Grab the girls and head to the mountains for a weekend of spas, steaks and sun. 

dine
The brand new Sidecut steakhouse at the Four Seasons Hotel boasts an infrared grill that creates the perfect crispy char. Customize your steak with a choice of dipping sauces and rubs, like the spicy and smoky Edison’s Medicine. Sit on the pretty patio and marvel at the serene views. Is that a bear up there? www.fourseasons.com/whistler

drink
The Bearfoot Bistro’s new Miami-style poolside patio opened officially on July 1. If you can’t take the heat, duck into the restaurant’s new Belvedere Ice Room, don a Canada Goose-down parka, and taste specialty vodkas stored in a wall of ice. Now that’s cool. www.bearfootbistro.com

recover
The new Scandinave Spa off the Lost Lake Trail is a self-contained hydrotherapy haven. Detox in the Finnish sauna and steam room then refresh in the hot and cold plunge pools. Relaxation rooms stocked with contemporary magazines and a policy of silence will help with your head, as will a restorative bowl of lemongrass-miso soup in the bistro. From $55, www.scandinave.com

relax
Consider taking the Rocky Mountaineer train to Whistler and arrive already relaxed after a spectacular 3-hour journey through valleys, rivers and waterfalls not seen from the highway. A complimentary drinks cart (remember those?) is a welcome retro touch. Now that’s our idea of “personal training.” From $129, www.whistlermountaineer.com

Summering with Clooney on Lake Como is in your five-year plan, but until that happens make Sakinaw Lake Lodge your second home for holidaying.

Only an hour north of Langdale, the off-grid lodge is as lakeside as it gets. Hosts Liza and Garrett, young, hip and hospitable ex-Vancouverites, ferry you over on their pontoon cruiser with a glass of wine. The spacious second storey Cedar Suite, steps from the water, features a fully equipped kitchen, wood-burning fireplace, claw foot tub, private deck and big windows for lake and mountain views.

A hot breakfast is provided (lemon ricotta pancakes anyone?) or rent out the whole lodge with friends and prep all your own meals in the outfitted outdoor kitchen.

While just gazing at the pristine water is entertainment enough, a world of water sports, like kayaking, tubing and hot tubbing, are also there for the taking, not to mention our favourite activity—fireside chats over smores.

From $269 a night, Sakinaw Lake Lodge, Sakinaw Lake Rd., Pender Harbour, 604-341-1720, www.sakinawlakelodge.com

See snaps from our weekend at Sakinaw on the Editors’ Diary.

An hour and a half outside of Vancouver, the city girl in us happily went country with the other kind of wild weekend in Harrison-Agassiz.

stay
Whether you vacationed there as a kid or not, the Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa will have you feeling nostalgic (think Kellerman’s Resort in Dirty Dancing). In between dips in the hot mineral pools and sessions at the Healing Springs Spa, make sure you reserve one night to mambo like Baby and Johnny at the historic Copper Room. Book a deluxe lakeview suite in the East Tower or really commit to the kitsch in one of their retro cottages. Rooms $159-$284, www.harrisonresort.com

eat
Hop in the hybrid and take a self-guided Circle Farm Tour of the area. There are stops for everything from coffee to hazelnuts, but our faves are the artisan cheeses from the award-winning Farm House Cheeses and Limbert Mountain Farm with its hillside garden of herbs and quaint tea room where they serve up scrumptious lunch and afternoon tea on weekends. www.circlefarmtour.com

If you’re the biking type, then you’ll want to set aside August 21 for the Slow Food Cycle, which stops at those same spots, and ends with a Chehalis Traditional Salmon Feast. www.slowfoodvancouver.com

do
Take the gang on a tour of the Harrison River by boat to see wildlife (a Sasquatch even) and let the wind blow in your hair. Especially spectacular is the Fall Eagle Tour, where hundreds perch to feast on spawning salmon. Or if you prefer to do the fishing yourself, catch and release trips can be arranged. www.harrisonecotours.com

Check out photos from our Harrison-Agassiz getaway on the Editors’ Diary.

Pack your gladiator flats and keep it simple with a getaway itinerary that can all be done on foot.

stay
With views over Lake Union, the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project, Pan Pacific Seattle lets you map out your day from the comfort of your soaker tub. Extras like steamers, bath salts and Herman Miller desk chairs make all the difference. From USD$249. 2125 Terry Ave., Seattle, 206-264-8111, www.panpacific.com

do
For the ultimate in eatertainment, stroll the aisles of the massive Whole Foods at the base of the hotel with its tempura bar, outdoor seating, and excellent bubbly selection. 2210 Westlake Ave., Seattle, 206-621-9700, www.wholefoodsmarket.com

shop
The adorable new Free People store near Pike Place Market brings to mind a quirky, American Audrey Tautou. Don’t miss its girlish lingerie. 101 Stewart St., Seattle, 206-441-3659, www.freepeople.com

spa
Adjacent to the hotel is the impeccable Vida Wellness Spa, whose Green Tea facial ($130) can take five years and 200 packs of cigarettes off one’s face in 60 minutes flat. 2200 Westlake St., Seattle, 888-865-2630, www.vidawellness.com

eat
A plate of oysters at dusk on the patio, paired with an Oregon pinot, may just be the prelude to a kiss—and if they say “get a room,” yours is mere steps away. Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar, Pan Pacific Seattle, 2125 Terry Ave., Seattle, 206-462-4364, www.seastarrestaurant.com

Our foodie tour of Victoria will make for a well-fed weekend.

stay
If a weekend in Kyoto is out of the question, get your Zen moment at Victoria’s lush Inn at Laurel Point. Chill out by the waterfall in the hand-tended Japanese garden by the sea, watch the harbour action from the chaise lounge in your sleek Arthur Erickson Wing room, and check out the museum-quality art lining the hallways. Yes, that really is a Henry Hunt sun mask in the lobby. Spring rates from $130, 680 Montreal St., Victoria, 800-663-7667, www.laurelpoint.com

eat
All those micro-produced island wines you haven’t yet sampled are at the sleek, waterfront Aura restaurant. The menu leans local, from sea asparagus garnishes to the Zanatta Damasco by the glass. Chef Brad Horen’s surf and turf is a good reason to hop that ferry. Aura at the Inn at Laurel Point, 680 Montreal St, Victoria, 250-414-6739, www.aurarestaurant.ca

do
Eat. Walk. Eat. On a Travel With Taste urban culinary walking tour, local foodie Kathy McAree reveals Victoria’s food and drink secrets, from the inside scoop on tea blending to where to find the best banana bread in town. Bonus? You get to meet the experts behind the city’s booming dining scene. Travel with Taste, 250-385-1527, www.travelwithtaste.com

shop
Fort Street’s Antique Row is morphing into Eco Row, with several great eco-tiques. Two faves: Not Just Pretty, with its sustainable, sweat-shop free frocks, tees and and The Good Planet Company, which stocks practical organic bedding, bio-degradable dog toys, muffin tins, and compostable dishes made from fallen palm leaves.
Not Just Pretty, 1036 Fort St., Victoria, 250-414-0414, www.notjustpretty.com
The Good Planet Co., 764 Fort St., Victoria, 888-590-3505, www.goodplanet.com

Looking to get closer to mother nature without compromising your own cosmopolitan nature? We got the very first in-person peek at the beautiful new Black Rock Oceanfront Resort in Ucluelet and can't wait to bring back the beau.

Situated on a promontory overlooking the Pacific, the property is definitely more luxe than lodge. Styled in Zen Contemporary, the spacious suites are fitted with Miele appliances, marble countertops, big soaker tubs, and expansive balconies for watching swells.

On the main floor you’ll find a cool blue bar in the shape of a curling wave, a 90-seat fine dining room helmed by lauded local chef Andrew Springett, a stunning sunken wine grotto set within an active surge channel for private events, and a signature spa that will provide oceanview mani-pedis (among other things) starting in May.

Listing off all its perks has made us parched, speaking of cosmopolitan….

www.blackrockresort.com

When the Vitamin V team needed a quick getaway to put colour in our cheeks and a bounce in our business plan, we chose the new Nita Lake Lodge in Whistler Creek.

Our girls were agog at the size of their rooms, the circular tubs, massive flatscreens and view balconies overlooking the Monet-like lake.

The boutique-sized lodge (77 rooms) offers a large lobby bar, a library, restaurant, plunge pool and forthcoming spa—and for now at least, plenty of peace and quiet.

Plus the Whistler Mountaineer train (from $199 round trip) pulls right up to the lodge, if your idea of mountain travel includes high tea and complimentary cocktails versus highway construction and cramped back seats.

Now that puts the treat back in company retreat.

Nita Lake Lodge (from $129/night), www.nitalakelodge.com.
View pictures of the Vitamin V team at Nita Lake on today’s Editors' Diary.

While some will be tempted to abandon their warm weather fitness routines, those with bigger plans will be keeping their svelte summer figures ready for winter vacations in tropical climates.

A surefire way to keep the motivation going? A retreat to Galiano Island with the yoga stars from Semperviva.

A quick ferry ride and $445 will get you 2 nights accommodation, vegetarian meals, yoga classes, hikes and either kayaking or a boat cruise. They’ll even collect you from the ferry dock and whisk you to your wilderness cabins. You can opt for morning meditations (but we choose to sleep in) and massages are available for extra tired bodies.

We spent the weekend making new friends, breathing fresh island air and learning some new poses. And after a few downward dogs, we were newly devoted to those toned muscles we earned—and planning a Maui getaway for January.

Next Galiano retreats: October 3, 2008 and April 24, 2009.

For more info visit http://www.semperviva.com/galiano.php

Need a weekender but don’t feel like spending half of it in the car?

Go short-haul at Bowen Island’s new Eco-Shed.

Author (and former Outside magazine editor) James Glave has built the modern, 280 square-foot green getaway with your petite carbon footprint in mind. A private garden (and resident black bunny), wood-burning fireplace, Energy Star appliances, and heated concrete floors will have both you and your conscience resting comfortably.

From $175. View pictures and availability at www.eco-shed.ca

To view other Bowen Island travel itineraries, click here, here and here.