Inhaling the Still Beauty of the Cariboo: ECHO VALLEY RANCH & SPA

There’s no question that it’s a long way to Echo Valley Ranch and Spa. Close to six hours’ drive from the Lower Mainland, you head north on the 99, a highway that takes you deep into the mountains well beyond Whistler and Pemberton. You leave the highway close to the Fraser River Canyon at the turnoff to Clinton, taking a dirt road peppered with small ranches for the last 45 minutes of the route. But once you get to the ranch in BC’s Cariboo country, the silence is otherworldly. A light breeze rustles the trees and a nearby creek bubbles softly, but apart from these soothing sounds there’s complete and utter stillness in the air. It’s a silence that invites you to calm your mind, absorb the peacefulness and rid yourself of the restless energy that’s so contagious in the city.

Spellbinding Vistas

Located on a crest, Echo Valley overlooks sweeping views of Cariboo grasslands skirted by thick swaths of boreal forest. Hillsides descend into a creek surrounded by lush greenery, and between the Marble Mountains in the distance and the Fraser Canyon nearby, it’s a breathtaking location.

Ranch owners Norm and Nan Dove visited the area in 1994 and fell in love with it immediately. They bought all 160 acres right away and transformed the property from a small homestead into a luxurious, boutique ranch with cozy, log cabin-style accommodations. They built an airplane runway, a gym, an indoor swimming pool and a stable. And as the years passed they added a wide selection of innovative activities and excursions for guests, bucket list that combined Cariboo wilderness pursuits with Thai-based spa treatments and gentle yoga.

Spiritual Imprints

First Nations’ artists who have created unique works of art on the building and landscape have recognized the distinct spirituality of the site. The Doves invited indigenous artists Michael Blackstock to carve living faces on the trees, and Theo Mahood to carve intricate wooden murals on the exterior of their Lookout Lodge. The art is a symbol of the Dove’s deep respect for the indigenous stewardship of the property, and a recognition of its spiritual aura.

The Cariboo is wildlife central, a region where bear sightings are common, bighorn sheep still roam the canyon and marmots feed nearby the lodge at dusk. The ranch is home to a range of domestic animals too: three border collies, six cats, 19 horses and Lucky, a massive pet swine who, unlike his late companion, avoided a near-death bear encounter, thus earning his name. The ranch chef handpicks vegetables and herbs from the verdant vegetable garden and hothouse, while eggs come straight from the chicken coop and pasture-raised ranch cattle are harvested for the beef.

Written by Lauren Kramer