Digital Detox: Unplug & Relax at Echo Valley Ranch & Spa

Echo Valley Ranch & Spa, one of British Columbia's premier ranches, has come to the rescue with its Digital Detox Package, inviting adults and families to park their virtual life and live (ranch) life to the full for a blissful interlude. Remedies include inhaling clean Cariboo air, daily yoga classes, taking leisurely trail rides, reading (what a novelty!), and watching the stars at night.

Says Tod Maffin, Canadian expert on digital use: “I don't think I've met a single person who says they're happy managing the technology pace. Our brains simply can't keep up with all the modern demands for our attention.” Tod concludes that spending time off the grid, giving technology a break, not only boosts our ability to think more deeply, but is healthy for relationships.

Knowing that it's difficult to disconnect, Echo Valley has created an alluring menu of activities that will have you immersing yourself in ranch life and leaving your smart-phone at the bottom of your backpack. Think, daily yoga classes, grooming your horse, and enjoying family-style meals fresh from the ranch. Meanwhile the kids are feeding the turkeys, befriending the Border collies, or learning to cast a fly, in exchange for hours in front of a screen.

At Echo Valley Ranch & Spa, guests experience a deep sense of peace while enjoying time unplugged. Owner Norm Dove adds: “ It's important not to lose sight of the things that matter to us: we find it's the simple things like smelling the sagebrush, watching the constellations at night or tasting food fresh from the earth, that helps keep everything in perspective.”

For those in serious need of checking their email, there is no penalty – Echo Valley is online for those who need to be.

The Digital Detox package at Echo Valley Ranch & Spa includes a restorative herbal oil massage, a horseback ride and hike during which meditation is encouraged, a bundle of three books and three magazines, and an iPhone application that disables smart phones for a specified time. The package can be added to any stay for $395.CAD per person.

Echo Valley Ranch & Spa, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World™, is located in BC's scenic Cariboo Region. Accommodations include luxury suites, cabins and lodge rooms for up to 40. Guests spend their days horseback riding, hiking, gold panning and fly fishing, or visiting the ‘East meets West' spa for traditional Thai as well as western therapies. The ranch has a strong sustainability ethic, which runs through the ‘farm to fork' approach to dining, the carbon credits to offset guests' travel, and every aspect of ranch life. Flying into the ranch's private runway is the best way to arrive; the ranch is also accessible by road and rail, or guests may opt to fly to Kamloops with a transfer to the ranch.