‘A very big hit’: Elkhorn Resort makes splash with new Nordic spa

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This article was published 16/07/2024 (432 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Finishing touches on a $10-million resort expansion on the south edge of Riding Mountain National Park are almost complete.

But already, Klar So Nordic Spa has welcomed throngs of customers in its saunas, hot tubs and cold plunge.

“It’s been a very big hit,” said Michelle Jonas, guest services manager and events co-ordinator at Elkhorn Resort Spa and Conference Centre.

The new spa — covering roughly 1,700 square metres — replaces an old facility at Elkhorn, roughly a five-minute drive from the Clear Lake townsite of Wasagaming.

Jonas believes Klar So will draw more people to Elkhorn Resort in the winter months, when many park activities are unavailable.

“It gives the locals … another reason to be here,” she added.

Over the past two years, the resort has created a four-building, ages 18+ facility centred on the Nordic practice of thermotherapy, where users alternate between hot and cold temperatures and rest in between.

Thermëa by Nordik Spa-Nature popularized the experience in Winnipeg.

Klar So, which is a roughly three-hour drive northwest of Winnipeg, touts dry and wet saunas; a relaxation room with heated, tiled lounge chairs; two hot tubs; a temperate pool; and a cold plunge.

There are lockers for 100 people and a restaurant specifically for the spa. A previously established therapy site at Elkhorn — selling massages and facials — is attached to Klar So.

The tourist site demolished its former pool in 2019 to make room for the spa, according to Ray Piche, the company’s conference sales manager (no relation).

Meanwhile, the resort created a new pool with an indoor and outdoor hot tub attached.

Construction on Klar So was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Piche explained. Shovels hit the ground in the fall of 2022; the spa opened in December.

Landscaping work is ongoing and expected to finish within the next couple weeks, Piche estimated.

A typical day pass costs $84 Sundays through Fridays; it increases to $94 on Saturdays.

Piche believes the spa will be welcomed by conference-goers. Elkhorn Resort books more than a dozen conferences monthly, Jonas approximated.

The spa’s bistro and patio area are licensed; Jonas hopes to licence the spa itself in the future — think wine by hot tubs.

“Maybe a margarita night or have a live band in there,” she said, adding no such paperwork has yet been filed. “Beer tasting, wine tasting, all of it.”

Municipality of Harrison Park Reeve Ian Drul applauded the opening of Klar So. He called it a “great boost to the economy.”

Elkhorn Resort has hired roughly a dozen people to accommodate the spa and bistro. The facility will enhance local tourism and corporate sectors, Drul wrote in an email.

“(I’m) very pleased that the ownership group has decided to bring this beautiful attraction to … our municipality.”

Harrison Park, which Elkhorn Resort resides in, had a population count of 1,852 in 2021.

Travel Manitoba’s president also praised the new Nordic spa.

“This is a terrific addition to the attractions in Clear Lake,” Colin Ferguson said in a statement.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com