Category: About the Lodge

The scenery around Bow Lake is undeniably decadent!  The combination of glacial silt and water makes Bow Lake a colour of blue that is truly unique.  Enveloped by mountain peaks, the surrounding area offers a great deal of outdoor activity.  Some of the most popular winter activities include: backcountry skiing (telemark, touring and cross-country), ice climbing, snowshoeing and simply taking in the scenery.  In the summer, visitors enjoy hiking an abundance of trails, climbing, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, painting, picnicking, mountain biking, and photography as well as relaxing and enjoying the beauty of the Lodge and its surrounding spectacular view.

Num-Ti-Jah Lodge is a very special place. All of our staff is extremely friendly and efficient.  Many perceive the atmosphere of Num-Ti-Jah to be ‘cottage style’ as it is not uncommon for our guests to feel like they are part of our family. At 6,500 feet, we are constantly reminded that Mother Nature is in charge. With no televisions or telephones in the rooms, we encourage all guests to enjoy the main floor of the Lodge as well as our natural surroundings.  One thing unique to this area and the Lodge itself is Mount Jimmy Simpson. In 1974, shortly after Jimmy Sr. passed away, the 9,700-foot peak overlooking the Lodge and the lake was named after Jimmy Simpson to honor the man who became a legend in his own time.

“The small octagonal log cabin sits on a slight rise on the edge of Bow Lake. One hundred yards from the splendid Num-Ti-Jah Lodge, it usually goes unnoticed. The red shingles curl on the pyramid roof and a few windows of the enclosed verandah are cracked. But out of those panes unfolds one of the great views of the Canadian Rockies. A creek trickles through the willow flats and under a footbridge, behind it the indigo blue of Bow Lake pours like spilled paint to an alpine skirt of evergreen. Crowfoot Mountain and tilting Saint Nicholas are to the southwest, and Portal Peak and Mount Thompson to the west. Saddled in the middle is the receding Bow Glacier, its falls dropping over limestone tiers to a landscape cut and crumbled by creeping ice.”

----------  Christine Barnes, Great Lodges of the Canadian Rockies.

Looking out across the lake you will see Crowfoot Mountain standing 3,050 m (10,000 ft). To the right of Crowfoot Mountain is Bow Glacier. Bow Glacier feeds Bow Falls, which flows into Bow Lake and into the famous Bow River.  The Bow River flows down through Lake Louise, Banff and Calgary before joining the South Saskatchewan River, which eventually runs into Hudson’s Bay.

Across the highway from the Lodge are Cirque Peak and a hiking trail to Helen Lake. There are also many hiking trails around the Lodge.  A well-beaten path around Bow Lake to Bow Glacier Falls is a popular trail with visitors and staff alike. The lake is glacial-fed, therefore very cold year round.