Shadow Lake Lodge
Ensure your Banff Park Pass is visible on your car
No Cell Reception
Dogs are NOT permitted at the lodge
If you are looking for a fun back country overnight experience, Shadow Lake Lodge is a must destination in Banff National Park. The lodges are beautiful and the views around the lodge give you that mountain, alpine back country experience. The lodge and Alpine club of canada work together to make sure you that you have a safe and fun experience during your stay.
Parking is best at Redearth parking lot which is about 20km west of Banff. Check-in time is 3pm so allow yourself time to climb up the 14km/500 meter trail to get up there.
Trail grooming: You are able to ski, bike, and hike up the trail to the cabin. It should be noted it’s not track-set anymore. This is due to two small avalanche passes around km 3 and 6 which are a bit more reoccuring but rare.
The lodge now offers single night reservations and there is no kitchen and dining service like they used to have in the past. You now pack in your own food and drink and when you leave you take anything you don’t use take out with you.
You have access to the beautiful commercial-grade kitchen to store your food and coke all your meals. What I like about this setup is that you talk to people in the dining hall and have a chance to meet other people. You have plenty of space to cook and the kitchen is fully equipped, so don’t worry!
Ensure you bring your own coffee. I chose to bring instant coffee and it was the easiest to boil water in the morning. I had some homemade soup for dinner that I made at home and a lovely bannock veggie sandwich from my Terre Boreale cookbook! You are able to buy wine and snacks on site. You can pay cash or card.
When you arrive, you will check in and you can put things in your cabin and explore the grounds. There’s a common area to drink, read and socialize with a fireplace during your stay. I found I didn’t spend much time in my cabin and spent hours in the common area chatting with people. In the morning, I went out for a ski around shadow lake and it was so very beautiful with all the snow. I feel very lucky for the weather we had there.
My packing list:
I had a 36 litre Osprey pack which held my sleeping bag, clothes for the night, shoes, headlamp, food, book, toothbrush/paste, towel, sunscreen, deodorant, extra toque, buff, mitts.
BC70 scale skis to get to the cabin.
Garmin Inreach.
Soup for dinner, bannock sandwich for breakfast and some cheese and crackers for snacks. Wine and a water bottle with electrolytes.
