Indigenous spa experiences to try in Alberta
Summer is the perfect time to get outdoors and let the land and people across Alberta rejuvenate and refresh you. Whether it’s a day-long spa session, a weekend, or even the products that pamper, these Indigenous Spa Experiences are sure to start your summer off on the right foot and leave you recharged, and full of gratitude.
Glamping accommodations at Water Spirit Spa & Retreats.
On an idyllic peninsula, lush with willows and poplars, and surrounded on three sides of the calm and untouched waters of Fishing Lake, Alberta, lives Water Spa and Retreat. Over 200 years ago, the Métis people came to the land around Fishing Lake in north central Alberta for its abundance. The lake itself provided ample fish, and the surrounding forests of willows and birch provided plenty for lodgings. Today, not much has changed and the abundance that provided in years past adds to a one-of-a-kind spa experience get away.
“Being on the land is healing,” Founder Karen Telford says about the peaceful peninsula she calls home.
There are many ways to experience this oasis. Whether through custom overnight lodging, walking trails through birch forests, group fire gathering sites, and secluded forest viewpoints overlooking the beautiful Fishing Lake.
“We try and incorporate land-based wellness, energy healing, and traditional food, all in one holistic retreat.” Karen says. As a registered massage therapist and artisan herself, Telford creates custom tailored retreat experiences that go beyond traditional spa retreats. In addition to massage, hydrotherapy, reiki, and yoga packages, Water Spirit Spa offers moccasin-making, salve preparation, foraging, fish scale and porcupine quill art at a nearby, welcoming workshop space
Surrounded by a lake that has provided for hundreds of years, Water Spirit Spa continues that tradition and provides a place to reset, recharge, reconnect, and rejuvenate in one of Alberta’s hidden gems.
Hidden at the end of a winding forest road and over a calming brook you can find Ascension Springs Wellness. A place where you can watch moose graze in the nearby muskeg, hear the wings of heron as they fly overhead, and a calming aroma of the blanket of pines and spruce that surrounds you. Now imagine it all to yourself.
“It’s a space for transformation, it’s just you, the trees, the earth, the birds and no one else,” Founder Ilana Lamon says about the exclusivity she offers at the spa.
Exclusivity is what sets Ascension Springs apart from other spas with only single bookings at a time. “It’s completely private.” Ilana says. “It supports healing and transformation even more because you’re not with other people.”
Just a 25-minute drive north of Sundre, Ascension Springs Wellness offers spa packages that include: hydrotherapy, reiki, and sauna. After being welcomed with a smudge and ceremony to honour the land, the entire property is yours to enjoy the amenities in complete privacy. “Our intention is to bring people back to nature and back to our roots.”
Mother Earth Essentials x Fairmont Banff Springs
A meaningful spa experience isn’t just about the setting; it’s also the products. The proper aromatherapy, lotions, and soaps can take a spa experience to the next level. Mother Earth Essentials is a wellness brand that brings local Indigenous plant knowledge to life, with each product a celebration of land, legacy and cultural pride.
“I wanted to showcase the beauty of our amazing plants in our country that are extremely beneficial in a modern way,” Mother Earth founder Carrie Armstrong says.
Inspired by her grandmothers’ teachings, she shares that wisdom through balms, oils, and scrubs built from Alberta’s rich diversity of traditional healing plants. Recently partnering with the iconic Banff Fairmont Hotel, Mother Earth’s products are made from the very plants found steps away from the historical hotel. The hotel now offers a 90-minute full body experience rooted in Indigenous medicinal healing. The service called “Nature’s Renewal Body Treatment”, includes salt scrub, massage featuring Wintergreen and Black Spruce oils to ease muscle tension, and ends with a Berry Seed Facial Oil application, leaving skin replenished and radiant.
Private dry saunas at The Woods Experience.
Only an hour away from Calgary, nestled in a picturesque boreal forest is a welcoming place to let the stress melt away. The Woods Experience has it all. A place to stay, a place to relax, and a place to learn. Forest bathing at its finest.
“We’re a mix of off-grid and luxury,” Founder Kendra Dudzic describes The Woods. “We want people to feel rejuvenated, relaxed, rested, and connected.”
The Woods Experience offers overnight stays in cabins, teepees, or campsites hidden in the woods, and two-hour spa sessions at secluded sites surrounded by trees. Woodfire hot tubs, dry saunas, or lounging by a fire, all to the aroma of the surrounding forest and oils from Mother Earth Essentials.
What makes The Woods Experience truly unique is the variety of experiences offered outside of the spa. On site, is a rustic trading post, a one stop shop for authentic hand-crafted Indigenous art. Next to the trading post is a classroom where staff host educational Indigenous craft making sessions, rock painting, or plant walks. All these experiences are completely optional and can be added to any spa and overnight packages.