Emerald Lake Lodge - The Jade Lake at the End of the Road

There are places that photographs simply cannot do justice to, and Emerald Lake in British Columbia’s Yoho National Park is one of them. The water shifts between seafoam green, bright teal, and a blue so vivid it looks edited – and then the light changes, and it starts all over again.

Perched on a 13-acre peninsula jutting into that same lake, Emerald Lake Lodge has been welcoming visitors since 1902, and while the world outside has changed considerably, the lodge has held onto something rare: genuine quiet. No cell service. No televisions in the rooms. No Wi-Fi unless you walk to the main lodge. If you’re the sort of person who finds that horrifying, this may not be the trip for you. If you find it appealing, read on.

A Lake That Doesn't Look Real

Emerald Lake Lodge sits in Yoho National Park, British Columbia – about 20 minutes west of Lake Louise along the Trans-Canada Highway, and barely 5 minutes from the small town of Field. The drive from Calgary International Airport takes around two and a half hours.

Getting to the lodge requires a small leap of faith: you park in a designated lot about 8 km along Emerald Lake Road (look for the “Overnight Guest Parking” sign), then call the front desk from a phone in the parking lot cabin, and wait for a shuttle to ferry you and your bags to the main building.

Personal vehicles aren’t permitted on the main peninsula. It sounds like an inconvenience, and it is, briefly – but it’s also the reason the property feels as undisturbed as it does. No cars idling outside your window. No headlights sweeping across the lake at midnight.

The lake owes its extraordinary color to glacial silt and rock flour suspended in the water – fine particles that scatter and reflect sunlight in ways that produce that improbable jade-and-teal palette. The effect is most intense in July and August on bright days, though the lake holds its visual drama well into fall.

The 5.3-kilometer loop trail around the lake is mostly flat and hard-packed gravel, though the second half turns muddier and more technical, with slick roots and uneven terrain. Worth knowing before you commit to it in nice shoes.

A Railroad, a Guide, and a Case of Mistaken Identity

The land around Emerald Lake has been home to Indigenous peoples for generations, and the lodge today sits on the traditional territories of the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc, and Stoney Nakoda Nations, whose connections to this landscape predate European presence by centuries.

The lake entered settler maps in 1882, when Canadian guide Tom Wilson – working with the Canadian Pacific Railway during its construction – came across it. There’s a neat historical wrinkle worth knowing: Wilson actually named a different lake “Emerald Lake” first. That lake was later renamed Lake Louise, in honor of Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria. The name Emerald Lake then passed to the turquoise body of water we’re talking about here.

The lodge was established in 1902 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, which was then actively promoting Rocky Mountain tourism to justify the enormous cost of building the railroad through the region. In 1979, Pat and Connie O’Connor, founders of Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts, acquired the property and undertook a comprehensive restoration – rebuilding the historic cabins, fully winterizing the lodge, and reopening it in 1986.

Remarkably, the main lodge building is the original 1902 structure. Its walls contain horsehair insulation, a small but tangible reminder of how old this place actually is.

Kicking Horse Bar & Lounge

Housed in the main lodge, the Kicking Horse Lounge is where you’ll likely end up at the close of most days, and that’s not a complaint. The space leans into the expected aesthetic – exposed timber, stone fireplace, mountain views through large windows – but it earns its atmosphere rather than manufacturing it.

The cocktail list is mixology-forward, with more imagination than you’d necessarily expect given the remote setting. A coffee bar runs from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. for those who need something to hold before the dining room opens; the lounge itself runs daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The Mount Burgess Dining Room

The Mount Burgess Dining Room is the lodge's flagship restaurant, and the views - Emerald Lake directly ahead, mountains rising on every side - are the kind that make you forget you were mid-sentence.

The kitchen works within a "Rocky Mountain Cuisine" philosophy: Canadian ingredients, game meats, sustainable seafood, prairie grains. Breakfast runs à la carte on weekdays and as a buffet on weekends. Dinner is where the kitchen stretches - buffalo ribeye, elk striploin, Brome Lake duck breast, seared sablefish with curry-scented risotto. The plant-based options hold their own: sunflower seed risotto with roasted beets and aquafaba meringue, celeriac steak with French lentil vinaigrette.

The Emerald Sky Dome - a clear-walled outdoor dining space with a six-course blind tasting menu by Chef Valerie Morrison - runs Tuesday through Saturday from early December to late March, by reservation only via OpenTable.

Not everything at Emerald Lake Lodge is about staring at the mountains, and the upstairs lounge in the main lodge makes no pretense of being otherwise. It's a games room, plain and simple - board games stacked up, a pool table at the center, with cozy seating clustered around it.

The Accommodations

The lodge spreads across its 13-acre peninsula in 24 cabin-style buildings capable of accommodating up to 200 guests. Every room comes with a wood-burning stone fireplace and a Nespresso machine – two things that do a great deal of heavy lifting in terms of atmosphere.

The absence of in-room Wi-Fi and television isn’t a cost-cutting measure; it’s a stated policy, designed to encourage you to actually be present in one of the most visually spectacular places in Canada. The main lodge does have Wi-Fi if you need to check in with the world.

A limited number of pet-friendly rooms are available, though these must be booked by phone rather than online.

The Signature Room is the lodge’s newest and most polished room type – recently renovated with a design vocabulary that leans on clean lines, warm wood tones, and restrained luxury rather than rustic maximalism.

The room comes with either a king-sized bed or a king-sized bed with a daybed, a wood-burning stone fireplace, a spacious sitting area with lounge chairs, a mini fridge and wet bar, and a private balcony with partial views of the lake and the treed shoreline. Bathrooms feature a step-in shower with either a single or double sink setup.

The Lodge Room is the more traditional option and, for many people, the more characterful one. Configurations include one queen, one king, or two doubles – useful flexibility for groups and families. The fireplace is present, as is the sitting area and the Nespresso machine, and a private balcony comes with the room.

Lodge Rooms are also among the limited pet-friendly options at the property. There’s nothing stripped-down about them; they simply prioritize the classic alpine-lodge feeling over the renovated sleekness of the Signature category.

Clubhouse

The clubhouse hot tub is one of those facilities that works better than it has any right to. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., it sits alongside a sauna and – importantly – faces the kind of scenery that makes sitting in hot water feel actively meaningful rather than merely pleasant.

The clubhouse is located across from the viewpoint lookout, down the path from the main lodge. It also houses the vending machine and ice dispenser if you need snacks or drinks for the room.

The outdoor firepit operates on a simple logic: at the end of a day of hiking or canoeing, sit down, warm your hands, roast some marshmallows, and look at the lake.

Staff build and maintain the fire. S’mores are available.

Canoe rentals are available directly on the lake, and paddling out onto that water – surrounded by forest-covered slopes and granite peaks – is one of the more quietly spectacular things you can do here. Rentals close for the season after Thanksgiving weekend (the Canadian one, in October), so if canoeing is a priority, plan accordingly.

The Surrounding Area

Yoho National Park is a serious destination beyond the lodge itself. The loop trail around the lake covers 5.3 kilometers and is largely accessible, though conditions on the second half can be rough. The trail to Hamilton Falls – a 1.6-kilometer out-and-back hike – is a worthwhile detour that rewards you with views of a cascade that has carved smooth channels into the surrounding rock.

In winter, the property pivots entirely: snowshoeing and cross-country skiing trails open up around the property, and the roads are plowed and maintained year-round.

For those wanting to venture further afield, Lake Louise and Moraine Lake are both accessible via shuttle through the Moraine Lake Bus Company, which runs direct routes, combined trips, and sunrise departures from pickup locations near the park.

Anyone entering the national park – whether arriving at the lodge or just visiting for the day – needs a valid Parks Canada pass, available at the Banff National Park gate or visitor centers. Day visitors are welcome at the lodge for dining and use of the main lodge facilities, and parking is available for them in the same lot used by overnight guests.