Stanley Mitchell Hut

Fantastic trails and peaks, reasonable access and even a green meadow in front of the hut – the Stanley Mitchell is one of the best family backcountry destinations in the Rockies.

Many scrambling and hiking peaks and trails will keep the entire family busy for many summer days. Climbing the President and the Vice President are excellent moderate mountaineering challenges and are easily combined in a day with an early start from the hut.

Approaching the hut up the Little Yoho Valley and a making a return trip down the super-scenic Iceline Trail is a truly classic hiking loop.

Note: High season rates apply at Stanley Mitchell Hut in the summer months while the Takakkaw Falls Road is open. New to ACC huts? Check out our page on Frequently Asked Hut Questions .

This is one of the coziest huts you’ll find anywhere in winter months. A long approach sets you up in a usually quiet lodge in the middle of nearly endless backcountry runs and exploration. The hut serves as the final stop for skiers on the Yoho Traverse from the Wapta Icefield. Chic Scott often refers to the hut in winter as the “Gem of the Rockies”. Enjoy.

Stanley Mitchell Hut fact: This hut was the original lodge used by Hans Gmoser for his ski touring company that eventually became Canadian Mountain Holidays.

Little Yoho Valley approach (summer): A pleasant 3 to 4 hour hike with 520 metres (1,700 feet) on well-maintained national park trails beginning at the Takkakaw Falls parking lot.

Iceline Trail (summer): An alternative to the Little Yoho Valley Trail (above). The distance and elevation gain are similar. This trail is often used on the return trip to the parking lot, providing an excellent loop trip with lots of varied terrain.

Little Yoho Valley (winter): The winter approach follows the same trail as in the summer but as the road to Takkakaw Falls is not plowed it is 13 km longer. The approach begins just off the #1 highway, 4 km east of Field, BC.

Printable detailed approach description

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.