Emerald Lake Lodge in Yoho National Park, Canada | Review

Review of our stay at the gay-friendly Emerald Lake Lodge in Winter. Traveling around the Canadian Rocky Mountains was a wonderful experience. Stunning views, incredibly friendly Canadians, and unbelievable natural highlights along and off the Trans-Canada Highway. Right before we hit the road from Lake Louise all the way north to Jasper, we left the Canadian province, Alberta, for a 2-days short stay at Emerald Lake at Yoho National Park, British Columbia. Surrounded by Emerald and Michael Peak, the 4-star Lodge located on a forested peninsula was a perfect romantic hideaway in Canada, North America, just around the corner from the Canadian town Field in British Columbia. Enjoy our hotel review of the history-charged and gay-friendly Canadian Rocky Mountain Resort and see the Emerald Lake Lodge through a couple of men‘s eyes.

During summer, Emerald Lake is well-known for its jade-colored water. In winter, the lodges and resort buildings are regularly topped with a lot of snow. After days of heavy snowfall, we arrived in this beautiful winter wonderland right on time to take some stunning photos. And of course, to enjoy the award-winning delicious cuisine of the restaurants, and to spend some relaxing days during our Winter Road Trip Canada. Therefore, we followed the discoverer Tom Wilson hiking around the frozen Emerald Lake and relaxed in the dry sauna and outdoor hot tub of the Canadian Lodge Resort.

Review: Emerald Lake Lodge Gay-Friendly

Coming right from Lake Louise, we followed the Trans-Canada Highway in a western direction into the Canadian province of British Columbia, passing through the town Field. Just at the end of a long valley, we turned right on a snowy road through dense Canadian forest. We felt like staying in a little, comfortable forest village nestled in between pine trees surrounded by the ice-covered Emerald Lake. A half meter of snow, huge ice pickles hanging from the roofs, and heavy snowfall transformed the lodge into our Canadian winter wonderland. Almost no tourists, delicious food (more about in our restaurant sections below), and untouched, clean nature around the lake combined with sauna, hot tub, and comfortable lodge rooms with fireplace made that a perfect romantic gay getaway. A special thanks go to the extraordinarily friendly staff, that found my 200 CAN $ envelop I lost on resort ground. So, we will definitely come back!

Our Emerald Lodge Lake View Room

Our room in building number 13 was located just a short walk from the main lodge, facing the frozen lake. The Lake View Room was equipped with everything we needed: a huge King-size bed, a desk, two big chairs right in front of the wood-burning stone fireplace, and a private balcony facing Emerald Lake. The bathroom was spacious including a bath, shower, and complimentary shampoo, shower gel, soap, and lotion. And yes, we fired up our private fireplace which was not that difficult after all, following the detailed instructions. And don’t worry, you don’t have to save your wood for a special day since it will be stocked daily with complimentary firewood. Especially after a long day outside in Canada’s winter, drying and warming up before going to bed was a real recreation.

Breakfast Buffet & Dinner with Emerald Lake View

We booked daily breakfast for our stay, which was a wise decision since the next restaurants outside Emerald Lake Lodge are a couple of kilometers by car away. And we didn’t miss a thing. Great coffee, fresh juice, delicious Eggs Benedict, and fresh vegetarian wraps for Daan, we ordered it all. But there is more at the buffet to choose from, of course. For dinner, the Emerald Lake Lodge offers different restaurants. Our tip: Try a freshly prepared Bison Steak at Mount Burgess Dining Room with a lake view for the real taste of the Rockies and have a dessert as well as a crafted beer by the fireplace of the Kicking Horse Lounge. In summer, the Cilantro on the Lake restaurant is a special location right after the bridge, not only for Emerald Lake Lodge guests.

Facilities of the gay-friendly Emerald Lake Lodge

The Main Lodge is the base and center of the Emerald Lake Lodge resort. Guests check-in there, can meet other travelers, and learn about the history of the Lodge and the legendary guide Tom Wilson, who discovered this place in 1882. It is also the place, where you find the 24 hours reception for any reservation or problem that needs to be solved. From there, it is just a short walk over to the “wellness area”. Coming from the main lodge on your right-hand side, you will find a small wooden house with a dry sauna, shower room, and the entrance to the outdoor hot tub. While sitting in the steaming hot water, you can enjoy a stunning lake view, unless, during wintertime, meters of snow block the view, of course. The log cabin is equipped with fresh towels, complimentary soap, lockers, and hair dryers. After a shower, we took a fresh towel and jumped into the hot water while the snowfall continued. What relaxation…

Activities on & around Emerald Lake Peninsula

Adventurers and explorers coming to the Emerald Lake Lodge in winter should pay a visit to the small cabin right before the bridge. The small shop offers winter (and summer) sports equipment like cross-country skiers and sleighs, souvenirs, and gifts. It is also the perfect starting point for a tour around Emerald Lake, as we did. The easy hike goes through the dense forest right along the lakeside. The surrounding snow-topped Rocky Mountain peaks are the perfect backdrop for photos, selfies, and videos. Simply a stunning view from almost everywhere around the lake. Most important thing: take your time, the hot tub and the fireplace will still be there for you to warm you up again the whole evening and all night long.

Interesting Posts for your Gay Trips to Canada:

• All you need to know about traveling Canada >
• Our Gay Couple Travel Guides Jasper, Alberta >
• Gay Traveling the city of Calgary, Alberta >
• All information about our Winter Road Trip Rocky Mountains >
• Overview: Top 13 Gay Ski Weeks worldwide >
• All about Whistler Pride and Ski Festival, Canada >
• Reviews of Hotels around the world: Gay-friendly tested Hotels >

Gay Couple Hotel Review of the Emerald Lake Lodge

Address:
Emerald Lake Road
1 Emerald Lake Road
Field, BC V0A 1G0
Canada

Official Website: crmr.com/emerald/
Book Your Stay: Offers & Review on TripAdvisor
Contact: Tel.: +1 250-343-6321

Good to know:
We had limited cell service all over the property, but there is free Wi-Fi in the main lodge. The Emerald Lake Resort located on a peninsula is only reachable over a wooden bridge, not open for public traffic. The parking area is approximately 1 km from the Emerald Lake Lodge. A free shuttle bus brought us to the main lodge.

Do you want to know more about our gay travels around the world? Stay tuned on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram. See you again in Spain, Portugal, Europe, and somewhere around the world!

Karl & Daan.