Opened May 2000
The golf course
The part of the resort that was built first, and that paid for the rest.
The golf course came first. It opened in May 2000, before the hotel and the casino. A 2022 article on the resort's site explains why: the Columbia Basin Trust agreed to build the course ahead of the rest, and once it existed, investors could be driven out to the 13th hole to see what the valley could become. The course finished third in Golf Digest's Best New Canadian Golf Course in 2001.
The course
- Holes / par
- 18 / 72
- Black tees
- 7,007 yards
- Blue tees
- 6,453 yards
- White tees
- 5,852 yards
- Green tees
- 5,388 yards
- Designer
- Les Furber, GDS Golf Design Services
- 2027 season
- April 16 to October 11
- Pro Shop
- 250-420-2060; open 8 am–8 pm daily in season
Les Furber, who the resort says has designed more than 70 courses and remodelled more than 50, told the resort that the property "spans three different environments": links-style open ground, parkland, and holes along the river. He also called it a wilderness experience, with no housing development around it. The resort describes white sand bunkers, rolling greens and holes lined up on mountain peaks. Its own advice on carts is blunt: the course is long and cut out of mountainous ground, and the paths between holes can be steep.
Eighteen Ktunaxa names
Every hole has a Ktunaxa name, a phonetic guide and a short story on a sign cut from pine beetle-damaged wood. A committee of Elders chose the names. Graeme Douglas, the manager of hotel and golf facilities, worked with them, and the resort says Dorothy Alpine, one of the last fluent speakers, was central to the work. A few of the stories:
| Hole | Name | The story on the sign, in short |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (par 4) | Joseph Creek | The prairie around Cranbrook, Akisq'aq'li'it, was used by the Ktunaxa for 10,000 years; it was renamed Joseph's Prairie after Chief Joseph, who grazed his herds there. The creek is a sensitive spawning stream. |
| 2 (par 5) | Fire Wagon | The Ktunaxa name for trains, powered by fire; the Ktunaxa once held free railway passes as part of their compensation. |
| 3 (par 4) | Horseshoe Bend | The horse was first likened to a hornless elk that could work like a dog; the Ktunaxa became expert riders. |
| 6 (par 4) | Spirit Tree | In summer 1998 a shaper found a burnt stump resembling a spiritual being; it was kept, and the tee was moved. |
| 10 (par 5) | Hoodoo | The sign tells an Apache legend in which the hoodoos are men turned to stone for abandoning their people. |
| 15 (par 3) | Steeple View | Watchmen were once posted high in the eastern mountains to guard Ktunaxa villages. |
| 16 (par 5) | Body of Giant | Part of the Creation Story: the giant who blocked the river to trap the water monster. |
| 17 (par 3) | Sunset | The tee faces due west; the evening sun hides the ball's flight, and a pot bunker waits. |
| 18 (par 5) | Kingfisher | The Mission Building and Fisher Peak behind the green; belted kingfishers along Joseph Creek. |
Practice, carts and lessons
Every golfer gets a small bucket of range balls and warm-up time on the driving range before their tee time. A 45-minute range session costs $10 through the Pro Shop. Chipping and putting greens are open daily. A power cart is $22 per person and includes GPS yardages, USB ports and a cooler; a pushcart is $5, with limited numbers. Club rental is $50 for 18 holes and $30 for nine, and junior sets are available. Lessons are taught by PGA of Canada professionals, with a single private lesson listed at $90. Green fees are priced dynamically, and twilight rates often start from mid-afternoon. A Snack Shack sits near the middle of the course, so you pass it three times in a round.
In winter: the simulator
The course closes for winter, but a golf simulator in the clubhouse stays open, Monday to Saturday 9 am to 8 pm and Sunday 11 am to 6 pm. It costs $50 an hour plus tax, with up to four players recommended, and bookings go through 250-420-2060. A winter league runs from November to March on simulated versions of famous courses.
Dogs, birds and the land
Leashed dogs are welcome on tee times after 3 pm from Thursday to Monday. The course is a member of the National Audubon Society, and more than 100 species of birds have been recorded on it. Some hazards are closed to golfers to protect fragile ground. The resort says balls that land there are recovered by the grounds crew and given away.
Staying to play
The resort sells Stay and Play packages that put a room and a round together, and a custom golf package request form for groups. Seven courses lie within 24 minutes of each other in the area, so a longer golf trip can be based here. Tell the desk below your dates and how many will play, and we will ask the resort what is available.
Where this comes from
Course information, rates, rentals and lessons, 25 years of golf (2025), read 15 November 2026. Green fees vary by date; book tee times through the Pro Shop.