Skoki Ski Lodge National Historic Site
Skoki Ski Lodge was designated as a national historic site in 1992.
The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada reviewed this designation in 2022.
Commemorative plaque: Banff National Park of Canada, AlbertaFootnote 1
Skoki Ski Lodge
A rare link with the early days of backcountry skiing in the Rockies, Skoki Ski Lodge is a fine example of the rustic log building tradition long associated with tourism and outdoor recreation in Banff National Park. When it opened for business in 1931, skiing was emerging as a major form of winter recreation across Canada. Skoki was built as a holiday destination by a group of ski enthusiasts, using timbers cut in the vicinity. It was one of the earliest backcountry lodges designed to accommodate skiers in Canada’s Rocky Mountain parks. It assumed its current appearance with additions carried out in 1935–1936.
© Parks Canada
Review of designation
Reviews are undertaken on an ongoing basis to ensure that designations reflect current scholarship, shifts in historical understandings, and a range of voices, perspectives and experiences in Canadian society.
In 2022, this designation was reviewed due to an error in the commemorative plaque text. The original plaque text, approved in 1995, described Skoki Ski Lodge as the first backcountry lodge built for skiers in the Canadian Rockies. Research shows that another facility, Assiniboine Lodge, provided earlier backcountry accommodations in the Banff region.
The plaque text was modified to acknowledge that Skoki Ski Lodge was one of the earliest backcountry ski lodges in Canada’s Rocky Mountain parks. A new plaque was installed in 2023.
Sources: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, September 2022.
The National Program of Historical Commemoration relies on the participation of Canadians in the identification of places, events and persons of national historic significance. Any member of the public can nominate a topic for consideration by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
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