If George Vanderbilt, founder of the Biltmore Estate, and John Muir, America’s leading naturalist who inspired the US national park system, collaborated to build the ultimate luxury/nature experience for their friends and family, it would be the Chilko Experience. A private seven home $10M luxury estate built in the pristine British Columbia wilderness for the use of friends & family. It has recently opened to the public for the first time. It is best of breed because of what it’s not, another lodge. They offer an estate experience. Their strengths are three. World class architecture. They have homes not cabins. A better than world class location in southern British Columbia on a 5M pristine wilderness tract. Lastly, great adventures in the middle of this setting that allows friends to connect with nature at the highest level possible. John Muir would approve.
Highlights
Relax in your wilderness hideaway with chef prepared meals and guided tours
Cruise the Chilko River by jet boat to view wildlife and sightsee
Explore 500 miles of backwoods trails by ATV
Horseback ride to find secret mountain top fossil beds
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
Arrive Williams Lake, British Columbia, and make your way* to the Chilko Experience Wilderness Resort (approx. 3-hour drive), your home away from home. Once at the lodge meet your hosts and enjoy a beverage of your choice. Tour the 25 acres of grounds, visit all the homes, and learn about log and timber frame architecture unique to North America. Then it’s back to the main lodge for appetizers and drinks before a chef-prepared dinner. After dinner, enjoy a pleasant evening at the lodge, around the fire pit, or journey to your cabin for the evening.
*There are several options for arriving to the Chilko Experience Wilderness Lodge via commercial flights and car rental, direct charter flight, or a scenic drive from Vancouver, BC. Please inquire and we can help you figure out the best option!
After a hearty breakfast, choose from a variety of activity options based on time of year and weather conditions. There is 'no size fits all' doctrine at Chilko. Click here to see more details about the activities such as: Touring the 50 mile long Chilko Lake by cabin cruiser, stop for a picnic lunch and a bit of fishing; horseback ride to find a secret mountain top fossil bed; explore 500 miles of backwoods trails by ATV; cruise the Chilko river by jet boat to look for wildlife; explore the surrounding forest on miles of hiking trails; or enjoy various water sports on the lake like kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding and swimming; try your hand at Chilcotin Darts where Viking-style axes are hurled at wooden targets. In the fall, the river teems with Sockeye salmon where grizzly bears coming to dine. Everyday choose from as much or as little activity as you desire.
Day 5: Fly home
1 Breakfast
After a hearty breakfast or even a good lunch, depending on departure schedule, return to Williams Lake for your journey home.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
$6,0092-3 travelers
Notes
Select a Date
Rate based on 5 day trip (3 full days at the lodge). Tour price from $2550- $6950 depending on length of trip and season.
Initial deposit is 10% (minimum $400), and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 100 days prior to departure by bank transfer, check or credit card. All final payments by credit card may be subject to a surcharge and maximum of $20,000 charge
This was my first experience with Adventure Life - and I couldn't have been more pleased with the trip. The guides and local staff in both Buenos Aires and Uruguay were terrific - extremely helpful and accommodating. I really enjoyed meeting the friendly staff in Buenos Aires in person (I left my bags with them for the afternoon).
Our agent Jessica was very helpful with the whole process and always responded in a timely way to all of our questions.
K Van
2 days ago
Chern was very patient snd helpful.
CaBaba
3 days ago
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
4 days ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
