This flight's adventure bound

With Integra Air's new 75-minute flight direct from Edmonton to Cranbrook, you're less than two hours from an amazing adventure vacation

RICK MACDONNELL

Just 10 minutes from the Ranch you can raft along the class 2/3 St. Mary's River. Photo courtesy of Three Bars Ranch

CRANBROOK, BC — It's 2:30 pm and I'm bombarded with the sights, sounds, and smells of the city. Edmonton's commuter chaos has me worn thin, in need of an escape. What I need is a change of pace, an adventure to clear my head. One 75-minute flight later and I'm standing in beautiful Cranbrook, BC.

Thanks to a new direct flight from Edmonton (courtesy of Integra Air), the normally eight-hour drive is no longer a necessary evil in order to reach the tranquility of southern BC. It's only 4:30 pm and I already feel a world away.

That sweet silence, though, eventually needs to be filled, and fortunately Cranbrook has activities in spades. A true year-round adventure destination, this area will spoil you at every turn. The only problem it presents is having to decide what it is you'd like to do.

A world-class rustic experience

Just 10 minutes from the Ranch you can raft along the class 2/3 St. Mary's River. Photo courtesy of Three Bars Ranch

For an ultimate adventure getaway I have to recommend Three Bars Ranch just 15 minutes outside Cranbrook. This all-inclusive rustic retreat will literally change your life. Bordering the St. Mary's river and overlooking some of the most beautiful country imaginable, Three Bars still has me shaking my head. The experience is something that will leave you with an emptiness for days afterward, I mean that as the highest possible compliment.

The Ranch adventure is centered around its horses (both riding and wrangling), but there's also rafting, fly fishing, hiking, mountain biking, wildlife viewing, archery, trap shooting, and more. Whether you're a couple, a family, or a corporate group, you can't go wrong.

"The way our packages are set up everyone arrives on the same day, so we get to see this interesting social experience unfold in front of us every week," said Tyler Beckley, whose family owns the ranch, but he also heads up all Ranch activities. "People go through the process together. About 70% of our guests book the typical week-long stay, but 80% of those who initially choose a shorter stay end up extending to the full. There's so much stuff going on that you're not going to get it done in 3 or 4 days."

Global Outdoor Travel has been providing guided wilderness trail rides, pack trips, wildlife photo safaris, fly-fishing, and professional hunting services in Canada, the south west US, and New Zealand since 2001. Photo courtesy of Global Outdoor Travel

I'm not exaggerating when I say this is one of the great vacations you'll take in your lifetime. And the fact that it's now less than an hour-and-a-half away makes it all the more appealing.

Winter photo safaris (no, that's not a typo)

If you're not planning to get away for a week, and are more in line for a one, two, or three day adventure, then look no further than the folks at Global Outdoor Travel (GOT). This Cranbrook-based company, run by Brad Park, offers some of Western Canada's coolest adventures. They've cut their teeth over the last few years offering 7-day mountain pack trips through the Purcells, guiding hunting groups, and offering fly fishing and river float experiences, but this winter they're about to do something no one has done in this part of the world before: winter photo safaris.

"Having been to Africa and having done photo safaris, and knowing what kind of an experience you can have, I thought about how great it would be to give someone a Rocky Mountain Wildlife experience in the same vein," Park said. "With the Purcells on one side of us and the Rockies on the other, we have hundreds of elk and big horn sheep and moose and mountain goats ... and if you want to see some mountain lions we can show you that, too."

The closest ski hill to an airport in Canada

Through Integra Air, you can now make the trip from Edmonton to Kimberley Alpine Resort in about two hours. Photo courtesy of Kimberley Alpine Resort

You can't mention the Kootenays in the winter without mentioning the slopes, though. Kimberley Alpine Resort is just a quick fifteen minute drive from Cranbrook International Airport. With Integra's new direct flight, you can literally board a plane in Edmonton and be at Kimberley Alpine Resort in two hours.

Integra's flight offers you an unbelievable opportunity. World-class adventures now exist just hours from your door. To not take advantage is to do yourself a disservice. Gather your friends for a vacation, experience an adventurous corporate retreat, or throw the world's coolest stag or staggette weekend. There's so much to do, summer or winter, that you'll find yourself making the trip again and again.

You've done Banff. You've visited Jasper. Now ... get Kootenay.

Fly over to www.integraair.com to book your seats.

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