the trip posted on our web site. Check it out online at nsnews.com. ●
Coming Up in The Valley
When You Go
OCTOBER 1516 Fall Harvest Festival and Country Quilt Show Kilby Centre Farmer’s market, music, crafts for kids
Advance booking for accommodation and events is recommended. No advance booking needed for Circle Farm Tours or Kilby Site.
OCTOBER 2930 Kid’s Harry Potter Halloween Kilby Centre Potions class, games, crafts and treats for the kids LATE OCTOBER Monster Mash and Fall Wine Release Party Township 7 Winery & Vineyard Grape stomping and BBQ, contact Township 7 for dates and details
Tourism Harrison 604-796-5581, www.tourismharrison.com Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa 1-866-638-5075 www.harrisonresort.com Harrison Beach Hotel 1-866-338-8111 www.harrisonbeachhotel.ca Rowena’s Inn on the River 1-877-796-1001 www.sandpipergolfclub.com
NOVEMBER 5 Taste of Agassiz Fraser River Lodge An evening of great local food in a spectacular setting.
Harrison Eco Tours 1-877-796-3345 www.harrisonecotours.com
NOVEMBER 1920 Fraser River Bald Eagle Festival Kilby Park on Harrison Bay is one of the best wildlife viewing areas in the valley, and offers ample parking. ●
Kilby Historic Site 604-796-9576 www.kilby.ca ●
LOOK TO LANGLEY And Discover: • • • •
Award winning wineries Farm fresh seasonal produce Circle Farm and Agricultural tours Distinctive culinary experiences
Fraser Valley Circle Farm Tours www.circlefarmtours.com
For more infomation call 604.888.147 or visit www.tourism-langley.ca
Build up the person. Build up the community. uwlm.ca
3774-0911