Feeling the post-holiday, winter blues? Put some excitement into the snowy season and enjoy all that the cold weather has to offer. Get-away to an eco-friendly winter resort where you can ski, sled, and snowboard and later sit by a cozy fire (with your favorite beverage or roasting marshmallows – or both!) to your heart’s content. There are sustainable venues almost anywhere you find snow, but here are three of our favorites for that next powder-packed holiday.
Deer Lodge, Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada: Aside from being an incredibly idyllic mountain resort located in Western Canada’s Banff National Park, Deer Lodge and it’s sister properties are all “recycled” resorts, meaning they were discovered by individuals who later restored them to their original beauty (i.e. not entirely new builds). Indigenous plants dot the landscape, public transportation is strongly encouraged, and all food served can be traced to locally and humanely produced sources. The resort also maintains its own biodiesel fuel generator, transforming used vegetable oil to create non-toxic, renewable fuel.
Nita Lake Lodge, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada: Whether you’re a skier or a spa-goer, this highly rated resort is an exceptional escape. And while you’re on-property, you’ll be warmed by a geothermal heating system, fed by locally sourced and organic ingredients, some even grown right on the building’s roof top garden (which is then composted and recycled), and given a digital receipt instead of a paper one that would have ended up in a landfill.
Green Mountain Inn, Stowe, Vermont, USA: It’s no surprise that eco-friendly travel abounds in the GREEN Mountain State, and the Green Mountain Inn, located less than 50 miles south of the Canadian border, is a champion for sustainability. While you’re skiing the nearby trails, ice skating a block away or enjoying a sleigh ride, you can take comfort in knowing the Inn is doing all it can to shrink its carbon footprint. The resort uses locally grown produce at its restaurants, green cleaning products throughout the property, maintains an in-room recycling program, and encourages guests to reuse towels and sheets to cut down on energy use.
Whichever resort or location you pick, make sure you’re taking the most eco-friendly mode of transportation to get there. Click here and check out our article on green transportation. And for more ways to spend the season in green, eco-friendly style, stay connected to the Just Energy blog and be sure to like Just Energy on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
Sources:
https://crmr.com/deer/
https://crmr.com/environment/
http://www.nitalakelodge.com/
http://www.nitalakelodge.com/green-initiatives-en.html
http://greenmountaininn.com/about-the-inn/green-hotel/
http://www.justenergy.com/blog/trains-planes-and-automobiles-which-is-the-greenest-transportation/