Shadow Lake Lodge: Canada's remote bike-in mountain stay

Set in one of Banff National Park's most stunning locations, these historical cabins are only accessible to those who hike, ski, snowshoe or bike in.

I battled another incline, sucking in sharp alpine air and huffing out what little breath I could spare from my heaving lungs. After crossing the first of three avalanche zones in Alberta, Canada's Banff National Park to get to my lodging for the night, I doubled over the handlebars of my fat bike that I soon found myself pushing more than pedalling. It was so cold that when my husband pulled up to meet me, ice had crystallised on his beard. 

There are no roads leading to Banff's historical Shadow Lake Lodge. Instead, the only way to reach this series of secluded backcountry huts tucked between the pine trees and the towering face of Mount Ball is to embark on a meandering 14km or 26km trail on foot, snowshoes, skis or bike. In many ways, the journey is half the fun. 

My husband and I first hiked to Shadow Lake Lodge this past autumn. After wandering through honey-hued larches reflecting in the sapphire waters of Shadow Lake, enjoying a sumptuous solar-powered hot shower after relaxing in our gingerbread-like cabin and feasting on a gourmet dinner in the lodge's restaurant, we were keen to return this winter. Yet, I was worried that my limited ski skills would render me immobile in a snowdrift halfway up the trail. So when I heard that Banff National Park was piloting a fat biking programme on designated paths, I was eager to revisit one of Banff's most beautiful backcountry destinations – only this time on two wheels.

A fat bike – with its large frame and oversized wheels – is designed to tackle a variety of tricky terrain that a regular bike usually can't, such as snow, ice, sand or mud. The park's pilot programme also includes pedal assist e-bikes, which rely on the rider pedalling to engage the bike's electric motor. According to Kim Logan at Banff and Lake Louise Tourism, it's all part of an effort to enable more people to explore the national park. "[E-biking and fat biking] create opportunity for those who may not have the fitness to otherwise enjoy the trails. It's another way for visitors and locals alike to enjoy our backyard," she said.

When we'd arrived in Banff that morning, we'd picked up our rental bikes at Banff Cycle & Sport. Despite the bikes' behemoth tyres that bulged out of their frames, we were surprised by how light they were. The company can arrange drop-off and pickup of rentals with advance notice, but we managed to fit both bikes into the back of our Subaru and headed out to the trailhead – a mere 15-minute drive from downtown Banff.

With memories of the Shadow Lake Lodge's complementary afternoon tea dancing in our heads, we strapped on our packs, hauled our bikes through the wildlife gate and began the ride through crisp, crystalline snow, savouring the snap of it below our wheels. 

When we first visited the lodge, we were struck by the historical site's simple charms and warmth. The lodge's original log cabin, which remains the beating heart of the property, was completed in 1930 in this remote southern corner of Banff National Park, and what was once a rest house is now a time-worn monument to the Canadian Pacific Rail (CPR) tourist boom of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

When the railway that connects eastern Canada to British Columbia was completed in 1885, the CPR began to build a series of luxurious hotels across the country to encourage rail travel. When it became apparent that more adventurous visitors to Banff wanted to explore the mountains, meadows and lakes by foot or horseback, the CPR constructed a network of backcountry huts for these early explorers, such as the original log cabin at Shadow Lake Lodge.

After the Great Depression in 1929, however, the CPR began selling off its properties to the Brewster family, who bought the historical log cabin – which is located just 1km from the glistening, glacial-fed Shadow Lake – in 1938. In the following decades, the Brewsters lobbied Parks Canada to allow overnight accommodation, and in the 1990s, the family built the series of cabins that visitors see today, converting the original CPR cabin into a cosy lounge where guests can gather to play games, read or enjoy a drink, basking in the warmth of the wood-burning stove.

For Calgary artist Leah Petrucci, this was the highlight of her stay. "I loved the lounge and how [the shared space] encouraged you to mingle," she said. "I was able to create a community with like-minded people, even if just for a short time."

In 2019, the Alpine Club of Canada took over the lodge and has since implemented a series of thoughtful and sustainable changes – including ensuring that all products utilised at the lodge are locally sourced and reducing its reliance on generators (the log cabins are now powered almost exclusively by solar panels installed in autumn 2023) Comfortable beds with cosy duvets, a glass of wine next to a crackling fire and hot showers with heated outhouses are a large part of the draw to those who ski, snowshoe or fat bike in during winter.

A fat bike's thick, pneumatic tyres are designed to skim the snow's surface, and soon after setting off, I tried to keep in mind the rental description of the tyres keeping you "floating above the snow" – as if I could manifest buoyancy and simply drift to my destination. But my husband and I quickly discovered that this snow-bound journey was no easy pedal through the park. Compared to a regular bike, fat bike riders have to work harder to gain speed on flat and uphill surfaces. And since the elevation gain from the trailhead to the lodge is approximately 400m, we had our work cut out for us.

After three hours, we reached a steep, narrow pathway where bikes are forbidden during the summer months. Sweating, we slowly pushed our bikes up the incline to where the path began to flatten and soon got a taste of the exhilarating descent that would be waiting for us on the ride out. We sped our way through a twisting, rollercoaster-esque passage of pine-scented trees before being spat out into a meadow that glistened in the winter sunlight. As we paralleled the twinkling, iced-over Red Earth Creek, we let out child-like whoops and cheers while zipping down an incline.

In that last kilometre, Mount Ball announced itself in a striking and sudden manner, dwarfing the other nearby peaks that ringed the meadow and spurring our tired legs onwards to the snowy oasis of the lodge. Upon arriving, Alex Greenwood, Shadow Lake Lodge's manager, informed me that we were the first guests to bike into the lodge this year. "There's not a ton of people doing it right now [in the park], but it's definitely getting busier," he said.

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After checking into our cabin and exchanging our sweat-soaked layers for dry clothes, we gorged ourselves on mushroom soup, truffle cheese and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in the lodge's dining room. In addition to afternoon tea, all meals are included at the lodge. So, after resting our legs in the original CPR cabin-turned-lounge and admiring the historical artefacts (a vintage radio, yellowing photos of what the area and building initially looked like and certificates documenting the cabin's build), we returned to the restaurant to eat a three-course dinner of spicy corn chowder, tenderloin steak smothered in a fiery béarnaise and chocolate cake before sinking into bed. Enfolded in down and wool, we slept more soundly than we had in a long time.

The next morning, after a breakfast of poached eggs and bacon jam cradled in puff pastry and swimming in creamy hollandaise, we prepared to depart. Just as we were wheeling our bikes out onto the crisp snow-covered trail, Mitch McNeil, the lodge's winter maintenance manager, told us that he planned to set a new track for those skiing in later that morning, but let us know we could bike off-track, too. 

"Ride wherever you want," he said. "Just let 'er rip!"

So we did – and it was spectacular.

Slowcomotion is a BBC Travel series that celebrates slow, self-propelled travel and invites readers to get outside and reconnect with the world in a safe and sustainable way.

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