The Lady Macdonald Country Inn and Spa is based at the gateway to the Canadian Rockies and couldn’t be more proud to hold a name honoring the Canadian history of one of the most magical places on earth. In 1886 the first prime minister of Canada, Sir John A. Macdonald and his wife Lady Agnes Macdonald embarked on their journey by rail across Canada, ocean to ocean.
Just as tho
usands of visitors are taken by the beauty of the Rocky Mountains each year, Lady MacDonald was no different. She stole the show in 1887 by proclaiming she would ride on the cow catcher on the front of the train in order to view all of the scenery with the best seat on the train.
Her ambitious and passionate spirit was plowing a path in history more than she may have known. She kept a detailed journal surveying all she observed and although many requested she come inside the train, she rode the entire route from “summit to sea”. Her Diary is the is the basis of the well-known book, “From Car to Cow Catcher” and her legacy lives on in the hearts of the people who view the scenery with the same appreciation she did.
“and for a moment I feel a thrill that is very like fear; but it is gone at once, and I can think of nothing but the novelty, the excitement, and the fun of this mad ride in the glorious sunshine and intoxicating air, with magnificent mountains before and around me, their lofty peaks smiling down on us, and never a frown on their grand faces!”
-Lady Agnes Macdonald
Some important monuments were named in the mountains after the great Lady Macdonald. One of which is mount Lady Macdonald in Canmore. The mountain hovers just above Canmore and conveniently smiles down on the Lady Macdonald Country Inn and Spa.
The Inn is your perfect location to explore the Rockies, hike Mount Lady Macdonald or just relax and take in the views, the same ones that Agnes observed in 1886. As proud owners of the Inn, Perry and Valerie are committed to continue to special history of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
