Our History
Open for 101 years
2022 marked the 100th year of Storm Mountain Lodge. Constructed in 1922 as one of eight Bungalow Camps built by Canadian Pacific Railway to promote tourism in the Rocky Mountains. The completion of a coast-to-coast railway in 1885 significantly contributed to the arrival of visitors and to the popularity of this area. Storm Mountain Bungalow Camp originally consisted of a log lodge with a broad verandah, six log bungalows, a public bathhouse, and bathroom. Six years later another six log bungalows were added. The original lodge and bungalows are still enjoyed by guests today.
The Banff-Windermere Highway officially opened June 1923. The road reaches its pinnacle at Vermillion Pass, elevation 1708 m. (5624 ft.) It is at this location that Storm Mountain Lodge was built to capture the grandeur of the panoramic vistas. Continuing south, the highway enters Kootenay National Park and crosses the Rockies to the Columbia Valley. In the early 1920’s, Canadian Pacific proclaimed this route as the most spectacular motor trip on the continent.
There is a long history of forest fires in the area. The most recent occurred in 2003 when a fire, started by lightning, consumed 17,000 hectares. While this fire stopped five kilometers from the lodge, an earlier fire in 1968, came much closer. A change in the wind direction saved Storm Mountain Lodge in both fires.
A restoration project on all of the historic buildings began in 2003. The interior and exterior of each cabin is being completely restored in a matter that retains the authenticity of these 1922 buildings.
December 17, 2004, marked another important historical date as Storm Mountain Lodge opened to guests for the first time in the winter. Now Storm Mountain can be experienced in all its winter splendor.
“Awaiting you this year in the Canadian Pacific Rockies are a chain of eight Bungalow Camps forming one of the finest centers for unconventional, old-clothes vacations in the heart of this most magnificent mountain region.”
(Excerpt from a 1923 Canadian Pacific Railway article on Bungalow Camps in the Rockies)
COME EXPERIENCE THE
HISTORIC CHARM
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