Family Friendly Staycation Near Calgary - Caboose Cabins at Aspen Crossing

Today’s post is a guest post from Kathleen. She is an amazing teacher, a fantastic blogger and a mom of 3 adorable kidlets.

My family and I recently had the unique opportunity to stay two nights at the Caboose Cabins at Aspen Crossing. Just a 45 minute drive from the South end of Calgary, these cabins are nestled in a small RV camp ground. Upon first impressions, these large train cars seem sort of out of place, but as soon as you settle in and get acquainted with the amenities of the cabins and their surroundings, you start to feel at home. There are three cabins, the Northern Alberta, the Canadian Pacific and the Union Pacific.

I booked the trip for my husband’s birthday. He is somewhat of a train buff and a confirmed outdoorsman. I, on the other hand, loathe the notion of ‘roughing it’, so these cabins seemed like a great ‘glamping’ opportunity for a couple with contrasting tastes. I loved the luxurious finishings in the Albertian Caboose, and my husband loved being able to cook over an open fire while being surrounded by farmers’ fields and flocks of swallows.

We had our three kids with us for the second night of our little trip and it became very clear that the area was perfectly suited for kids as well.There is a small playground that campers can use and our two girls spent hours running back and forth, picking and eating suspicious berries, making friends and getting dirty.

Each cabin has AC and heating, a well-equipped kitchen and bathroom facilities. The smallest Caboose only has a half bath. You can do all your cooking inside if you want, which would be great in chilly months, or you can use the huge BBQ on the deck or the fire pit if you want a more authentic camping experience. We did all of the above. We were provided with one cord of wood for the first night and even finagled a second one for the next night, even thought it wasn’t technically included. We like burning stuff. What can I say?

Our cabin had a back bedroom with a king-sized bed, a cupola with a smaller two person mattress and a pull out double couch in the main living area. We even had enough room to fit a pack n’ play in the bedroom for our baby. It was cozy, but not cramped.

We spent most of our time on the nice, big deck cooking, reading, snacking and enjoying the sun. We were lucky to have spectacular weather which made the experience that much more enjoyable.

Positives of Caboose Cabins at Aspen Landing:

Awesome staff. Everyone was friendly and easy to deal with.
Kid-friendly.
Luxurious finishes. We stayed in the largest cabin so it is the most posh, but the others are also lovely and comfortable.
Lots of cooking options. Kitchen, BBQ and fire pit.
The trains themselves. So cool.
The drive. I know – I am not always a fan of the drive part of a trip, but it was honestly a stunning trip. We came in mid-July and the canola fields and blue skies were stunning and peaceful. It also helped that my kids slept most of the way.

Some drawbacks:

Price. At $239 for each weekday, it is what I would consider to be expensive, even for glamping. We spoke to the owners and they don’t expect to recoup the costs of refurbishing and transporting the caboose to the current location for 15 years, so I get where the costs come from, but still. The smaller cabins are less expensive.
The playground was in a state of some disrepair. There were some exposed staples and boards falling off. I just checked it out a bit and declared it mostly safe and worth the hour of quiet time it afforded me in the evening.

Tips and Other Info:

Plan and prep meals before arriving so you can spend most of your time enjoying your surroundings. There is a small fridge for perishables.
Bring DVDs or games for any freak weather events when you are forced inside. Being inside is actually cool because of the train itself, and there is a flat screen TV and blu-ray player in each caboose.
Aspen Crossing is actually planning to create a Polar Express train experience in the upcoming months which would be a great Christmas experience for kiddos. Me too, if I’m being honest. I freaking love that movie.
They have a dining car, gift shop, excursion train and garden centre just before you get to the RV camp ground. The excursion train even hosts dinner theatre shows!

Check out their Website for more information:

http://www.aspencrossing.com