Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ACCOMMODATIONS AND CAMPING
The Spray Valley had long been the target of developers, but the creation of a park put an
end to proposed heli-skiing and boat tour operations. Existing facilities for visitors include
a lodge, a campground, three picnic areas, and a heli-pad used as a staging area for flights
into nearby Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park.
Lodge
Although a number of backcountry lodges are scattered throughout the Canadian Rockies,
M Mount Engadine Lodge (403/678-4080, www.mountengadine.com , late June-mid-
Oct. and late Dec.-Mar., from $200 s, $420-450 d) is the only one accessible by public
road. Technically, this means it's not a true “backcountry” lodge, but it has the feel of one,
and, besides, most people don't even know it's there as they speed past on unpaved Smith-
Dorrien/Spray Trail. It comprises luxurious rooms in the main lodge and two cabins set on
a ridge overlooking an open meadow and small creek. The main lodge has a dining room,
a comfortable lounge area with two stone fireplaces, and a beautiful sundeck holding a hot
tub. Breakfast is served buffet-style, lunch can be taken at the lodge or packed for a picnic,
and dinner is served in multiple courses of hearty European specialties. All meals are in-
cluded in the nightly rates. Mount Engadine Lodge is 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest
of Canmore, at the turnoff to the Mount Shark staging area.
Campground
As the name suggests, Spray Lake West Campground, the only campground in the park,
spreads out along the western shoreline of Spray Lake. Many of the 50-odd sites are
private, but facilities are limited to picnic tables, fire pits, and pit toilets. Sites cost $22
per night, with firewood an additional $8 per bundle. It's open from when the snow clears
(usually mid-May) to early September.
Sibbald
This small area in the north of Kananaskis Country protects the rolling foothills that des-
cend to the rich grazing land west of Calgary. Access is along partly paved Highway 68,
which branches south off the TransCanada Highway 17 kilometers (10.6 miles) west of
the Cochrane intersection. Access is also possible from the west, off Highway 40 two kilo-
meters (1.2 miles) south of the Barrier Lake Visitor Information Centre. From the east,
Highway 68 climbs through the Jumpingpound Creek watershed to Jumpingpound De-
 
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