Travel
Tales of epic winter trails, mountain scenes, and delicious eats at this rustic Alberta getaway
To borrow a phrase from an old Led Zeppelin song, there’s a feeling you get when you look to the west — although this one’s probably not what Mr. Page and Mr. Plant had in mind. It’s the swish of woolly socks on wooden floors and the heavy lean of a very large dog against your leg. It’s the mellow back-and-forth of European-accented English and the creak of an old leather couch near a crackling fire. It’s red-and-black plaid everywhere, from blankets and pillows to the adopted Canadian tuxedos on the mostly-Continental staff. It’s the feeling you get at Mount Engadine Lodge, a rustic hideaway deep in Kananaskis Country, Alberta.
Okay, there were also Calgarians and Edmontonians taking passive-aggressive pot shots at one other over the dinner table, but some things never change.
Mount Engadine Lodge, located within the boundaries of Spray Lakes Provincial Park, is secluded but not too remote — just a 40-kilometre drive due south of Canmore, Alta., which, in turn, is about an hour west of Calgary on the road to Banff. The gravel road south through the mountains cannot be hurried, each of its many twists and turns revealing a new lake, peak or peaks. And sometimes bighorn sheep, a moose or a spruce grouse. And plow trucks. Cell service ends just outside Canmore, so put the phone away and prepare to adopt the lodge’s unofficial mantra: Go. Play. Outside.
Please remove your shoes, reads the sign in the entrance hall. Or boots, spikes and snowshoes. That’s about the only rule at Mount Engadine Lodge, and even then it’s only written in chalk, not stone. We doff our footwear and swish over to reception for the briefest of check-ins. We have been assigned the Owl Room according to a beaming receptionist.
Once checked in, we are ushered into fireside leather chairs by Chris, greeter-in-chief, who asks if we are ready for the lodge’s signature afternoon charcuterie board. Afternoon charcuterie board? Why, yes please. Just moments later he returns with local cheeses and meats, nuts, dried fruits and olives. When at Mount Engadine Lodge, you do not pass on the charcuterie! Would you like a craft beer or cocktail with that? Why, yes please. And save room for the after-charcuterie apple strudel. Afternoon dessert? It’s all served between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. every day. One could get used to this. Okay, before you get too excited, while the breakfast, packed lunch, afternoon charcuterie and three-course dinner is included in your nightly price, you do have to pay for your craft beer, wine or cocktail. Nevertheless, in the name of research, I tackle the task of sampling the local brews, tasting no less than eight unique Canmore, Banff and Calgary beers over the course of four days. When in Kananaskis… !
After a long travel day, with bellies full and with two hours to fill until dinner, we retreat to the Owl Room to nap off the charcuterie and ramp up for the 6:30 p.m. gourmet dinner. Now, ideally, we should have gone Outside To Play, but our bedroom view of Mount Shark, Mount Smuts and Mount Birdwood make us feel close enough to nature today.
Interesting fact: Some 16 mountains in Kananaskis Country are named after captains, admirals and ships that took part in the greatest sea battle of World War I, Jutland. There’s scarcely a Canadian connection to this event, save a few sailors serving in the British Navy, but it’s thought that in the aftermath of the war the Canadian Government and surveyor A. O. Wheeler named them out of respect for the British Empire. For example, Mount Engadine is named after a seaplane carrier, HMS Engadine, and Mount Chester after a light cruiser, HMS Chester. The things you learn.
Rested and refreshed, we, the Owls, head downstairs to dine. Greeter-in-chief Chris shows us to our table of eight and calls everyone, all 20 or so guests, to attention. Once the conversation has died down, he describes that evening’s three-course menu and paired wine before gently reminding us that last call is at 9:45 p.m. and quiet time is 10 p.m. As if quiet time hadn’t started at 2 p.m. with a craft beer and charcuterie!
Our table settings are by room name. Seated to our left are the Eagles, a Calgary couple with a room upstairs in the lodge proper. Across from us are the Peakbaggers, Calgarians too, glamping it up in one of the lodge’s glamping tents. And to our right, are the Burstalls, Edmontonians who are the happy occupants of a pet-friendly cabin for two. Though we’re the only Ontarians (and Ottawa natives, no less), we’re quickly accepted into the fold once we joke that we’re not federal government employees. Turns out, we really enjoy dining with strangers, comparing hikes, sharing travel tales and reminiscing about rock concerts of old. Indeed, we’re saddened to be seated at a table for two on our last night — we have to get away early — jealous of the laughter coming from the nearby table for six of Moose (Meese?), Ravens and Whiskey Jacks!
Here, the dinner may be fancy but the attire is not. Jeans and flannel shirts. That’s absolutely the vibe at Mount Engadine Lodge, where you can go down for breakfast or roll in for charcuterie wearing a toque or baseball hat and find yourself in the majority. Don’t get me wrong, you can’t afford the lodge if you are not reasonably well-to-do, but there’s great value here and little pretension. And did I mention it’s super dog- and child-friendly?
But as comfortable as we are within the confines of the lodge, the place to be in Kananaskis Country is Outside. Right outside the lodge, in this case.
There are several trails that can be accessed within minutes of the lodge, and dozens within a short drive. Here’s what we did with three full days.
We drive five minutes south of Mount Shark Road to sample two trails. As a morning warm up, we snowshoe the family-friendly Hogarth Lakes Winter Trail. It’s a 4.5-kilometre loop set in a bowl of mountains that skirts multiple small lakes and creeks. It’s nice and flat — just a 30-metre elevation gain — and takes an hour or two.
Immediately across the road from Hogarth Lakes is the Chester Lake Trail. Possibly the most popular trail on Route 742, Chester Lake is a steep nine-kilometre out-and-back, and very much worth the effort. About halfway up the trail, the trees thin out and most of the steep climbing is behind. Suddenly, you find yourself in a mountain meadow encircled by snow-capped mountains. This is how we Play Outside. When you get there, Chester Lake is surrounded on three sides by mountains. Need I say more? About 500 metres beyond the lake, are the locally renowned Elephant Rocks, a jumble of long-ago fallen giants that vaguely resemble, well, a herd of elephants. I see Sea Elephants, but that’s just me. This trail features a 300-metre elevation gain and takes three or four hours.
At 2:30 p.m., we have bagged our first two Kananaskis Country trails. At 3 p.m., we settle down into leather chairs by the fire and tuck into charcuterie. Need I say more?
Interesting fact: The lodge is located at 1 Mount Shark Road. How’s that for an address? True to its name, the road swallows three cars whole during our stay. Well, okay, they slipped into the ditch under very icy conditions. Can you say Four. Wheel. Drive.
Our destination is down the road to Canmore for the day. We depart Mount Engadine Lodge at 8:30 a.m. to drive slowly north with the sun behind us, stopping often on the shoulder to photograph the sharp morning light on the snowy mountaintops. At the south edge of Canmore, we pull into the Grassi Lakes trailhead for a pre-booked guided tour with Heather Black, a.k.a. Buffalo Stone Woman. Black takes us on a 2.5-hour stroll up to the aquamarine Grassi Lakes, chatting and educating as she goes. The conversation covers everything from local Indigenous tourism initiatives to spirituality to the importance of living in harmony with this beautiful and bountiful land.
Then it’s lunch at Canmore landmark Crazyweed Kitchen. My partner then wanders off for some shopping, while I search out the town’s craft breweries and waterside trails along the Bow River. I find both. The lovely Policeman’s Creek Boardwalk trail doesn’t exactly connect Canmore Brewing to the Grizzly Paw Brewery, but close enough!
On foot and out the door at 9 a.m., turning right onto Mount Shark Road, then across Rt. 742 to begin the 11-kilometre Rummel Lake Trail. We are well fortified by an enormous breakfast of French toast, sausage and bacon. Sure, it slows us down for the first hour, but we quickly work off breakfast with a steady two-hour climb to scenic Rummel Lake. Guess what? It’s surrounded by mountains on three sides! You can see a trend here.
Rummel Lake is the only area in the vicinity that’s open for winter camping and, while no one had camped there overnight, we find two empty igloos and a pair of tent sites showing evidence of recent occupation. It is tempting to contemplate a night in the wilderness, but, you know, charcuterie. The elevation gain on this trail is 421 metres and the hike takes three to five hours.
Speaking of charcuterie, we are back at cozy Mount Engadine Lodge at 3 p.m., digging into the final charcuterie board of our stay. Mountains and charcuterie, for body and soul. Beer, dessert and another walk, dear?
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