We have visited this location 3 times, twice on owners horses and once on foot.
The Lodge is very Rustic. Do not expect a 5 Star Hotel. This is an Authenic Backcountry Packers Lodge. The adventurer is travelling through big country, that allows no margin for errors in trip planning. Safety and Leave no Trace are those things the owners follow closely to ensure the visitors experience is authentic.
This is a family owned busines. They are friendly and caring and a delight to talk too. Keep in mind this is a remote location hard to equip, adminster and maintain.
The food is good, the scenery some of the best you will see in the national parks.
We plan to return in 2011.
We have travelled extensively in the National Parks in US and Canada and have found nothing to come close to the Rustic experience of Tonquin Valley Backcountry Lodge.
You may contact us at 403 678 4330 to learn more about what this area of Jasper National Park has to offer.

Les and Kathy Punshon. Canmore Alberta.

First of all, the Tonquin Vally Backcountry Lodge isn't what I would normally call a hotel. You don't check in, get a room key, or have your bed turned down with chocolates on the pillows every night by bellboys expecting tips. I think that defining it as a hotel on this website could lead to a false sense of expectation of what the Lodge is.

What the Lodge is, though, is an experience. My family has organized winter trips with friends skiing into the Tonquin Valley for several years now, and it has become an annual tradition we all look forward to. Nestled on the edge of Amethyst Lake, the Lodge is a series of smaller bunking cabins, with a larger central cabin for eating and relaxing at the end of the day. Getting away from the rest of the world to a virtually untouched valley in the middle of the Rockies for a weekend is truly the best way to 'get away from it all', and staying at the Lodge is the best way I can think of to experience this.

The staff are wonderful and very accomodating to food requests, which is incredibly impressive as all food must be carted in by snowmobile up a river during the winter. The food is absolutely fantastic too.

I absolutely cannot think of a better way to experience the Rocky Mountains than staying at the Tonquin Valley Backcountry Lodge, and I eagerly look forward to my next visit.

I spent 5 days at the Tonquin Valley Backcountry Lodge - deep in the heart of the Jasper mountains only accessible by hiking or horseback. Talk about getting away from it all with wonderful guides, food and hospitality.
The accommodations are luxury for backwoods, however if you are city folk - very basic.
That is not the point of the adventure - it is the outdoors, hiking, horseback riding, getting away from it all and going back to the basics.
I had a fabulous time as did my 3 children - ages 18, 20 ,22. We had did 3 rides on top of the 25km ride into camp plus one day for a major mountain hike. It was fabulously beautiful!
The hosts are very accommodating and very knowledgeable about the area and history of the valley.
Well worth it if you want to try something different and get away from it all!

I'd wanted to go to Banff and Jasper my entire adult life, and this summer my wife and I finally did so. This has got to be one of the most spectacularly beautiful spots on the planet, and we were there for two glorious weeks. The highlight of the trip was the five days we stayed with Kable and Sarah Kongsrud at the Tonquin Valley Backcountry Lodge.

I should say at the outset that I'm a big city boy and my wife a Southern Californian. But we've spent a lot of time in the wilderness -- Kathleen's entire family consisted of six constant and skilled backpackers/hikers/campers/riders and she spent much of her childhood and youth in her beloved Sierra Nevada. Over the course of a 42-year marriage I've learned to love the mountains as well and have joined Kathleen in a love of horses and wilderness. We're experienced campers, hikers, riders and wilderness people.

Kable and Sarah run a wonderful lodge. The setting is astounding -- I've posted some of the photos we took while there. And it is a backcountry place, with everything that the description involves. You're not going to get luxurious accommodations but everything is absolutely wonderful. The atmosphere is warm, inviting and welcoming -- the family-style food is outstanding and everyone gets a chance to pitch in and help or just sit around and watch. Things are relaxed, friendly and knowledgeable -- just what you want in a backcountry lodge. It rained a fair amount while we were there, but we weren't to be denied and took terrific rides every day.

I suppose one's evaluation depends on what one wants and expects. I've read a very negative review on this site and have to say that it bears no resemblance to our experience. If you're looking for a superb backcountry experience in the middle of the most astounding mountains on Earth, you can't do any better than Kable's and Sarah's place.