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All the comforts of wilderness: At British Columbia's guest ranches and remote lodges, enjoy stellar scenery, gourmet meals, and uncommon hospitality - Travel

Eric Lucas

We've ridden down a narrow dell to the edge of an aspen-ringed meadow, where a quarter-mile of sunstruck pasture beckons. Urging our horses on, we break into a canter that takes us past a placid pond and Onto a broad trail that veers into the woods.

We're savoring the solitude, riding horses we saddled that morning. I'm on a big one, a 16-hand paint with a penchant for chewing on dandelion blossoms; my companion, Nora, is riding a lean bay.

The 2,000-acre ranch where we're riding, the Flying U, is unusual in many ways, not the least of which is that it permits guests to ride unescorted.

But in British Columbia, surprises are par for the course. Almost as varied as its terrain is the province's selection of guest ranches and lodges whose primary purpose is to allow visitors to enjoy the pristine outdoors--everything from coastal rain forest to arid canyons to snowcapped peaks--sometimes in exquisite comfort. One ranch pampers guests in its elaborate, Thai-style spa. At a coastal wilderness lodge on Vancouver Island, guests are escorted in a horse-drawn wagon to a luxurious camp of tent cabins warmed by remote-control fireplaces and decorated with Persian rugs. In British Columbia's interior, the largest working cattle ranch in Canada welcomes the adventurous to ride through 500,000 acres of golden grasslands dotted with serene lakes.

At home on the range, or in a lodge?

Before you plan a trip, decide whether you'd rather try a wilderness lodge or a guest ranch. For the most part, lodges are geared toward hiking, boating, and fishing, while guest ranches usually focus on horseback riding. These distinctions are often blurred, however. Whether you stay at a ranch or a lodge, expect to find outdoor activities and excellent wildlife watching, abundant (sometimes quite sophisticated) cuisine, uncommon friendliness, and a whole lot of peace and quiet.

When you are quoted prices in Canadian currency, keep in mind that the Canadian dollar is trading at about 66 cents U.S., so the price in U.S. currency will be lower (prices quoted below are U.S.). The most economical guest-ranch accommodations we list here start at a price you might pay for a motel in the States-about $50 U.S. a night.

Peak season at these properties is from mid-June to mid-September, but most open for summer activities in early May. There are many advantages to visiting early in the season: prices are lower, weather is usually moderate (especially in the interior), crowds are few, spring flowers are most likely in bloom, and bugs are minimal.

A few great choices

Though British Columbia is rife with excellent ranches and lodges, we've chosen just a few of the best in each price range. Unless otherwise indicated, prices (quoted in U.S. dollars) are per person per night, and include all meals and some activities.

Budget

Big Bar Guest Ranch. Tepees, tent sites, rustic family cabins (with bathrooms), and economical rates make Big Bar the best choice for families on a budget. Set in the foothills of the Marble Mountains, its facilities are surrounded by prime horseback-riding and hiking territory. Horseshoes, volleyball, and hearty meals round out the traditional guest-ranch experience. 20 cabin units from $50. Jesmond, five hours northeast of Vancouver by car; www.bigbarranch.com or (250) 459-2333.

Cathedral Lakes Lodge. Guests are escorted in rugged, four-wheel-drive shuttles to this European-style hiking lodge, located at 6,800 feet in the northernmost end of the Cascade Range near the Washington border. These days, no commercial establishments can be built within the provincial parks. The lodge, however, predates the Cathedral Provincial Park; as such, it's one of a handful of commercial accommodations built entirely within a provincial park. Trails starting right outside the door head up to high ridges with views stretching dozens of miles--sightings of mountain goats and marmots are common. Trout fishing in five small lakes is excellent. Rooms in the main lodge and several outlying cabins are small and bare-bones (cabins and lodge rooms have shared washrooms), but you come here for the hiking, not for pampering. Wholesome meals are served family style. Typically opens for the season June 1, depending on weather. 17 units from $180 for a two-night package. One hour west of Osoyoos, five hours east o f Vancouver by car; www.cathedral-lakeslodge.com or (888) 255-4453.

Flying U Ranch. Determinedly iconoclastic, Canada's oldest guest ranch doesn't advertise and won't put up signs on Highway 97 (the old Cariboo Road). Still, the U draws zealously loyal customers because of its ride-solo policy, reasonable rates, and miles of easy trails. Visitors stay in cabins heated by woodstoves, wash in the community shower house, and have a drink and relax in the Longhorn Saloon at night. 25 units from $92. On Green Lake 15 miles east of 70 Mile House, five hours northeast of Vancouver by car; wwwfiyingu.com or (250) 456-7717.

Moderate

Douglas Lake Ranch. Cowboys at the largest working cattle ranch in Canada still drive herds up to the high country m spring and back down again in fall. The traditional business here, a 20,000-head cattle operation, has been augmented considerably by hospitality over the past 20 years. An upscale lakeside lodge welcomes anglers, and stables are nearby. Escorted rides head across some of the property's 500,000 golden acres of waist-high bunchgrass, which the ranch protects with stringent use regulations. Solitude reigns at the four-bedroom stand-alone guest house (which sleeps eight), or at several high-country cabins and yurts, most of which are the lone accommodations on a trout-filled lake. The ranch also includes Salmon Lake Resort, a cheaper and more bare-bones alternative to Douglas Lake Ranch: you cook your own food and sleep in one of the lakeside cabins. (There are also RV and tent sites.) 8 units in the main lodge and 6 cabins/yurts at remote lakes from $121 (activities additional), 11 Salmon Lake cabins from $72 (meals not included). Douglas Lake, four hours northeast of Vancouver by car; www.douglaslake.com or (800) 663-4838.

Eagle Nook Ocean Wilderness Resort. Opening this month after exterior renovations, Eagle Nook is now a Northwest-style lodge that blends well with its back-bay setting on Vancouver Island's Barkley Sound. Guests take quiet kayak floats through emerald waters and enjoy long strolls on pebble beaches. Access is by a 45-minute boat ride from Tofino/Ucluelet or by floatplane from Seattle, Victoria, or Vancouver. 25 units from $287. Vernon Bay, Barkley Sound; www.eaglenook.com or (800) 760-2777.

Echo Valley Ranch & Spa. Perched on a high escarpment east of the Fraser River, Echo Valley is half guest ranch, half deluxe spa. The main lodge and surrounding cabins are built of spruce logs but are luxurious. The complex of ranch buildings spreads across a grassy verge above a tumbling creek. The ranch's riding trails head off through open forest toward the Marble Mountain foothills or along rimrock canyon edges with bracing views of Fraser River and the Chilcotin area. The specialty in the vast spa is Thai massage, a jointeasing combination of pressure and stretching. 20 units; from $482 for a three-night package. Jesmond, five hours northeast of Vancouver by car; www. evranch.com or (800) 253-8831.

Splurge

Clayoquot Wilderness Resorts & Spa. Quait Bay on Clayoquot Sound is the quiet setting of this sizable complex, which includes a floating lodge converted from an old barge and an even more remote camp of deluxe tent cabins (the Wilderness Outpost at Bedwell River), accessed by horsedrawn wagon. The resort also features riding stables, hiking trails, and a new spa facility. The surrounding wilderness is a maze of islets, fjords, mountains, and old-growth forest-all of which can be explored under the expert guidance of the resort's staff. (Guests are discouraged from wandering alone, as this is true wilderness, black bears and all.) The food at both facilities is outstanding. Access is by water taxi from Tofino. From $1,837for three nights at Quait Bay, from $2,493 for three nights at the Outpost. Quait Bay; www.wildretreat.com or (888) 333-5405.

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