Harrison Hot Springs

This vacation was planned for my son. He doesn't enjoy our busy vacations and asked to go to Canada and to stay on a lake. I figured that would be a perfect long weekend, and I have been dying to visit Banff, Jasper or Yoho National Parks. My thought was to book accommodation on a lake, and then if he doesn't want to get up and hike or sightsee, he can stay back. That was before I realized how EXPENSIVE it is. My son will be 18 when we go on this trip, and the plan is to get him his own room, which means even more expensive. It is well above my budget to stay on a lake in any of the three National Parks I mentioned, especially for two rooms. This will also be in addition to 4 other vacations planned in the year.

So, not in my budget for an add on long weekend trip to do one of the 3 anticipated national parks, but still want to visit Canada. I researched and found the town of Harrison Hot Springs, a little over an hour east of Vancouver. Since my son wants more of a low-key relaxing weekend on a very cold lake, I figured this would be a great spot. I planned one day to drive into Vancouver and up the Sea to Sky Hwy, and he can join us or not that day.

Flying into Canada is also very expensive. I looked at multiple airports before picking my destination, and all are high. I prefer direct flights, especially for only a few days. So, we are going to fly into Seattle, and drive 3 hours, exploring on the way. This will save us over $300/flight (based on flights now).

Eventually Matthew and I will visit the three National Parks, but that will likely be a couple's trip instead of family.