Hot Springs and the Lazy Holiday

We are back again from a somewhat unexpected week away. This little trip took us through Radium, Fairmont Hot Springs, then over Cranbrook to visit with some friends of Ike that moved away from us a year ago.......and finally back to Matt's Farm in Cluny Alberta. Needless to say Ike was pleased as punch with this little holiday as it centered around him visiting with lots of kids.... There is Ike, above, in one of the natural hot pools just across the creek from our camp site.

My DH grew up within a short drive of the Fairmont Hotsprings and vacationed there as a child many times. He was feeling nostalgic about it's goodness as a vacation spot and was longing to see it again. I was entirely sceptical about it's goodness from the start......but would have to agree with him now that it is a wonderful place to vacation. Since we met up with Ike's friends in Radium for a little swim...we had the chance to also try the Radium pools. While the Radium pools were lovely and warm.......the Fairmont pools had them by a mile in my books. The Radium pools had a slight whiff of sulphur every now and again while Fairmont had none at all.........and the Fairmont pools were just a few degrees warmer......not to mention larger. To be fair....the Fairmont pools were more expensive, but there was also a lot more to see and do on the Fairmont property. Faimont Hotsprings is a full service facility with hotel accommodation, gift shops, a small market, restaurants, RV pads, free shower facilities, children's playgrounds, hiking trails and some amazingly cute natural hot pools too!

These natural hot pools were without a doubt the highlite of our stay at the Fairmont Hotsprings. Once we parked our camper van into our $25 per night unserviced spot....we got out or the van to check out the view. The picture below is exactly what we saw. We went there straight away and spent a few hours there before having a late supper. Ike could not get enough of it. It was very nifty and was just as warm as the warm pools in the resort. If you lived closed by or were just driving through, you could just walk in to these natural pools by leaving your car in the entrance area parking lot and walking up to the RV camping area, and following the blue hiking trail down along the creek. The week we went turned out to be perfect, as some areas were already back to school leaving the pools quite empty compared with peak periods.

The pools were very interesting as they were covered in mineral deposits just like the bubbling pools we had seen in Yellowstone. After spending nearly a full day in the traditional hot pools we returned to the natural pools later in the evening and again on the last morning before leaving. Did I mention Ike could just not get enough of them? On the morning we left the Hotsprings, Ike needed to take one last dip....and to try a second hot pool that was further up the creek. These natural hot springs require a lot of care when entering as they are covered in algae and can be quite slippery.

The resort offers a great laundry area, internet service, snack dispensers, covered picnic area and washrooms with showers all in this central building. After leaving my first Toy Society Drop in the nearby children's play area, and a quick showering up......we were off to holiday a little more on our lazy holiday....