Jasper Park Lodge

The Jasper Park Lodge opened in 1922 in Jasper, Alberta, Canada to challenge the CPR's Banff Springs Hotel.The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge (locally known as "JPL" or "the Lodge" ) is situated on the shores of Lac Beauvert. As Jasper's only year-round full-service resort, it has onsite and offsite activities including hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and canoeing. It has an 18-hole golf course designed by Stanley Thompson. Winter at the Lodge is outdoor oriented – cross country skiing, horse-drawn wagon rides, snowshoeing, and outdoor ice skating on Lake Mildred. The Lodge was named Fairmont's Environmental Hotel of the Year for its 2009 eco contributions.HistoryThe lodge had first been established in 1915 as a "Tent City," in association with the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, but by the 1920s the property was under the management of Canadian National Hotels. Eight bungalows were constructed in 1921, and work began on additional cabins and a main lodge building two years later. The main building, reputed to be the largest single-level log structure in the world, was destroyed by fire in 1952; it was replaced by the current lodge, which was completed the following year. Jasper Park Lodge was sold to Canadian Pacific Hotels in 1988 and now operates as Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. In 2006, it was purchased by Oxford Properties, the real estate investment arm of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), but is operated by Fairmont Hotels.