British Columbia Sanctuary in the Rockies

Photo: Parks Canada

Floating in the Radium Hot Springs pool, you feel cradled by the beauty of the British Columbia Rockies. And there's no smell of rotten eggs.

BY TAMARA NOWAKOWSKY

You wouldn't expect a true feast for all of the senses to be found at a hot-springs pool, but if you immerse yourself in everything that Radium Hot Springs has to offer, your cup will runneth over.

The experience begins with the drive to the springs. Coming from Banff, two factions fight for your attention - when you're not staring in awe at the breathtaking scenery whose sole purpose is apparently to clear the mind and prepare you for what lies ahead, you're rubbernecking at the animals that seem to come out of their forest home to greet passersby. A steady parade of whitetail and mule deer, moose, bears, mountain sheep and other wildlife is not uncommon hereabouts. Cars slow to a crawl as they pass woodland residents and blink their headlights at approaching traffic as a friendly warning.

The highway twists onwards through a rugged mountainous corridor replete with a variety of wildlife, wetlands, forests and rivers, to finally arrive at a rocky gate. The jagged gap, crudely cleared through the mountains by dynamite in the early 1900s, opens up into the Radium Hot Springs townsite, a welcoming little community nestled among the peaks of British Columbia's Kootenay National Park.

The hot springs themselves, discovered in 1841, sit tucked away in the Sinclair canyon. Radium Hot Springs got its name from the small traces of radon in the water. However, the amount of radiation is harmless - much less than that given off by a wristwatch. The water is odourless because the hydrogen sulphide that gives most hot springs the aroma of rotten eggs dissipates before it emerges at Radium. The theory is that this happens when the gas is exposed to oxygen en route to the spring outlet. A plan to bottle and sell the water from the springs was almost carried out in the early 1900s because it was thought to have therapeutic and medicinal value.

And here's a secret: if you start with a dip in the cooler swimming pool (set at 27-29°C) and exert yourself for at least a few laps, you'll feel like you've really earned a warm soak. Then you can slip into Canada's largest hot spring pool and let the relaxation truly begin.

A ledge runs in a ring around the pool perimeter and a small circular seating area in the middle of the pool gives visitors a 360-degree view of spectacular scenery. As a pleasant bonus, the water at Radium is tasteless and odourless, so there's no rotten-egg aroma commonly associated with hot springs. (This results from the fact that the hydrogen sulphide that gives most hot springs the quirky smell has already dissipated before it emerges from the rocks at Radium. Apparently his happens when the gas is exposed to oxygen on its way to the spring outlet.)

Ken Fisher, Chief Operating Office of the Canadian Rockies Hot Springs, has worked in the area for six years, and he feels that Radium is different from the other Rocky Mountain hot springs. The physical setting, he notes, is unique. "Here you feel like you're in the cradle of a mountain rather than sitting in a pool viewing mountains in the far-off distance," he says. Indeed, the mountain walls are so close you can literally reach out and touch them, since one side of the pool backs onto solid rock.

If the scenery and stress-melting warm water aren't soothing enough, a body treatment at the hands of one of the talented staff members at the Pleiades Massage and Spa will take you to levels of relaxation you didn't know existed.

The feeling of being nestled in comfort continues in the spa. In an example of "what's old is new again," the gorgeous sanctuary was designed as an historic homage intended to re-create services that were once offered at Radium.

The hip décor is akin to what you might find in the best European and North American spas, yet doesn't seem out of place in this 52-year-old heritage building. The revamped facility offers hot-stone massage therapy, salt rubs and more, using all-natural, handmade scented oils and other products, in treatment rooms filled with natural light. Wrap things up with a complimentary session in the hot plunge pool or the aromatic steam room, and it's just about enough to put you over the edge of relaxation.

It may be difficult to ascend the staircase in your tranquil state, but if you can muster the energy to do so, the display in the pool facility lobby is well worth the effort. Rounding out Radium's feast for the senses in the autumn of 2003 is the second annual Stained Glass Art Show (on until Oct. 13), featuring artists from western Canada who this year are interpreting the theme Wonder of Water in dazzling glass artworks imbued with extraordinary colours and textures. Visitors can even help select the People's Choice award by casting a vote for their favourite piece.

You might want to cap off a perfectly wonderful day by browsing the gift shop or picking up a snack and a cappuccino in the café to enjoy in Radium's picnic area.

At times in our convenience-oriented culture, we can leave places of so-called sanctuary with remnants of the stress we walked in with, feeling cheated of a full experience. It isn't often anymore that one can be pampered through-and-through and have all the senses thrilled at just one location. A day of soaking, massages, art and food at Radium Hot Springs will leave you pleasantly surprised, and more importantly, thoroughly satiated.

For more information on this or other Canadian destinations, visit the Canadian Tourism Commission's website at www.travelcanada.ca.

source: Canadian Tourism Commision

This reproduction is not represented as an official version of the materials reproduced, nor has it been made in affiliation with or with the endorsement of the Canadian Tourism Commission.