Num-Ti-Jah Lodge

A historic lodge on the shore of Bow Lake along the Icefields Parkway, built by Jimmy Simpson. Simpson first camped at Bow Lake in 1898 and vowed to build there; in 1920 he secured a lease and built a small octagonal cabin, the “Ram’s Pasture.” As the parkway opened in the 1930s (Depression-era relief project), he expanded into a larger lodge and named it Num-Ti-Jah, which he understood to mean “pine marten” in Stoney Nakoda. The current structure, with its distinctive red roof, dates from the 1940s.

June Mickle sold her paintings and leathercrafts at a novelty shop here during summers when the Mickles operated Timberline Tours. The lodge has hosted generations of travellers and remains in operation. After consultation with Stoney Nakoda Elders, recent owners determined that the name “Num-Ti-Jah” was not formally gifted to Simpson under cultural protocols; the property is now often referred to as The Lodge at Bow Lake, while the Simpson family’s history remains a core part of its identity.