Kokanee Glacier Cabin

The ACC operates the largest network of backcountry huts in North America. The Kokanee Glacier Cabin, on the shores of Kaslo Lake in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park is ideally situated for summertime hiking and scrambling adventures. See all of our huts here. 

The new Kokanee Glacier Cabin, on the shores of Kaslo lake in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park is ideally situated for summertime hiking and scrambling adventures. In the winter, the area is a ski touring paradise, and the Kokanee Glacier Cabin is situated to best take advantage of the endless skiing terrain, and to provide you with an unforgettable experience. Kokanee Glacier Cabin offers an exciting backcountry adventure for the whole family. This is easily our most well equipped hut. In addition to all the dishes for cooking and dining that our guests have come to expect, there is electricity. That means there is a coffee maker and kettle. Guests supply their own basket filters and coffee.

View this live Kokanee Glacier Cabin Webcam

Located north of Nelson, in southeastern British Columbia’s Selkirk Mountains, beautiful Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park is a year-round recreational paradise. Sitting mostly above 1,800 metres in elevation, the park has three glaciers – Kokanee, Caribou, and Woodbury – which feed over 30 lakes and are the headwaters of many creeks.

There are 11 wilderness walk-in campsites and a day-use shelter for cooking at Kaslo Lake. Bookings can be made through BC Parks’ Backcountry Registration System. Fees are $10/person ($5/children).

SUMMER BOOKINGS 

The Kokanee Glacier Cabin is one of five huts operated by the ACC which reside in the BC Parks jurisdiction. In the summer months ACC Membership is not required to advance book or receive a discounted rate at these huts. Winter bookings are made through a lottery system (see below). ACC membership is required to book ski weeks, but not to enter the lottery.

Summer bookings at the Kokanee Glacier Cabin are made by submitting a booking request form.

1. Know the hut rates
2. Check availability
3. Submit a request

The ACC operates two other huts in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park – Silver Spray Cabin and Woodbury Cabin. They are not accessible from Kokanee Glacier Cabin.

Summertime access to the Kokanee Glacier Cabin starts at the Gibson Lake trailhead. To get there follow Highway 3A from Nelson for 19 km to Kokanee Creek road which leads to Gibson Lake. From Gibson Lake hike past Kokanee Lake over Kokanee Pass and down to Kaslo Lake. The cabin is at the north end of the Kaslo lake, past the campground. Hiking distance is 8.5 kilometres with 400 metres elevation gain.

Note that all roads in the park may not be suitable for low-clearance vehicles. Park visitors are recommended to protect their vehicle with chicken wire to deter porcupines from chewing on rubber hoses and tires.

Wintertime access is by helicopter only.

BC Parks regularly updates trail conditions in the park.

The Hut Experience

Staying in a backcountry hut is a shared, rustic experience. Sleeping, kitchen and living areas are communal, and foam mattresses, cooking and eating utensils are provided. Guests area expected to bring their own sleeping bags, food and personal items.

All of our huts are user-maintained, meaning that the custodial work of keeping the hut clean, chopping firewood and shovelling snow is done by the guests. The ACC provides major service and renovations to all of our huts each year to ensure they are in good repair.

There are no transition days between bookings. Guests are responsible to sanitize before and after use of the huts.

Download our hut cleaning and sanitation guidelines here.

More information on Kokanee Glacier Park can be found on the BC Parks Website

Take a Virtual Tour of the Kokanee Glacier Cabin and the hike from Gibson Lake.

The Backcountry Skiing Canada team filmed a (warm) spring trip to Kokanee. You can check it out here.