3.6K
The Icefields Parkway, running from Banff to Jasper, boasts ten Hostelling International (HI)Wilderness Hostels, including Mosquito Creek. Last month, we stayed there with two other families and were pleasantly surprised by the setting and amenities. It was our first time staying in a hostel dorm room with kids and it was great! The exercise and mountain air must have made the kids sleep so well!
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| HI Mosquito Creek Wilderness Hostel, Banff National Park |
We had everything we needed at the hostel. Mosquito Creek has gas powered stoves and fridges, lots of ookware and dishes, a tap in the kitchen for drinking/dishwashing water, lights (but no electrical outlets), limited wifi (no video streaming), a sauna, heaters in the dorms and kitchen, and a large fireplace in the main building’s common area. There are also magazines, a guitar, playing cards, marshmallow/hotdog roasting sticks, and puzzles for guests’ use. There are neither showers nor flush toilets, but that’s all part of the wilderness experience. As a backpacker and tent camper, I felt incredibly spoiled having a bed, blankets, heat and lights!
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| Plenty of snow to play in! |
Best of all was the hostel’s location; we could snowshoe somewhere beautiful right from our door! On our second night, we even went for a full moon snowshoe! The backcountry skiing in the area is pretty incredible too, according to other hostel guests.
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| Mosquito Creek Waterfall – only a few minutes’ walk/snowshoe from the hostel. |
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| Snowshoeing near Mosquito Creek |
My kids said their favorite part of the trip was sleeping in bunk beds, playing in the deep snow, and roasting marshmallows in the common area. (There is a fire pit outside, but it was almost bedtime, so we roasted marshmallows indoors.)
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| Night snowshoeing at Mosquito Creek |
In addition to two dorms, Mosquito Creek has private rooms available (one cabin with two rooms and shared kitchen). I highly recommend the private accommodations to light sleepers so you can make the most of your trip.
For More Information
To learn more about Mosquito Creek Wilderness Hostel, please check out Tanya Koob’s Five Reasons to Take Your Family to Mosquito Creek:
http://www.rockiesfamilyadventures.com/2014/12/five-reasons-to-take-your-family-to.html
If you have never stayed in a wilderness hostel and would like a quick “how to”, check out some helpful tips on How to Weather a Wilderness Hostel with Kids:
https://playoutsideguide.com/2014/12/how-to-weather-wilderness-hostel-with.html
https://playoutsideguide.com/2014/12/how-to-weather-wilderness-hostel-with.html
For a backcountry experience without backpacking, try wilderness hostelling at Mosquito Creek! You won’t regret it!
