How to book Elk Lakes Cabin, the ACC's 14-person BC Parks cabin by Elk Pass: 180-day window for all, the 7-day phone rule and when cancellations appear.
About
Elk Lakes Cabin sits in Elk Lakes Provincial Park in southeastern BC, just over Elk Pass from Kananaskis. It's run by the Alpine Club of Canada and is open all year: hiking and scrambling in summer, ski touring, snowshoeing and ice climbing in winter. With a modest climb and a wood stove, it's one of the more approachable huts in the Rockies.
The hut
From the ACC's Elk Lakes Cabin page:
- Capacity: 14
- Wood heat (wood provided), propane lights, propane stove and oven
- Mattresses; water from the creek; outhouse
Getting there:
- From Alberta (most common): start at the Elk Pass trailhead in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. About 9 km and 200 m of gain, a 3 to 4 hour hike, ending with 4.2 km downhill on a road from the BC–Alberta border. You can bike the same route (racks across from the cabin). In winter, ski the Elk Pass trail and then the Hydroline road, or snowshoe the marked Elk Pass snowshoe trail. A Kananaskis Conservation Pass is needed when you start from Elk Pass.
- From BC: about 104 km and roughly 2 hours north from Sparwood via Highway 43 to Elkford and then gravel road.
- Seasonal road closure: Highway 40 from Peter Lougheed to Highwood House Junction is closed December 1 to June 14, so check which way you're driving in.
Rates (as listed by the ACC, subject to change): C$25 per night for members and non-members, a C$50 family rate (two adults and two children 17 and under, phone to book), plus a non-refundable C$2 per person per night BC Parks transaction fee and a C$20 BC Parks non-resident fee per booking for anyone living outside BC.
How booking works
Elk Lakes is booked through the ACC. From the ACC booking and cancellation policies:
- As a BC Provincial Parks hut, it books up to 180 days ahead for everyone, members and non-members alike
- The window opens at midnight Mountain Time
- Within 7 days of your trip, call or email the ACC instead: 403-678-3200
Last checked: October 2026.
When it sells out
With an easy approach, a family rate and a low nightly price, Elk Lakes is a natural pick for families and first-time hut trips, so weekends and holidays go first. Because everyone shares the same 180-day window, there's no member head start; the popular nights tend to be gone well ahead.
How to get a cancellation
The ACC's refund rules for backcountry huts:
- Cancel more than 15 days before the first night: 75% refund (2.4% processing fee on card refunds)
- 15 days or less: no refund
- Changes are treated as cancellations; a 3.6% admin fee may apply
That puts most cancellations in the days before the 15-day line. After that they're rarer, and inside 7 days they can only be booked by phone.
Watch Elk Lakes Cabin on Canada Camp Alerts and we'll email you when a night you picked goes from full to bookable. We read the cabin's public booking calendar, and a night counts as open when any space is free; each night is judged on its own. We don't match your party size and don't hold or book anything. If the opening is within 7 days, phone the ACC to take it.
The free plan covers one watch, with email alerts 15 minutes after we spot the opening. The season pass (C$25 once, 12 months, no auto-renew) gives up to 10 watches with instant alerts by email, Telegram or web push.
Tips
- Small groups do best. A cancellation often frees a couple of spaces, not the whole cabin.
- Watch midweek too. A Thursday night can turn a weekend into a long weekend.
- Sort your passes. Coming from Kananaskis, buy the Conservation Pass before you go.
Nearby alternatives
No. Elk Lakes is one of the BC Provincial Parks huts the ACC runs, and members and non-members both book up to 180 days ahead at the same rate.
Most people come from Peter Lougheed Provincial Park in Kananaskis over Elk Pass, about 9 km and 3 to 4 hours. You can also drive in from Elkford on the BC side on a long gravel road.
Not online. For trips starting within 7 days the ACC asks you to call 403-678-3200.