Of the roughly 120 known hot and warm springs in Canada, most of them are in British Columbia. The rest of them are in Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Yukon, and the western Northwest Territories.
These springs, often in spectacular surroundings, include steaming pools reached after a long hike up a mountain valley, tide-washed streams where you can dangle your toes in the ocean, rustic pools beside gravel roads, fully described commercial resorts and warm mudholes with no soaking possibilities.
Finding an unfamiliar hot spring and settling in for a long, relaxing soak is one of life's great pleasures. And revisiting a familiar hot spring is like meeting an old friend. The experience is comfortable but never quite the same as the time before.
This book describes all knwosn Canadian hot and warm springs, including some that have been listen in previous guidebooks. For good measure, we've included a few springs in northwestern Washington and two springs in southeastern Alaska, just outside of BC.
All commercially operated springs in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon Territory are fully discussed in this book. The rest of the descriptions are split between partly developed, but free, springs and underdeveloped wilderness springs.
You can drive to many of the springs while others require a short walk that can easily be longer if you can't drive up the roads. A few springs require some serious hiking, and some are accessible only boat or plane.
The book also mentions springs that are rumored to exist, on the assumption that where there's a stream, there's hot water. Whatever your interests, there's plenty of hot water to discover and enjoy.
This new edition of the book has added half a dozen springs that were previously unknown to the authors. They have also added descriptions for a handful of other springs that were mentioned in the old guide but for which there was no useful information. They revisited as many of the southern BC and Alberta springs as they could and updated all access instructions.
This book is a resource like no other about the springs of Western Canada. I know so much more about these breathtaking spaces that I'd love to visit them in the near future. And summer is indeed coming. It would be a worthwhile trip.
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