Siwash Lake Wilderness Resort, British Columbia

Siwash Lake Wilderness Resort sits on ten thousand acres at the foot of the Cariboo Mountains in British Columbia, two and a half hours north of Kamloops. It has been covered by The Globe and Mail and National Geographic, named among luxury sustainable stays and cited by Vogue on climate action in luxury travel, and is a member of the Magnificent 7 Luxury Wilderness Lodges and the Condé Nast Johansens guide.

The AlumiTub is at their Star Gazing Camp.

The property

A private, off-grid hideaway where guests explore rugged terrain with a private guide. Horseback riding across open range. Fly fishing for trout, catch and release. Backcountry hiking through an ecosystem where you spot wildlife, find hidden lakes, picnic on the sage-scented banks of a stream, and stand under a waterfall.

There is whitewater rafting, and frontier skills for anyone who wants them: bush craft, hatchet throwing, shooting, cross-country archery. Then outdoor yoga, a massage, and a soak under the stars.

The Star Gazing Camp, and why it exists

The camp is a handful of glamping tents on a ridge a few minutes' walk from the lodge, and the reason the stargazing is as good as it is turns out to be a hard one.

Much of the surrounding old-growth fir burned in the 2017 wildfires. What is left is standing blackened trunks and open sky, and a forest visibly coming back underneath. The canopy that would ordinarily close overhead is gone, so the view from the ridge is a full circle of night sky rather than a gap between treetops.

That is the setting the tub sits in. It is also, incidentally, the same kind of site several AlumiTubs owners have ended up on. Gail Hunt's tub on Loon Lake was barged onto a wildfire-burned lot and is still going seven years later.

Why a wood fired tub at a luxury wilderness resort

The obvious question at a property of this standard is why not simply install a conventional spa. The answer is in the name of the camp.

A Star Gazing Camp is defined by what it does not have: light, noise, infrastructure. A conventional spa needs a power connection, runs a pump around the clock, and glows. All three work against the reason guests travel there.

A wood fired tub needs none of it. No trenching across open range, no electrical run to a remote camp, and nothing humming while you look up. The fire is the only light and the only sound, which is the point. Going off-grid with a wood fired hot tub covers what that makes possible.

What this kind of siting asks for

Placing a tub at a remote camp raises three practical questions, and they are the same ones any off-grid property faces.

Getting it there. The tub arrives pre-assembled and rolls into position on its side at 38 inches, weighing 200 to 300 lbs empty depending on size. No crane and no groundworks, which matters when the site is a five-minute walk from the nearest building and a long way from a road.

Filling it. A submersible pump draws from a natural source, and the marine-grade structure handles lake water without issue. More in handling water access at a remote property.

Managing it between guests. At a guest property this is the real question, and it comes down to turnover. A host's guide to wood fired hot tubs covers the options.

One more thing worth naming, given where this camp sits. Fire bans apply to wood fired tubs, and in a landscape that burned in 2017 they are not hypothetical. For properties in that position, the Hybrid keeps the tub in service through a ban on the electric system alone.

Common questions

Can you have a hot tub at an off-grid resort?

Yes, with a wood fired tub. It needs only a flat surface, water and dry wood, with no electrical connection, no trenching and no plumbing to winterize. It also consumes nothing between guests, which suits a property running in seasons rather than year round.

Why is a wood fired hot tub better for a dark sky property?

A conventional spa brings lighting, a pump running around the clock and a glow, all of which work against a camp built around the night sky. A wood fired tub adds no light beyond the fire and no sound beyond the wood, so the setting stays intact.

How do you get a hot tub to a remote wilderness camp?

An AlumiTub arrives pre-assembled at 200 to 300 lbs empty depending on size and rolls on its side at 38 inches with two people, so no crane, groundworks or road access is required at the site. On a prepared surface, setup takes about an hour.

What happens to a wood fired hot tub during a fire ban?

The firebox cannot be lit, so a wood-only tub is out of service for the length of the ban. A Hybrid carries an electric heating and filtration system alongside the firebox, which keeps the tub in use through a ban on the electric side alone.

More owner stories: Bralorne Adventure Lodge and a remote island cabin on Read Island BC, where siting for the stars was part of the decision too.

See more properties at where AlumiTubs live, or explore the Wood Fired.