As soon as I said I was going to Red Mountain Spa, I regretted it.

“A spa? You’re going to a spa?” the brusque U.S. customs agent in YVR’s preclearance area exclaimed in a thick drawl. “You’re too young to be going to a spa! So you’re going to be pampered?”

I would’ve smacked him, but my plane was waiting.

Although Utah’s Red Mountain Spa does have spa services, what attracted me was its extensive program of physical activities: hiking, Pilates, yoga, aerobics, meditation, dance, horseback riding, mountain biking, kayaking, and rock climbing.

I’d been looking for somewhere I could practise tai chi. While trolling the Internet, I stumbled across RMS. Most of the other options were either too new-age-flaky or astronomically expensive. With a seasonal-discount package and the high Canadian dollar, however, a four-day getaway at RMS became affordable.

After a turbulent connecting flight from Salt Lake City to St. George, I arrived in the dark of night at the resort, which is located on the desert outskirts of Ivins. The grounds cover 22 hectares at the edge of Snow Canyon State Park, and the facilities consist of a small cluster of terra-cotta-coloured cubelike villas and two-storey buildings that blend into the landscape.

My room was handsomely styled in trendy minimalist décor with an ivory and brown colour scheme. But what greeted me in the morning was far more stunning: a speckless blue sky resting upon Conté-crayon-red mountains.

The spa boasts an exhaustive smorgasbord of activities scheduled from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. The days, accordingly, became a nonstop blur; the challenge was squeezing everything I wanted to do into my schedule.

The Active Yoga class was the most demanding yoga class I’d ever taken—there weren’t any breaks between poses, and the pace was intense. (One participant gave up early on and left.) My enjoyment of the challenging Balletone class surprised me. The exercises, based on ballet, made me aware of muscles in my legs and rear I hadn’t felt before. The Chi Ball class had some of the most effective tension-releasing stretches, using balls and props, that I’d ever tried.

Although gratifying, the tai chi class consisted mostly of qi gong exercises, and the tai chi sequence was an abbreviated version I’d never seen before. When the instructor explained tai chi in terms of prana, it became apparent that cultural authenticity isn’t the resort’s strong point. Similarly, a traditional Native American spiral walk along a path marked by stones was described by the group leader in terms of yin and yang. Who knew Native American traditions were rooted in Chinese philosophy?

There were also a number of new age and alternative-health classes and lectures—iridology, crystal healing, and card reading.

Daily morning hikes through surrounding hills and trails invigorated me, but the real highlight was a day trip to Zion National Park. The park is almost 100 years old and covers about 600 square kilometres. My cardio training allowed me to maintain a brisk pace up the steep trails, but then our guide volunteered me to go along on the optional hike to Angels Landing, at the top of Zion Canyon.

Gorgeous views of the strata-striped sandstone cliffs were plentiful, but the acrophobia-inducing climb required focus rather than allowing any sightseeing. We travelled along narrow ridges with sloping drop-offs and widely spaced footholds—it was part rock climbing.

Our guide later informed us that someone had fallen and died the previous summer. Criminy.

Although Outside magazine gave RMS a four out of four “he-man” rating in 2004, I saw only three other male guests, all with their female partners; I was the only single guy. It’s a haven for women travelling alone. I met numerous married women, a divorced author, a New Yawk psychotherapist, and several Canadians. Since I sometimes feel like a middle-aged woman trapped in a gay man’s body (hot flashes included), I didn’t have a problem with that, save the occasional references (“Ladies and the gentleman…”).

A thoughtful touch is the community table, which seats up to 10 people and helps single guests meet others. Meals, included in packages, consist of health-conscious buffets for breakfast and lunch (fruits, salads, grains, beans, meats, and more), and delectable gourmet entrées ordered à la carte, including fish and game (the elk was tasty), for dinner.

And yes, I did get some pampering at the resort’s Sagestone Spa, housed in a bubblelike dome. The Desert Rain Massage—conducted by a masseur under warm water streaming down from a network of shower heads—was novel, yet somewhat messy with all the splashing water and wet towels.

Quite frankly, with my body aching from all the exercise, I had no qualms about being pampered.

Access: Package accommodations begin at US$369.55 per person per night, but check for on-line booking discounts, and seasonal discounts or packages that include resort credits or discounted spa services. Visit www.redmountainspa.com/ for full details.

Package prices include meals, fitness classes, and morning hikes. Special activities, lectures, workshops, spa treatments, and gratuities cost extra.

From Vancouver, you can fly to either Los Angeles or Salt Lake City and take a connecting flight to St. George. RMS provides transportation to and from the airport. Alternatively, you can fly to Las Vegas and take a two-hour ride to RMS by shuttle or limousine service.

The best times to go are spring and fall, when average highs reach the mid 30s. Highs in summer rise into the 40s.