Adventures in the Acura MDX – The Lodge On Harrison Lake

As we weren’t going anywhere for Christmas this year, Michael and I opted to take a little overnight trip out to Harrison Hot Springs before the holidays so that we’d feel we’d actually had an actual vacation, even if it was a mini one. Usually we’ve stayed at the actual official Harrison Hot Springs Resort, but a new lodge beckoned just minutes outside the village, as it looked quieter and more relaxing, The Lodge on Harrison Lake.

The drive out there was intense, the rain was bucketing down, but we had the Acura MDX all wheel drive this week, making the ride out much safer. We had the 2019 version, but the 2020 has all the same features. This vehicle has 290-horsepower in a 3.5-liter v6 with a nine-speed transmission that accelerates confidently. The AWD has a torque-vectoring system that means cornering is smooth, which isn’t always the case in larger three-row seat vehicles. And while we didn’t need the three rows this time, they sure would come in handy if we were heading home with lots of luggage or back with any larger Christmas presents that our generous families may have decided to spoil us with. The cabin is not only spacious, but also fitted with comfortable seating and great audio. The dual-touchscreen infotainment system takes a bit of getting used to, but we sorted it out, and all of the safety features, such as lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist, automated emergency braking and adaptive cruise control helped us navigate to Harrison safely.

We got to Harrison just at dusk and their annual Lights by the Lake display in the village was impressive. We’d plan on walking around the village before dinner, but the weather was not on our side, so we drove around a little to experience the lights and then headed up to the lodge.

The lodge sleeps 22 people, there are three “Guest Suites”, with room for two, a “Main Residence”, where ten could bunk in, and the “Carriage House”, where we stayed, that sleeps six.

We didn’t realize the lodge was positioned right over the lake until the morning as it was dark, but the view we awoke to was stunning. They’d gone to the trouble of decorating for the holidays and there was even a tree to make us feel at home. There are two bedrooms here and we stayed in the master bedroom with it’s comfy king sized bed and pillowing bedding and a private balcony and bathroom. There’s a full kitchen, 55″ TV and a murphy bed and a BBQ upstairs and lots of room to mix and mingle if you chose to bring the family out or entertain guests. Current rate for the Carriage House is $550, the guest suites are $229 and the Main Residence is $850.

We opted for dinner out and headed to The Old Settler Pub, where’s there’s great service we’ve enjoyed meals before and the craft beer selection is impressive.  We opted for the beef dip and a quesadilla, and were pleased with the selections. Simple, quality food, with reasonable prices and frequent smiles and check in’s from servers.

Back to the Lodge we cuddled up and watched the last version of Star Wars in Preparation for the release of The Rise of Skywalker, which we were off to the next night. It was so nice to have the spacious room to ourselves, with the only noise the lapping of the lake beneath.

The next day we lingered around and didn’t get off until around 11:30 a.m., missing breakfast entirely, so instead went straight to lunch. The Muddy Waters Cafe on the waterfront in Harrison. We were super impressed with the quality of the food here, they use many local ingredients including locally-roasted coffee and cheese from Farmhouse Cheese in Agassiz.

We also nipped next door to Rocky Mountain Chocolate, another locally owned business, where the owner was busy crafting the sweets that are made in the shop. We had to grab a Sasquatch foot for the road, the area is known for Sasquatch sightings, but this was fortunately the only Sasquatch body part we saw.

Take the scenic drive out to Harrison and bunk up for a night or two a little off the beaten track at The Lodge on Harrison Lake for a quick and quiet getaway. #GLVRecos