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Skoki Ski Lodge National Historic Site of Canada

Banff National Park, Alberta, T0L, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1992/11/06

General view of the Skoki Ski Lodge emphasizing its steeply pitched gable roof with multiple dormers, 1994.; Parks Canada / Parcs Canada 1994
General view
Panoramic view of the Skoki Ski Lodge showing its relationship with, and viewscapes to and from: the Skoki Valley, the surrounding mountain peaks, and the backcountry of Banff National Park, 1965.; Parks Canada | Parcs Canada, 1965
Panorama
General view of the Skoki Ski Lodge showing its simple configuration, horizontal log construction with locally cut, unscribed, spruce logs, joined with saddle- or dovetail-notched corners, 1959.; Parks Canada | Parcs Canada, 1959
General view

Other Name(s)

Skoki Ski Lodge National Historic Site of Canada
Skoki Ski Lodge
Auberge de Ski Skoki

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1930/01/01 to 1936/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2004/12/14

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The Skoki Ski Lodge is a backcountry ski lodge facility built during the 1930s. It is located on the banks of Little Pipestone Creek, in the Skoki Valley north of Lake Louise, in the mountains of Banff National Park. The facility comprises six buildings and their surrounding landscape, linked by a system of trails and footpaths. The built heritage includes: the main lodge (1930-6), the Honeymoon cabin (1932), the Wolverine cabin (1932), the Creek cabin (1936), the bunkhouse (1936), and the former bathhouse (1936). The formal recognition consists of the buildings and property included in the licence of occupation held by Parks Canada.

Heritage Value

The Skoki Ski Lodge was designated a national historic site in 1992 because it is constructed in the Rustic Design tradition and it is associated with tourism development and outdoor recreation in the national park.

Skoki Lodge is a rare and well-preserved illustration of the early visual identity of the mountain parks and of the early days of skiing and ski tourism in Banff National Park. Built by a group of local ski pioneers as a destination for backcountry ski tourists, it was one of the earliest backcountry lodges designed for this purpose in Canada’s Rocky Mountain Parks. The six buildings comprising the site are excellent examples of the log building tradition associated with Banff National Park. The use of local materials is consistent with the Rustic Design tradition established for national parks.

The site was built and operated by The Ski Club of the Canadian Rockies under the leadership of ski pioneer Cliff Whyte. It was managed during the early years by local artists and philanthropists Peter and Catharine Whyte and expanded in 1935-6 by manager Jim Boyce.

Sources: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minute, 1992; Commemorative Integrity Statement.

Character-Defining Elements

The key elements that relate to the heritage value of the Skoki Ski Lodge National Historic Site include:
- its location in a remote wilderness setting;
- its relationship with, and viewscapes to and from: the Skoki Valley, the surrounding mountain peaks, and the backcountry of Banff National Park;
- the spatial arrangement of the six buildings and their relationship to each other, consisting of five cabins (Honeymoon, Wolverine and Creek cabins, the bunkhouse and the former bathhouse), arranged in a rough semicircle around a centrally placed main lodge;
- Rustic design features of the six buildings, including their simple configuration, horizontal log construction with locally cut, unscribed, spruce logs, joined with saddle- or dovetail-notched corners;
- design features of the main lodge, including its steeply pitched gable roof with multiple dormers; its two-storey main block with a one-storey rear kitchen wing, massive, rough-stone exterior chimney, rustic interior, and original interior plan, consisting of lounge, kitchen and dining facilities on the main level and sleeping quarters above;
- the rustic, local materials of the main lodge, including: wood roof shingles; fieldstone chimney; and round-log walls;
- common original design features of the four cabins (Honeymoon, Wolverine, Creek and the bunkhouse), including the open rectangular plans; gable roofs supported on log beams, which extend to shelter an open porch; single, centrally placed entrances on the front elevations, and small, multi-light windows;
- original design features of the former bathhouse, including rectangular, single-storey massing, gable roof with two projecting dormers at eave level marking two single entrances, and small, multi-light windows.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Historic Sites and Monuments Act

Recognition Type

National Historic Site of Canada

Recognition Date

1992/11/06

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Architecture and Design
Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
Sports and Leisure

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Leisure
Tourist Facility

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

Earl Spencer

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Indigenous Affairs and Cultural Heritage Directorate Documentation Centre 3rd Floor, room 366 30 Victoria Street Gatineau, Québec J8X 0B3

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

4

Status

Published

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The Bunkhouse in the Skoki Ski Lodge National Historic Site of Canada in Banff National Park of Canada is a rustic style, simple one-room log structure with a gable roof extending…

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The Main Building at Skoki Ski Lodge National Historic Site of Canada, in Banff National Park of Canada is comprised of a rustic style, two-storey, gable-roofed structure with a…

Corner view

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Front elevation

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General view

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The Former Bathhouse is located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 2,164 metres in a clearing on the banks of Little Pipestone Creek at the Skoki Ski Lodge…

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