Shadow Lake Lodge

This was my first visit to SLL. But not my first encounter with ACC lodges or backcountry lodges. SLL did not disappoint, very comfortable cabins, lounge space, dining room, professional kitchen and bathhouse including hot showers. It definitely lives up to their motto of comfort in the backcountry. And felt like decent value for the cost. We immediately booked a trip for next year, this time including the whole family. Easier to do the walk in when you don’t have the weight of a tent, camp cookset and water filter! Looking forward to the next visit.

We were a group of five friends and loved our stay at Shadow Lake Lodge. The Lodge offers access to so much terrain. There are a number of routes to access the lodge. It is a very friendly and authentic ambience. We appreciated the hot shower, the use of a the well-stocked kitchen and the beautiful dinner ware. We loved the range of guests from young families to very fit masters. We greatly appreciated the cabin with the fireplace, books and yoga mats. And we greatly appreciated our lovely cabin, potable water, and hot shower. We will return for a winter adventure.

Lovely location and great facilities. If you are looking for a reasonably priced back country stay, this should fit the bill. It's not a catered lodge, but has everything you need in the kitchen. Hot showers, heated cabins make it a very comfortable stay. Lots of great hikes from the lodge as well. Chris, our host was great!.

My friend and I stayed here for one night, and we wished we had booked it for a whole week. Mitch was the nicest and most welcoming lodge host we could have hoped for. We loved hearing about some of his adventures and he was very knowledgeable about the surrounding ranges and trails. The Alpine Club of Canada has a real gem here. I'm surprised it seems they've allocated resources away from it at the moment, but it does function well even as a self-catered facility. Shadow Lake is the most authentically beautiful lake I've seen, and there are so many intriguing areas to explore around the lodge that you would need several days to truly take it all in. Hopefully I can get a trip like that on the books for next summer with friends or family.

Came up to stay for one night to celebrate an engagement and was blown away. Shadow lake is absolutely stunning, matched with the now affordable cabins makes for a real special trip. Shout out to both Sharlene and Eleanor for being great hosts and giving out some secret spots and help whenever we needed it. Thank you. We will 100% be back again in Winter.

I hope they bring back full service amenities. We were sad when the ACC took over this legacy from the Brewster family. But our first year there after was great, and we had high hopes for the future of the lodge. But things slowly started to deteriorate, and my impression was that the ACC couldn't retain staff. In fairness, I have not booked since they converted it to guests having to bring their own food and bedding in. Imo, the pricing for the cabins alone is excessive. We were happy to pay a premium to not trek in a bunch of gear and food. Now you're basically just saving weight on the tent and cook set. The full service amenities, along with the wonderful staff, were part of the whole experience. Every year we looked forward to being paired with new people during the meals and sharing our adventures from the day. Based on their booking calendar, it appears I'm not alone in thinking the cabins alone are way over priced. Looks like they're basically empty during prime larch season this year in Oct before they close down till the winter months. Such a shame. It's literally the best time to go hiking with no bugs and to appreciate the luxury of a warm cabin at night. We would love for the lodge to be restored to full service again. Shadow Lake and the surrounding hikes are so gorgeous.

The experience was amazing. The amount of hikes you can access from the area was astounding. Almost half the guests hiked a different route in. The famous national park red chairs are 2.5 km from the Shadow Lake Cabins. We took the Redearth route in, but for a fire road our group of avid hikers of 4 thought it was beautiful both in and out. We saw on our visit to shadow lake lodge at least 30 varieties of flowers. Cabins are cozy great place to lay on comfortable beds after a hike and just star at the mountains. Games cabin was nice place to hand out after a hike and a warm fire was made one eve on a rainy late afternoon. The hosts Mitch and Julie were amazing. They really made the experience a 10 star review. There knowledge of the area, hikes, animals in the area which they have names for. Also great ghost stories. :) Ange, Virginia, Kim, Wendy

LOVED our time Shadow Lake Lodge! What used to be a full-service property accessible only to the $1200/night crowd is now a less than a third of the cost with a cozy, homey vibe where everyone brings their own food and gets to know each other through shared communal spaces. It felt really accessible and comfortable while still being special and cherished. Bedding is brought by you (we hiked in with sleeping bags - the warm heated rooms made it more than adequate!) and a few days of food - full professional kitchen at our disposal 24/7, all the cookware and tableware you need, and a large shared refrigerator. Hot water showers! We lacked nothing for creature comforts. Our hosts Mitch and Charlene were super welcoming and knowledgeable about the area. Amazing hikes for all levels of skill and energy available from the lodge. Amazing lake, mountains, glaciers and wildlife - we saw a cow moose and 2 calves crossing the lake! This is an accessible treat for anyone with the desire to spend a few days experiencing what Banff can really offer the soul! Amazing! 10/10

Because Shadow Lake Lodge's lack of consideration of other backcountry users, we had one of the worst experiences at a Parks Canada "backcountry" campsite (and we have stayed at a lot of them). While we were staying at the Shadow Lake campsite (2 nights after Twin Lakes) and the Shadow Lake Lodge (now operated by the Alpine Club of Canada) ran their generator at totally inappropriate times (2230-0230 & 0630 - 1000). Totally inconsiderate! When we complained, we were given the excuse that the engineering firm the ACC contracts, controls the generator "remotely" (yeah right). Also, they burned all their garbage in an incinerator! Who burns garbage these days , especially in the remote backcountry?! Of course this was done consistently at inappropriate times with the smoke wafting into the campsite!! It was gross and again totally inconsiderate of all the other backcountry users! From my research, this is totally against the ACC core values (as listed on their website) and Banff Parks mandate

We stayed two nights in August 2008 (I just discovered I can review hotels). Pros: - you get your own cabin with a sink + towels - common hot water shower for all cabins on site - common dining room where the staff serves fresh breakfast and dinner + a lunch spread; easy to meet other hikers - food is pretty good, we had poached salmon, muesli, pork tenderloin, and vegetables w/every meal. you won't go hungry. - cheaper than some of the other backcountry lodges - the 8 mile hike in is flat and easy except for one small section. Cons: - rampant horse poop all over the trail in, same horses that haul in your food and laundry. - hike in is kind of boring...I'd recommend biking until the end - (maybe my fault) at the end of Aug it rained every night, the sound multiplied by the cabin roofs. There's about 2 days worth of hikes from the lodge, and this is coming from a novice hiker. Shadow lake itself is beautiful and easily accessible from the cabins.

We had an amazing family holiday at Shadow Lake Lodge. The scenery was beautiful, the hiking amazing but the food was the big surprise. It was wonderful! Everyone's need (vegan, fish allergy, vegetarian, gluten free, etc.) were met for the group of 25 or so that the lodge can accommodate. It is an eight mile hike to the cabins and spectacular scenery along the way.

This is a great backcountry lodge for beginning hikers as the hike in is short and part of it is on a boardwalk type surface. The cabins and lodge almost make you feel like you're not in the backcountry! It was very easily accessible although we opted to take the long way back as it was more scenic. The staff was very friendly and organized, and the food was delicious. Nothing negative to say about it!