LAKE O'HARA

LAKE O’HARA.

Lake O’Hara Lodge

Spending a night at Lake O’Hara Lodge (250/343-6418, mid-June to early October) is a special experience and one that draws familiar faces year after year. On a practical level, it allows hikers not equipped for overnight camping the opportunity to explore one of the finest hiking destinations in all the Canadian Rockies at their leisure.

The 15 one-bedroom cabins, each with a private bathroom, are spread around the lakeshore, while within the main lodge are eight rooms, most of which are twins and share bathrooms.

Rates start at around $1,000 d and include all meals, taxes, gratuities, and transportation. The lodge is extremely popular, so much so that it is filled years in advance. You can email and request to be added to a waitlist, but at the last report, the lodge was not taking names as the waitlist itself is “full.”

As the lodge is located 11 kilometres (7 miles) from Highway 1 along a road closed to public vehicles, guests arrive by a shuttle bus that departs from a parking lot three kilometres (1.9 miles) west of the Continental Divide and 15 kilometres (nine miles) east of Field. The lodge has its own bus; if you are a guest you do not need to make reservations on the Parks Canada bus.

Between late January and April, the eight rooms in the main lodge are available for cross-country skiers.

Lakefront cabin at Lake O’Hara Lodge

Lakefront cabin at Lake O’Hara Lodge