Alpine Meadows Lodge, a B&B in Golden BC

Posted by Thomas Alan Gray Sep 6, 2009

Alpine Meadows Lodge is on the west bank of the Columbia, about five kilometers from Golden, British Columbia as the road goes, but only a few hundred meters above the Columbia as the cliff tumbles.

The facility is on a 150 acre site with the promised views across the town of Golden, the Columbia and Kicking Horse rivers and their confluence a few kilometers north, and the mountains across the valleys.

The lodge has 10 large rooms with Jacuzzi bathtubs, plus an eleventh family room on the top floor. Our room was neat, clean, and well-decorated. There is also a four-bedroom chalet down the hill, which during our stay seemed to have several couples and a pack of friendly, playful dogs.

At least four marked, well-cleared trails leave the lodge. The Columbia trail heads down the hill to that river and ends in a meadow where a canoe (available to guests) rests among the flowers. Other trails disappear into the forest. So many trails, so little time....

Host Maria Graham (husband Irv made a brief appearance) welcomed us, and during the tour tried to explain the difference between her native Castillan Spanish and American/Mexican Spanish. The former has "harder consonants". Maria gave the example of the difference between "vero" (but) and "verro" (dog). The former sounds more in the back of the throat than the English "r" sound, while the double "r" is rolled slightly.