The Wildcat Creek Basin, home of Mistaya Lodge, is a remote and spectacular region of the Canadian Rockies. Cradled in a "nook" formed by the boundaries of Banff and Yoho National Parks, the basin lies just over the Continental Divide from the northern apex of the Wapta Icefields. The Town of Golden, British Columbia is located 60 kilometres to the south, on the Trans-Canada Highway.
All our tours begin in the town of Golden located on the Trans-Canada Highway, 2 hours drive west of Banff, Alberta and about 3 hours drive west of Calgary International Airport. Alpine Helicopters Ltd., provides the most reliable, perhaps most spectacular, and very definitely most rapid means of travel from Golden to Mistaya Lodge. We use the fast and reliable Bell 407 helicopter which carries 6 passengers & your baggage.
In both summer and winter all groups rendezvous at the Alpine Helicopters hanger at the Golden Airport. The flight from Golden to the lodge takes approximately 18 minutes. All transportation from there, to and from the Lodge, is provided as part of each trip package. A fenced and gated enclosure adjacent to the hangar is provided for secure vehicle parking.
Mistaya Lodge is a solid, spacious, two-story, post and beam structure located beside an emerald green alpine lake at 6,700 feet elevation. The 2000 sq. ft. lodge is a bright, comfortable building which embodies the strength and charm of its backcountry location. Just inside the main floor entrance we have a heated drying room and boot dryer for wet gear, as well as two private wash-up-rooms supplied with hot and cold running water. New to Mistaya is a shower and a composting toilet for more comfort and convenience!
Also located on the main floor are the dining and living areas in which an abundance of glass allows armchair reconnaissance of the surrounding peaks and glaciers. In our large modern kitchen, equipped with propane stove, oven, refrigerator and freezer our cooks prepare hearty backcountry meals of unsurpassed excellence! We are served these meals family style around the large dining table.
No one ever complains of being hungry!
Upstairs, six spacious guest bedrooms accommodate up to fourteen people, with a selection of single, double and bunk beds complete with linen, pillows and fluffy duvets. A combined solar and micro-hydro charging system supplies the lodge with light.
Close by is the sauna bath-house/shower, with change room, and a clean wood fired sauna room with hot and cold water for bathing.
We use two outhouses for toilet facilities. They are clean, bright and each has an excellent view.
Dave and Cindy - your hosts- pride themselves in keeping Mistaya FOOT PRINT FREE!
Certified guides help our small groups tread lightly through our terrain making sure everyone in the future can see the same spectacular scenery. In the lodge we recycle, reuse, compost and use bio friendly cleaners where ever possible. Your meals are prepared fresh daily at the lodge with fresh ingredients. In the summer months our organic green house provides lettuce, and herbs for you to enjoy. Our microhydro system provides enough power to the lodge for the comforts of home with out causing any damage to our environment.
