Cat Skiing in the Canadian Rockies
5000 skiable acres with no lift lines, no crowds and no one else's tracks. Ski like it's yours because for 36 skiers per day, it is.
Guests are chauffeured to the top of each run in our clean and well-maintained snowcats, and guided down by our team of expert guides.
On the mountain
More powder. More time together.
Fresh tracks, good friends, and a whole mountain to explore. Trade lift lines and crowded slopes for guided runs through deep powder, with a heated snowcat waiting to take you back up.
With just 36 guests sharing 5,000 skiable acres, there’s room to find your rhythm. Expert guides choose the terrain, while the warm ride between runs gives you time to relax, laugh, and relive that last turn.
Discover Cat Skiing
Private by geography. Exclusive by design.
Our signature
Endless forest and deep snow. Guides choose the runs each day for the snow, visibility, and your group. Safety is always our first priority though mountain hazards remain.
Island Lake Lodge is the only snowcat operation in Canada operating on private land. This allows us to selectively remove trees to create wide open glades and trim lower branches to help reduce tree-well hazards. Our old-growth forest remains untouched.
Twelve guests to a cat, with a lead guide, a tail guide, and a driver in every group. The most tenured and experienced staff in all of Canada’s mountain guiding community is here to make your ski trip safe, enjoyable, and rewarding.
A local microclimate stacks deep, cold snow against the peaks of the Lizard Range. Come visit and you’ll see how we earned the name “The Powder Highway.”
After the last run
Three timber lodges with twenty-six rooms. Breakfast before skiing, lunch in the cat, a gourmet dinner in the Tamarack Dining Room, and late night drinks in the iconic Bear Bar.
Earned confidence
Day one begins with avalanche training. Beacon, shovel, probe, radio. Every guest practises. Every group travels with a guide, tail guide, and snowcat driver.
You should be a strong intermediate skier or rider, comfortable in varied snow and fit for full days. Our concierge can help you decide.
Read the full safety programDaily weather, snow stability, and terrain assessment.
Radio and rescue equipment carried by every group.
Guides certified by ACMG and/or CSGA. HeliCat Canada operating standards.
Cat Skiing takes place in uncontrolled mountain terrain and involves inherent risks. All guests review the risk information and sign a waiver before participating.
A mountain with memory
Skiers began touring into Cedar Valley in the 1940s. The first snowcat arrived in 1988. In the years that followed, Island Lake helped define modern powder skiing.
Discover the heritage →The lay of the land
Explore the landscape around Island Lake, from alpine bowls and snowy forests to the lodges beside the lake.
A thousand-year property
Serving as stewards of Island Lake and its 7,500 acres is the privilege of our lifetimes. From 800 year old growth cedar forests and pristine high alpine terrain, to natural springs and the lake that gives the property its name, every inch of this property is sacred to us, and we do everything in our power to preserve and protect it as we found it. The lodge is powered in part by its own micro-hydro plant. And we maintain hiking and mountain biking trails for the Fernie community to enjoy the property long after the snow melts.
We are here for a season. The mountain is not.
Our stewardship →
A conversation is the beginning
Tell us who you ski with. We will tell you what is possible.
Good to know
Straight answers to the questions we hear most.
Island Lake Lodge is a private cat skiing lodge in the Lizard Range near Fernie, British Columbia. The operation runs on 7,500 acres of private mountain land — 5,000 of them skiable — and hosts just 36 skiers and snowboarders at a time, so you never ski another skier’s tracks.
Island Lake sits in the Cedar Valley above Mount Fernie Provincial Park, in the Lizard Range of the Canadian Rockies, about a 20-minute drive from the town of Fernie, BC. In winter the last 8 km to the lodge is by snowcat.
Cat Skiing is guided backcountry skiing or snowboarding with a snowcat providing the ride uphill. At Island Lake your group travels in a heated passenger cabin, skis with professional guides, and climbs back aboard for the next run.
There are no lift lines and no crowds. With 36 winter guests across 5,000 skiable acres, the mountain never feels busy. Your guides choose terrain for your group each day, lunch travels in the snowcat, and evenings end with dinner in a timber lodge.
You should be a strong intermediate skier or snowboarder or better, with confident control in powder and varied snow and the fitness for consecutive full days. If you can ski a black diamond run comfortably, you can ski here. Talk to reservations about your ability before booking.
Winter cat skiing tours are sold by inquiry and waitlist through the concierge — there is no online checkout for winter, and a phone conversation closes the booking. Summer stays can be booked online. Call 1-888-422-8754 to start.
The winter program runs from December through March. Early season brings cold, light snow with terrain opening through the season; later winter brings longer days. Snow and terrain vary every year, so choose dates with reservations rather than chasing a powder guarantee.
Multi-day tours include lodge accommodation, meals, guided skiing or snowboarding, powder skis or a snowboard, ski poles, guest safety equipment and the on-mountain photography program. Bring your own boots. Airport transport, spa treatments, alcoholic drinks and gratuities are additional.