A Winter Stay at Mount Engadine Lodge
It has always been a dream of mine to stay at Mount Engadine Lodge in the heart of Kananaskis Country.
When my 30th birthday rolled around, my husband and I decided to go all out and book our stay. Of course, it would’ve been romantic to get away just the two of us… but what’s the fun in that? It was such a treat to bring our 2.5- and 1-year old along for the adventure. It involved a little more packing and a lot more chaos, but it was so special to spend the weekend there with them.
This was our family itinerary:
Day 1
Mount Engadine Lodge is located 36 kilometres south of Canmore along the Smith-Dorrien Highway. Since it takes about an hour to get there along the gravel road, we chose to depart right after lunch in order to synchronize the drive with both kids’ naps. It worked! We arrived at the Chester Lake parking lot at around 1:30 p.m. and the kids woke up shortly after.
Since we’ve hiked to Chester Lake a gazillion times, we decided to add some excitement to this specific occasion by hauling up a sled and a GT snow racer. After about 30 minutes of hiking up the snowshoe trail, we merged onto the cross-country ski trail and hopped onto our downhill vehicles. I sat with our baby in the sled, while my husband rode with our toddler on the GT snow racer… And down we went! The downhill was nice and mellow, with short sections of speed here and there. Very age-appropriate, I’d say. We had a blast!
Once we returned to the parking lot, it was 3:00 p.m., which meant it was time to check in to Mount Engadine. Woot woot!
The check-in process was quick, so we scooted to the dining room for Afternoon Tea. This service is provided daily between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to both overnight guests (included in price) and non-guests ($35/person). It features a platter of local meats, cheeses and spreads, topped off with freshly-baked goods. Of course, coffee and tea are also served to warm up with following the day’s adventure.
We proceeded to unload our belongings in our room. The Elk room was perfect for our family of four for many reasons:
It included a double bed, as well as a pull-out bed (and lots of extra floor space for a “pack and play”).
It provided amazing views from both the balcony and the window seat, which entertained the kids (little birdwatchers!).
It kept real warm and cozy throughout the night, thanks to the gas fireplace.
It had an ensuite bathroom, which was ideal for our recently potty-trained toddler.
It was located within the lodge, making it really convenient to check in on the sleeping kids after bedtime.
Once we were done unpacking, we got layered up to enjoy some outdoor fun around the lodge before dark.
We played on the tree swing and raced down the sledding hill on our GT snow racer. The staff actually mentioned that they also had a GT snow racer up for grabs. In addition to that, they offer rentals on snowshoes, fat bikes and yack-tracks - which we didn’t get around to using, but it’s good to know!
At around 5:30 p.m., the sun was setting. We hiked back up from the meadow, and sat on the bench swing to watch the mountains get coated in darkness. It was a rare, yet peaceful moment for us all to be seated and rocking together (without anyone squirming away). My heart felt flutters!
We went back to our room to put the kids to bed. The bedtime routine was quite easy to stick to in such a well-equipped lodge: A make-shift bath in the shower, put on pyjamas and turn on the portable white noise machine. I nursed Eden to sleep, while Chris read books with Indy. I had luck, while Chris did not… So Indy ended up joining us for the dinner service at 7:00 p.m. (HA!).
Our candle-lit 3-course meal was exquisite. We had a table to ourselves that was labelled with our room name and the friendliest of service. Honestly, the staff were absolutely incredible with Indy despite him asking them soooooo many questions (curious toddlers!). The chef even prepared him a lasagna, which was a great safety food.
With full bellies, we returned to our room and had a cozy sleep.
Day 2
We woke up and returned to the dining room for breakfast, which is available from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. daily. Our table already had a booster seat and tray ready for Eden (so sweet!). The cold breakfast was laid out on the counter, and included fresh fruit, yogurt, granola and croissants. After plating our cold breakfast and settling into our table, a service team member came by to ask for our drink order, and to see which hot breakfast option we’d like. Again, it was all so tasty! In addition, there were lots of choices for the kids which tends to make our dining experiences smoother.
We filled out our lunch order, wrapped up breakfast and shuffled over to the lounge. It has instruments (a guitar and a piano), games, books and a fireplace to keep you cozy and entertained.
At around 10:00 a.m., we had our car packed up, our layers on and were ready to check out (even though check-out isn’t technically until 11:00 a.m., but we were too eager to hit the trails!). Indy was sad to bid adieu to all of the service team members who’s names he’d learnt, but that blow was cushioned by the cookie he found in the packed lunch they handed him.
A mere 10-minute drive away, we reached Mount Shark. From the trailhead, there are lots of cross-country ski trails that range in length and difficulty level. In fact, it can get a little confusing!… So we tend to download the nordic ski map before heading out. That said, our favourite trail is the Watridge Lake trail. It’s wide (included a skating lane and tracks), relatively flat (ideal for pulling the chariot) and takes only 3.7 kilometres to arrive to the beautiful lake (an excellent rest stop for all).
This time around, Chris wanted to try out another set-up. The guy is forever thinking up hilarious ideas for the kids! This particular one involved Indy riding the GT snow racer, so that he could be more engaged and excited about the ski. So Chris put on his climbing harness, tied a rope from it onto the GT snow racer and pulled Indy along that way (HA!). It worked way better than I thought it would, and our toddler was so into it. To be honest: I was into it too, as it reduced the weight of the chariot I was pulling significantly.
At the end of our ski, we enjoyed our packed lunch: a hearty sandwich with veggies and dip on the side. Then we loaded everything and everyone back into the car, and hit the road back to Canmore.
Overall, it was such a smooth, fun and memorable experience to welcome my 30’s! We played lots in the snow, filled our bellies with fantastic food around the clock, slept snug and cozy, and enjoyed quality family time. Mount Engadine truly is the perfect basecamp for all things fun in Kananaskis Country (and the staff are incredible, to boot). I was all smiles on our drive home!
If you too are considering booking a stay at Mount Engadine, I’d advise you to:
Purchase a Kananaskis Conservation Pass. It’s necessary.
Call/e-mail office beforehand to chat about any specific needs you may have. Whether that’s dietary restrictions, family set-up, etc… They are super helpful and catering!
Check out all the room options to best suit your family. They have rooms attached to the main lodge, cabins, glamping tents and a yurt (which would be fun for a larger group/older kids).
Pack warm layers, but don’t go overboard. All of our outerwear (i.e. mitts, boots, snow pants/jackets) got a little soaked after our first day of outdoor fun. However, we laid them out in front of the fireplace throughout the night, and they were dry, toasty and ready for more wear the following day.
Research activities beforehand. There are lots of things to do in that area… Arguably, more so in the winter! Look into hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, backcountry skiing/split-boarding and/or fat biking trails to pack/rent accordingly before you head out. As mentioned, the lodge itself rents out snowshoes, yack-tracks and fat bikes!
Pack helmets. If you want to test out the GT snow racer on hand, there is a hill from the lodge itself to the meadow that is pretty extreme. Our toddler was thrilled to book it down.
