Island Lake Lodge
I enjoy planning trips – I like doing the research just as much as actually going on the trip. Usually the trips are planned well in advance, but this one was planned with about two weeks notice – a look at work schedules and a desire to get out of the city for a few days on the August long weekend were the catalysts. Oh, and I’ve been to “the mountains” every year since about 2000 and I didn’t want to break the record. So, the trip had to be in the mountains. Banff was tops on the list – but because of the long weekend and the late planning pretty much everything was booked, then checked out Waterton Lakes National Park (ran into the same problem), and then I started checking out places around Fernie, British Columbia.
And lucked out, and found Island Lake Lodge, and they weren’t fully booked. Success! The place was amazing – the view, the accommodations, the food, the walks in the woods while rarely seeing another soul, waking up and seeing all the stars in the middle of the night with the silhouette of the mountains as a backdrop. Super nice place. Here are some pics of this super nice place…
And after a nice long walk in the woods….
Lunch with a view on the Bear Lodge Patio….sandwich was a smoked beet reuben – really, really good. And the Stella was drunk after a hike on the second day….
Can’t say enough good things about this place. As much as I love Banff, this place was uncrowded, peaceful, and so pretty. If you’re into camping, looks like there is a nice campground at the base of the mountain. (Island Lake Lodge is a 12km drive up the mountain with towering cedars on either side of the road).
I just wish the mountains were closer to Saskatchewan! And the ocean, too! (but the prairies are pretty nice, too!)
prairie girl wonders 