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About The Lodge

The original shovels used as a trail marker on the Skyline Trail in Jasper, Alberta

'Shovel Pass'

The name ‘Shovel Pass’ originated in 1911.

 

When The Otto brothers were working as outfitters and guides for Mary Schaffer to survey Maligne Lake, they found the snow in the pass so deep that they could not get through. They carved shovels out of a spruce tree and used these to dig the trail out.

They left the shovels they made standing as trail markers on the pass, thus receiving the name 'Shovel Pass’.

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Nowadays, these shovels can be seen in the Jasper Yellowhead Museum.

Shovels on Shovel Pass, 1911

Mary Schaffer, The Whyte - Archival Fonds

V527 / PS1 - 129

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Shovel Pass Camp in the 1950s, located along the Skyline Trail in Jasper National Park

Shovel Pass 'Camp'

The original hiking trail into Maligne Lake was built in 1911 from Wabasso Lake and over Shovel Pass.

A tent camp was established along the trail that year. In 1921, a permanent camp was relocated higher up the valley below the alpine basin, making Shovel Pass Lodge Jasper National Park's oldest backcountry lodge. Originally operated as one of Fred Brewster's Rocky Mountain Camps, the facilities included a cookhouse and several tent frames for guest accommodation.

Rebuilt in 1991, the facilities now include 7 guest cabins and a main log chalet with dining room and kitchen. 

994.45.24.80 | Shovel Pass Camp 1940

Doris Kensit fonds

Eleanor Broadhead scrapbook

 

Bringing horses through Shovel Pass on the Skyline Trail
Packhorses used by Shovel Pass Lodge
The only way to bring supplies to the lodge

Packhorses

Shovel Pass Lodge relies on packhorses to transport supplies to and from the lodge. A packhorse is a horse used to carry goods on its back, typically secured in boxes or panniers.

 

Twice a week, all the necessary supplies and food for the lodge are packed into boxes. The horses take about four hours to reach the lodge, ascending over 3,000 feet of challenging terrain. The weight and size of every ingredient used in our menu is selected with horse transportation in mind. 

 

Horses play a crucial role in operating Shovel Pass Lodge, you can thank them for carefully carrying more than 2400 fresh eggs every summer. 

Trouble on Shovel Pass, 1911

Mary Schaffer, The Whyte - Archival Fonds

V527 / PS1 - 133

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  © 2025 Shovel Pass Lodge. Powered and secured by Wix  

Photos by Kat Knox. www.katknox.com

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