Canadian Mountain Holidays

The Cariboo Range takes its name from the caribou that roam its slopes. The Cariboos’ highest peaks honour both early explorers and Canadian leaders such as Sir Wilfred Laurier. The Premiers, a sub-range of the Cariboos, is surrounded by one of Western Canada’s largest ice-fields: a near-Antarctic marvel.

Situated at about 1100 metres (3,600 feet) in the Canoe Valley, with views of the dramatic toe of the Canoe Glacier, Cariboo Lodge accommodates 44 guests in 29 rooms, all with private baths. It features also features an outdoor whirlpool and relaxing bar-lounge (complete with piano), a climbing wall, games room, shop, and a delightful swimming pond. Our modern comforts, when combined with a true wilderness experience, result in an unmatched mountain vacation.

This noble and immense range, with a thousand or so square kilometers of wilderness terrain, offers more than 100 hikes. Some of our favourites include:

Encore Ridge - A wonderful, long ridge at about 2,500 metres (8,000 feet), offering lots of scenery-rich, gentle, airy walking, with the chance to do some hardier hiking if inspiration strikes. Far below is Cariboo Lodge, and to the east, across the Columbia Divide, a huge view of iconic Mount Robson , highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.

North Canoe Glacier - Visible straight up-valley from Cariboo Lodge, North Canoe Glacier affords the rare chance for some un-roped glacier-walking. Glaciers are one of nature's wonderments, and it's nothing short of thrilling to land on a river of ice and see millwells, rock tables, crevasses, and glacier spiders up close. In the distance we might also see boxcar-sized ice chunks crashing off North Canoe's terminal ice fall.

Zilmer Canyon and Glacier - A superb canyon surrounded by a world of sparkling glaciers and waterfalls, Zilmer is a great base for a number of hikes, including a sterling outing that works up from the canyon to a series of plateaus lavished with wildflowers and great views of the immense Zilmer Glacier.

Virgin Bowl - A gentle, flower-rich hike, ideal for beginners, the Bowl offers many options for hiking to a series of grassy benches. Great views of Jan's Pearch Glacier and its small, quintessentially alpine lake.

Lake Ave - A moderate, meadowy hike with three fine lakes along the way up to Bunny Buster peak, surrounded by awe-striking views of the Rockies , the expansive Cariboos, and, to the south, the Monashees.