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Drum Creek Falls

We spent a lovely time yesterday discovering another beautiful waterfall in the Crowsnest Pass. The trail to Drum Creek Falls takes you through some mining ruins. If you love natural beauty mixed with some adventure, we highly recommend this unique hike!

For the Canada Day holiday, we decided to do some more adventuring in the Crowsnest Pass. We scrambled over the rocks at the Frank Slide and had lunch at the delightful Cherry on Top bakery and Koffie Shop in Blairmore. We hiked around Emerald Lake and had supper at the Rum Runner in Coleman. Concluding the day, we wandered through the Leitch Colleries as the sun was going down behind the mountains.

The highlight of the day was definitely the afternoon spent hiking at Drum Creek Falls. It is a shorter hike, just 1.8km in total. This delightful trail took us through the ruins of the old Hillcrest Mines. The ruins were super cool to explore as they are totally abandoned and the forest is growing up, around, and in them. Once you walk through the ruins, the trail takes you down a STEEP hillside to the creek. There are lots of switchbacks, but a kind soul has put up a rope section to help you down the worst parts. When you get down to the creek, you walk alongside it to make your way up the canyon. The gorgeous waterfall at the end is definitely worth the effort.

The following blog post was a huge help in finding and navigating the trail: Drum Creek Falls

All in all, it was another great day! We discovered another waterfall and can highly recommend this beautiful hike.

Drum Creek Falls
Prairie Rose CottageExploring Southern Alberta

Lower Rowe Lake, Waterton Park

The last Saturday in September was an absolutely perfect day for another hike. Our daughters had plans of their own, and so we decided to go on another hiking date! We chose to head to the mountains again, this time to visit Lower Rowe Lake in Waterton Park.

While in town, we grabbed some Subway sandwiches to take along. We stopped to enjoy our lunch at the McNeely’s picnic area beside the stream on the way up the Cameron Lake Road.

After lunch we drove up the Akamina Parkway to the parking lot of Rowe Lakes. Initially the trail takes you along the creek and through the burned area of forest. Pretty quickly you leave the burned trees behind, and end up walking through pretty meadows and eventually the lush forest that wasn’t affected by the forest fires at all.

After several kilometers of delightful hiking, you reach an intersection on the trail. Make a left here to head to Lower Rowe Lake. This incredibly clear, reflective little lake is a gorgeous place to rest for a bit and enjoy some refreshing snacks. This trail length was 8 kilometers (return) with mostly a steady incline up to the lake. From Lower Rowe Lake you can make your way up to the Upper Lake, but this was beyond what we wanted to do for this day. After sitting at the lake for awhile, we turned back and three hours later, we were back at our vehicle.

We ended the day with a delicious dinner at Zum’s in Waterton. We feel incredibly blessed to live just an hour away from one of the most special parks in Alberta, and love that we can visit at all different times of the year.

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Allison Creek Falls

We love exploring our own back yard and spending a warm Saturday afternoon in September discovering a new waterfall was perfect. We’d heard of the Allison Creek Falls and had seen photos of friends who had been. It sounded like a great time. After a very busy summer, we finally had the opportunity to go and had a fun afternoon checking it out for ourselves.

Allison Creek Falls are in the Crowsnest Pass, specifically the Chinook Provincial Recreation Area. There was construction at the Chinook Lake Recreation Area and the road to that part was closed. We parked at the lower parking lot and at the fork after the parking area, we turned to the right. This takes you up a gravel road. The trailhead to Allison Creek Falls starts before you get to Chinook Lake and is marked and not hard to find. The trail itself is fairly new, but well laid out. It is a delightful and pretty walk through the woods and along the creek. Beautiful, newly constructed bridges take you across the creek in four different places. The gorgeous tiered waterfall at the end was a great reward for not that much effort. The hike is fairly easy and good for all skill levels.

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Waterton Lakes National Park Canada Day 2022

We are so blessed to live close to so much natural beauty! We chose Canada Day to re-visit Waterton Lakes Park. The weather could not have been better! Although the fire that raged through the park a few years ago has definitely changed the landscape, the beauty is still always breathtaking.

We decided to take a picnic lunch, and spent some time kayaking on Cameron Lake. We also stopped for some iconic ice cream in town, and shopped the fun shops down main street. We visited Red Rock Canyon, and walked to Blakiston Falls. We then finished the day with a delicious supper at Zum’s. Driving out of the park we were incredibly fortunate to view a mama bear and her two cubs grazing beside the highway. What an end to a perfect day!

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A Hot Tub Addition

One of the most sought after amenities for a vacation rental is a hot tub, and many of our guests have suggested it as well. Since we are always trying to gauge what would please our guests the most, we have recently added a hot tub to Prairie Rose Cottage! Now you can enjoy a soothing soak on the secluded patio in a luxurious Spaberry, the romantic hot tub for two.

Whether you’ve spent the day sight-seeing, exploring Fort Macleod or Southern Alberta, gone on adventurous hikes, or spent time shopping, you can end the day in a relaxing soak. Or you may choose to start the day off with a dip for that matter and why not? You are on vacation after all! In the winter time enjoy a soak after a day spent skiing/snowboarding at nearby Castle Mountain or snowshoeing at the various parks and recreation areas in the Crowsnest Pass or Waterton. Whatever might be on your agenda, a hot tub is always a great idea!

Now the perfect romantic getaway spot near Fort Macleod includes a hot tub as well – how awesome is that?

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New Patio!

Our new patio is complete! Our cottage has a front porch but we really wanted to increase the outdoor enjoyment of our property. We felt that a private and sheltered patio would be a great addition.

It all started with a small gazebo, the perfect size to complement our tiny cottage. We walked into Home Depot last summer and fell in love with the gazebo that was set up there. It has metal posts that look like wood and the metal roof was perfect for the shade that the patio would need.

The way our property slopes near the cottage lends itself perfectly to a sunken patio. To increase privacy and wind protection, we decided to build a fence around the whole area. This way the patio can be enjoyed in spring, summer and fall.

The outdoor furniture was purchased last fall, and John has been busy every since (whenever able) to complete the project. Just last week we assembled and placed the furniture. The plan is to add electricity and outdoor lights yet, but the patio is finally ready for our guests to fully enjoy. We are thrilled with the way this project has come together and we are confident that are guests will love it too!

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Snowshoeing Adventure

Snowshoeing has always intrigued us. After walking past the Costco snowshoe offer for several years, we decided to gift each other a pair for Christmas. We both had a day off of work and decided to try them out. What a fun, relaxing way to get out and enjoy the winter beauty!

We are fortunate to live in such close proximity to the mountains which are just over an hour away. We decided that there would be our initial snowshoe adventure. We visited Beauvais Lake as well as Chinook Lake and enjoyed both immensely. Both had great trails and were not at all busy, making for a perfect retreat from life’s busyness. On the drive home we took the opportunity to catch the full moon rising above the Burmis Tree in the Crowsnest. A perfect end to a great day!

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Our New Firepit!

Who doesn’t love a good fire in the cool of the evening? You’ve asked and we’ve answered! We now have a firepit for your evening relaxation and enjoyment. Do you know that there are several benefits to a firepit?

A firepit can extend the time you are able to enjoy the outdoors. A fire will light up the yard and keep the bugs at bay on those mild summer evenings. Bust out the marshmallows and get some smores going – who doesn’t love those! The main purpose of a firepit is to produce heat and sitting by the fire on a cold night is like sitting in a hot tub while it’s snowing outside. It gives you a warm and cozy feeling of being protected from the elements.

Firepits are comforting, promoting relaxation and even decreasing blood pressure. Whether it’s from the entrancing flickering of the flames or the sense of safety it gives, an outdoor fire seems to calm the nerves and bring us to stillness.

Nothing promotes long in-depth conversations like the flames of fire. It sets the perfect mood and turns the night into a stargazing extravaganza. A firepit provides a romantic ambiance and is great for one-on-one romantic evenings.

So whether your stay is shorter or longer, you will now be able to cozy up to the fire in our new firepit at Prairie Rose Cottage!

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North Drywood Falls Hike

For our anniversary this year, we decided to spend a few quiet days away and do some exploring locally. We were delighted to hear of a nice little hike not to far away. Just south of Pincher Creek is the North Drywood Falls hike.

Most of the trail is a road walk up until the falls, lightly trafficked and with a slight upward elevation gain of about 200 m, so it is good for all skill levels.. It is about 8.5 km in total length to the falls and back. The hike is scenic with gorgeous mountain views all the way and the falls at the end are stunning.

We saw several other groups of hikers on the way in and on the way out, but it was not at all busy. It was a delightful afternoon spent together with absolutely perfect weather. The entire hike took about 2.5 hours and we can totally recommended it! “To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles” ~ Mary Davis

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Now Available – Gift Certificates!

Do you love giving amazing gifts? Give the gift of a special getaway! You are sure to delight any recipient with a gift certificate to Prairie Rose Cottage.

Do you know a couple who could use some quiet time? Do you need a unique wedding gift? Or an anniversary gift? Is someone having a special birthday? Do you know of friends who could benefit from reconnecting? Young parents who could use a break? A busy mom who could use a “mom-cation”? A young student celebrating an important accomplishment?

We will create a custom gift certificate for you – for any specific dollar value. We will ship the certificate directly to you or to the recipient. Purchase a vacation rental gift certificate and give the gift of memories that will last forever. Contact us for further details.

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