A hidden gem nestled in the Cypress Hills
By Medicine Hat News on August 11, 2018.
Medicine Hat News Driving east along the Trans-Canada highway from Medicine Hat, wheat and cornfields make up much of the landscape. As you drive closer to the border where Alberta meets Saskatchewan, a quick right turn off the highway soon brings you to a nature lover’s paradise. When the plains begin to rise and fall and the oasis of thick pine and spruce trees welcomes you, you know you have arrived in the small townsite of Elkwater, Alta. Nestled in amongst the trees and near the edge of the lake lies Elkwater Lake Lodge and Resort. Built in 2005, the only resort on the Alberta side of Cypress Hills, is now under the guide of its third owner, Neeraj Mishra. The 61-unit Alpine Springs condo, cabin and main lodge was purchased by Mishra in May 2016. The mechanical engineer with a Master’s degree in Business was a former project manager for large oil companies in Calgary. When oil prices dropped and corporations scaled back projects, Mishra was left with no employment opportunities. He decided to take his savings and go into business for himself. “I understood the financial and numbers game and I wanted to buy a business which could feed my family, not just an investment project,” he says of his initial drive to enter into the hotel and resort business. With sound advice from his hotelier uncle, who has been in the business since the 1970s, Mishra began looking for an opportunity within the one-hour radius around Calgary. With no viable opportunities, Mishra caught wind of a potential investment in a small townsite in the Cypress Hills and decided to take a drive. After driving for three hours from Calgary, through Medicine Hat and beyond, Mishra says he began thinking where was he going. “They said there was a mountain, there was a lake, there were hills but there was no sign of anything … until the last moment,” he remembers. “It was winter, the clouds were low and I saw that sight, it was so beautiful and I said to myself, ‘I hope this makes good business sense.'” Having been to the Rockies many times, Mishra says he, like so many, can visualize its beauty that is known world-wide but Elkwater is a completely different visual experience. “It is the backyard beauty which you want to find.” By April, Elkwater Lake Lodge and Resort was his. On May 11, Mishra walked through the front doors of the main lodge and the rustic, Canadiana decor greeted its new owner. Mishra had a challenge ahead of him. He said the property was run down and its credibility as a resort and not a road-side motel was in need of repair. “We are not getting customers here, we are getting guests,” he says. See A nature lover’s, Page B2 18-17
