On the water
Cast the jade shallows
Trout rise within sight of the shore, and the canoes and paddleboards are already yours.
See the water
The Destination
Rock Lake · Alberta – Canada
Remote is the feature, not the bug
Hidden in the Northern Rockies
Just north of Hinton, inside Rock Lake Provincial Park, the road turns to gravel and the world goes quiet. This is the gateway to the Willmore Wilderness, and the last stretch of it belongs to you: pine resin on the morning air, mist lifting off the lake, and a silence so complete you can hear a loon call from the far shore. Your space out here is truly yours.
The wilderness next door
The wild Willmore
Beyond the property line begins one of Alberta's greatest secrets: thousands of square kilometres of peaks, alpine meadows, and river valleys with not a single road through them. The Willmore Wilderness can only be entered on foot or on horseback, the way it has always been. Stand at its edge and look out across the wild, unbroken country running straight into Jasper's Rocky Mountains.
Ride into it
Prolific wildlife
Your wild neighbours
Elk graze the meadow outside your front door at dawn and, come September, their bugle echoes down the valley like something ancient waking up. Loons trade their gracious calls across the water at dusk. Trout rise in the jade shallows, eagles ride the thermals overhead, and deer step quietly through the treeline. Nothing here is staged and nothing is fenced. You are simply in their valley, welcomed.
Elk at the doorstep
Trout in the lake
Deer in the treeline
Eagles overhead
A certified dark sky
Officially as dark as it gets
We are a proud partner of Dark Sky Destinations, Canada's only astro-lodging network. They rate this valley Bortle 1 to 2 on the darkness scale, the two darkest classes there are, which is the technical way of saying there is nothing out here to wash the stars out. No town glow, no streetlights, no neighbours. Just the Milky Way doing what it has always done overhead, and on the clear cold nights, the northern lights.
A true four-season basecamp
The four moods of the valley
Winter
Snow settles the valley into its deepest quiet. Woodsmoke curls from the cabins, the hot tubs steam against the cold, and on the lucky nights the northern lights come out to play.
Hot tub season · dark-sky season
Spring
Meltwater drums down every draw and the meadows turn green almost overnight. The loons return first, then the wildflowers, then the elk with their new calves.
Waterfalls · wildflowers · new life
Summer
Long golden evenings that refuse to end. Days on the lake with a paddle in hand, suppers at the outdoor kitchen, and campfires that burn past midnight under a slow sunset.
Lake days · trail days · firepit nights
Fall
The aspens go gold, the first frost sharpens the air, and the elk bugle rolls down from the ridges. The valley's most dramatic show, and hardly anyone knows it plays.
Golden colours · elk rut · crisp air
Unforgettable encounters
Adventure in every direction
On the trail
Ride the foothills
Guided horseback adventures trace the same routes the outfitters have ridden for a century.
See the trails
In the air
Lift over the Rockies
Scenic heli-tours out of Hinton put the whole wilderness beneath you in a single golden hour.
See the peaks
After dark
Read the whole sky
One of the world's largest dark-sky preserves, right outside the hot tub. No glow on the horizon, ever.
See the skyA few from the valley
The destination, up close
Getting here
Far enough to feel free, close enough to be easy
The trip in is part of the arrival: pavement gives way to gravel, cell bars give way to birdsong, and the last 27 kilometres wash the city off entirely.
1hr
From Hinton
2hr
From Jasper
3.5hr
From Grande Prairie
4hr
From Edmonton
6.5hr
From Calgary
Directions from Hinton
The last 67 kilometres
Head north on Highway 40 from the Town of Hinton for about 40 km.
Turn left onto Rock Lake Road and continue for 27 km.
Pass the green Rock Lake Provincial Park sign. About 5–10 minutes later, stay straight where the sign reads “green mountain.”
The lodge is 150 yards on, the first driveway on the left. Welcome home.
Enter the directions before you lose service. Cell reception fades on the way in, that is part of the magic, so plan ahead.
Your quiet corner of the Rockies