HWY-774 Construction

While construction on HWY-774 is certainly not what it is last year, when the remaining 11 km of gravel road was being paved, construction crews are working alongside HWY-774 near the Castle Provincial Park boundary. Please be courteous of construction crews and observe all speed reductions / construction related signage. Delays should be minimal.

Ticket Purchase / Pass Pickup

We suggest making Castle Mountain Resort Guest Services, located on the lower level of our day lodge, your first stop upon arrival. Our team can point you in the right direction, equip you with a schedule of all our events / experiences, and get you set up with meal tickets or scenic chairlift ride tickets. For those who pre-purchased Huckleberry Festival all-access passes, they can be picked up at Guest Services as well. Guest Services hours for the weekend are as follows:

• Friday – 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
  • After hours camping check-in through the T-Bar Pub
• Saturday – 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
  • Should any additional Pig Roast tickets remain available, for Saturday night, they can be purchased upstairs starting at 5 PM
• Sunday – 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Schedule of Events

You can get a handle on all of the events (and more) over the weekend by visiting the Huckleberry Festival portion of our website, by downloading a PDF version of our schedule, or by picking up a paper schedule on site at Guest Services.

Recognizing Our Team Members

Our staff and volunteers will be ridiculously easy to recognize, in their “extreme orange”, Castle / Huckleberry Festival branded shirts (great smile Hamish!). Don’t hesitate to ask any of our orange shirts a question while you’re here. They’ll be sure to steer you in the right direction.

Hiking Trails

Most of Castle’s hiking trails are exceptionally well marked. Exceptions are the Haig Ridge trail above the Huckleberry Chairlift (which simply runs the length of the ridge) and the trail to Gravenstafel Peak (follows a summer access road to the summit). Keep a sharp eye for hiking markers (orange hiker disc on rebar posts) and be sure to grab a trail guide, if you’re not familiar with the area. In addition, you can download the Trailforks App (click here), where all of our trails are uploaded (compatible with Apple and Android products).

For more information on our trail network, before you arrive, visit our hiking page (click here).

Riding the Chairlift

The Huckleberry Chairlift will upload guests on both Saturday and Sunday. Downloading on the lift is also possible but, due to the design of our triple chair, 1 out of every 5 chairs can be loaded with guests on the way down. This means that wait times at the summit, for downloading, can be a bit lengthy (30 minutes +). 

There are washroom facilities at the Huckleberry summit as well as refreshments being available (bottled non-alcoholic beverages, snacks) to help you out if you’re feeling snacky or you really just need to, you know, go! Not down with waiting? Take the Haig Ridge trail downward to where it connects with Haig Lake South trail, and follow it all the way to the base. We’ll have an abundance of summer trail maps on hand or you can click here.

A friendly reminder that infants, necessitating a child carrier, are not permitted on the chairlift.  Children and adults are able to ride the chair but pets and bicycles are not permitted on the lift.

Preparing For Mountain Weather

While Saturday is currently looking like an absolutely amazing day, with forecasted valley temperatures into the mid-twenties, morning temps can be cooler (single digits) and weather in our alpine environment much different than what’s found in the main festival area (village). We encourage everyone to tote along a small day pack with essentials such as water, snacks, sunscreen, and an extra layer or two. While not everyone may be looking for a big hike, wearing sturdy footwear such as hiking boots or trail runners can help you make the most of your day and take you to some of the places others just don’t dare venture to!

You’re In Bear Country

While you will be surrounded by friends, family, and soon-to-be friends, you’re still in bear country and hiking in the back country. We would like to suggest that you travel in groups, make lots of noise (talking loudly), and carry bear spray. Bear encounters are rare and extremely unlikely at an event of this size. Still, it’s better safe than sorry and bear spray will be available for purchase at Castle Mountain Resort Guest Services, throughout the weekend. Any bear encounters should be reported to any staff or volunteers, who will be easily identifiable by their extreme orange Huckleberry shirts. For more on being Bear Smart, follow the link to best practices as indicated by Alberta Environment and Parks.

Let’s all be great environmental stewards this weekend. Garbage of any sort, even the peel from your fruit, doesn’t belong in the Castle. Leaving even a trace of food can lead to the wild animals becoming accustomed to human food. Our carelessness can lead to the relocation or even the death of a wild animal; not cool if you ask us.

Garbage receptacles and recycling bins can be found throughout the base area as well as at the summit of Huckleberry Chair. Pack out your trash until you reach one of these locations please! Remember, this pristine mountain environment is the home of the animals. We are only guests.

Lift Operations

In general, the lifts are spinning from 9 AM to 4 PM daily. There are a few notable exceptions, including

• Reduced hours on Christmas Day (Ski w/ Santa)
  • 11 AM to 4 PM
  • All regularly scheduled lifts / terrain available
  • Half day ticket rates are in effect (save more by buying online now)
• Extended hours Dec 29 – 31 for Night Skiing on Green presented by United Rentals
  • 5 PM – 8 PM on the Green Chair

Guest Services

Guest Services is open from 8 AM to 5 PM from December 26 straight thru to January 6. Please note that:

• Guest Services is open 10 AM to 4 PM on Christmas Day (Ski w/ Santa)
• Tickets for Night Skiing on Green (Dec 29 – 31) will be available through our Snow School Office as Guest Services will have closed at 5 PM.

Snow School

Snow School is open from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM daily with the following exceptions:

• Snow School is open 10 AM to 4 PM on Christmas Day (Ski w/ Santa)
• Tickets for Night Skiing on Green (ONLY $5) will be available through our Snow School Office, through to 7 PM (Dec 29 – 31)

Food and Beverage

Castle Mountain Resort’s three food and beverage outlets feature special holiday hours. From late nights at the T-Bar Pub & Grub to a relaxing latte in Joe’s Cafe, we have you covered.

Cafeteria –

Castle’s cafeteria is open from 8 AM to 5 PM (hot food service til’ 4 PM) daily with the following exceptions:

• The Cafeteria is open 10 AM to 4 PM on Christmas Day (Ski w/ Santa)
• Extended hours, until 8 PM, Dec 29 – 31 for Night Skiing on Green presented by United Rentals

Joe’s Cafe –

Joe’s Cafe is open from 8 AM to 5 PM daily with the following exceptions:

• Closed on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) and Christmas Day (Dec. 25)

T-Bar Pub & Grub –

The T-Bar Pub is open late, throughout the holiday break. In general, the T-Bar Pub is open from 11 AM to 2 AM (kitchen open until 10 PM) daily except:

• December 24 + 25 when the pub is open from 11 AM – 9 PM
  • Food service until 8 PM
• December 31 (New Years Eve) when the pub is open from 11 AM to 8 PM
  • Food service until 7 PM
  • Doors open for our ticketed NYE Pub Event at 9 PM

Alpenland Retail & Rental Shop

Our on-site rental / retail shop is open from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM daily except:

• The shop is open 10:30 AM to 4 PM on Christmas Day (Ski w/ Santa)
• Extended hours, until 8 PM, Dec 29 – 31 for Night Skiing on Green presented by United Rentals
  • Night skiing rentals are only $10!

Click here for our regular Hours of Operation.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

What’s It All About?

The Wonders of Winter Kickoff Party is a chance to reconnect with your long lost winter friends and to celebrate the chill and flurries that are already in the air. Winter is coming and, despite what some might say, it’s time to CELEBRATE!

The party involves you, your friends, great food and beverage at ALL of our selected venues and a great ski movie. For this year’s tour we’re playing Matchstick Production’s “ALL IN” 2018 epic ski film which delivers a first of its kind experience; a kick-ass ski film that features just as many women as men. It is 2018, after all. Skiing isn’t exclusionary but true fun in the mountains can be shared equally by everyone.

Is there a theme?

We’re so glad you asked! We aren’t letting you in the door unless you have something ski themed on!! Just kidding of course but we encourage you to wear your favorite retro one-piece, your toque, your goggles, hell bring your snorkel. Whatever you need to get you and those around you stoked on the upcoming winter, bring it! Prizes will be doled out for best dressed, worst dressed, most spirited, and for correct answers to random ski related questions. Brush up on your Castle knowledge!

Is there a cost?

There is, but just barely. The cost / person is $5. Thanks to a generous sponsorship from Big Rock Brewery, we’re donating every dime from each and every showing to a local not-for-profit group. This is definitely an event you can feel good about attending! 

Where’s the next showing?

The 2018 tour will include 6 stops; as far east as Medicine Hat and with the finale occurring at Castle Mountain Resort. Click the respective dates for their individual event listing:

• Thursday, November 1 – Medicine Hat, AB (Local Public Eatery)
• Saturday, November 10 – Calgary, AB (Local on 8th Ave.)
• Saturday, November 17 – Lethbridge, AB (Pop’s Taphouse South)
• Friday, November 23 – Pincher Creek, AB (Two Sisters Magik Pantry)
• Friday, November 30 – Crowsnest Pass, AB (Pure Country Bar & Grill)
• Friday, December 7 – Castle Mountain Resort, AB (T-Bar Pub & Grub)

We hope to see you out!

Our fourth and final Full Moon Snowshoe & Fine Dining Experience will take place on Friday, March 30th; this time we’ve really outdone ourselves! For the fourth and final rendition of this event, we’ll enjoy our first course trail-side, about 2/3rd’s of the way through your snowshoe back to the base. Castle’s Powder Stagecoach will even make an appearance, for this special amuse-bouche, beverage, and trail-side bonfire.

Our experience takes us first up the Huckleberry Chairlift, shortly prior to last chair, where we’ll snowshoe a special route, down to the Westcastle Valley. Since the majority of this route is downhill, this one is easy to moderate with no snowshoeing experience required to participate. This is a fully guided experience, which ensures a safe and informative snowshoeing experience.

Chef Stuart Allen will be preparing a fine feast, paired with specially selected beverages and wines for you to enjoy.

Learn More

We loved hearing all your feedback throughout the weekend.  Feel free to comment on this blog as well.  We’re having a debrief on Wednesday where we will deconstruct this years Huck Fest, and start planning for 2018 and the 23rd Annual Huckleberry Festival!

 Click for the full Huckleberry Festival 2017 Schedule

Where are the berries?

Huckleberries are located all across the mountains but the easiest access to berries will be off the Huckleberry Chairlift. Berries can be found off the main Huckleberry ski runs, in our cat-ski terrain (Haig Ridge) and in the Haig Valley on the way out to Haig Lake. Huckleberries thrive in higher elevation environments which is why they’re plentiful in the sub-alpine regions of Castle Mountain Resort; not necessarily in the base area.

Our friends at Alberta Environment and Parks would like us to remind you to please pick only ripe berries.

Riding the lift

The Huckleberry Chairlift will upload guests from 10 AM to 2:30 PM on both Saturday and Sunday. Downloading on the lift is also possible but, due to the design of our triple chair, 1 out of every 5 chairs can be loaded with guests on the way down. This means that wait times at the summit, for downloading, can be a bit lengthy (30 minutes +). Generally we will download until there is no longer a lineup at the top. On a busy Saturday we’ll still be downloading guests at 4:30 PM.

New this year are washroom facilities at the Huckleberry summit as well as refreshments being available (bottled non-alcoholic beverages, snacks) to help you out if you’re feeling snacky or you really just need to, you know, go! Not down with waiting? Take the Haig Ridge trail downward to where it connects with Haig Lake South trail, and follow it all the way to the base. We’ll have an abundance of summer trail maps on hand or you can click here.

A friendly reminder to those looking to take infants up the chair; they must be in a child carrier, controlled /harnessed to the adult at all times. Children and adults are able to ride the chair but pets and bicycles are not permitted on the lift.

You’re in bear country

While you will be surrounded by friends, family, and soon-to-be friends, you’re still in bear country and hiking in the back country. We would like to suggest that you travel in groups, make lots of noise (talking loudly), and carry bear spray. Bear encounters are rare and extremely unlikely at an event of this size. Still, it’s better safe than sorry and bear spray will be available for purchase in the base area should you need it. Any bear encounters should be reported to any staff or volunteers, who will be easily identifiable by their extreme orange Huckleberry shirts. A bear encounter at Huckleberry Fest has not been reported, in recent history.

For more on being Bear Smart, follow the link to best practices as indicated by Alberta Environment and Parks.

All-access pass / Season Pass Pick-up

Huckleberry Festival all-access passes have been pre-printed and are available for pickup, upon arrival, at Castle Mountain Resort Guest Services. Hours are 9 AM to 4 PM on Saturday and 9 AM to 2 PM on Sunday. Arriving on Friday? The office will be open from 9 AM to 4 PM as well.

If you’ve purchased your 2017-2018 season pass, you can get them printed and pick them up this weekend as well! Students will require proof of enrollment to pick-up their pass (letter from registrar or course timetable) and those under the age of majority (18) will require a parent to sign their waiver before a pass will be issued. Passes, at our summer sale rates, can be purchased in person or online at anytime.

Didn’t get an all-access pass?

While the Huckleberry Festival all-access pass was only available for sale until Thursday evening at 11:59:59 PM, day of chairlift tickets (single ride only), lunch tickets, and tickets for our pig roast will be available through Castle Mountain Resort Guest Services. Saturday’s continental breakfast and Sunday’s buffet breakfast will both take place in the T-Bar Pub and can be purchased there. Saturday’s BBQ Lunch tickets and the Pig Roast will sell out so it’s best to get them in the morning through Guest Services. Any remaining tickets will be available at the time of the event; again, if there are tickets remaining available (no guarantee here)

Guest Services hours will be 9 AM to 4 PM on Saturday and 9 AM to 2 PM on Sunday.

Fire Ban / Smoking Ban

For quite sometime there has been a fire ban and restrictions on recreational OHV’s across southwestern Alberta. This includes Castle Mountain Resort. While you should consult the Alberta Fire Bans website for additional details, open fires, charcoal briquettes, turkey fryers, tiki torches, and fireworks are all prohibited.

Furthermore, Castle Mountain Resort asks all guests to refrain from smoking on the mountain. Cigarette butt receptacles are located in the vicinity of the T-Bar Pub & Grub and the Day Lodge. Please do not discard your butts on the mountain, period. Conditions continue to be tinder dry and one careless act is all it will take.

Camping

Powered sites at Castle Mountain Resort are sold out for the weekend, but parking lot camping is available at a cost of $15 / night (includes access to our wash-house shower and washroom facilities). Parking lot camping is available in designated areas only and a permit is required from Guest Services. Formal and informal camping is available in Castle Provincial Park. For more information please visit the Castle Provincial Park site or call 403-627-1165.

Pack it in, Pack it out

Last but not least, let’s all be great environmental stewards this weekend. Garbage of any sort, even the peel from your fruit, doesn’t belong in the Castle. Leaving even a trace of food can lead to the wild animals becoming accustomed to human food. Our carelessness can lead to the relocation or even the death of a wild animal; not cool if you ask us.

Garbage receptacles and recycling bins can be found throughout the base area as well as at the summit of Huckleberry Chair. Pack out your trash until you reach one of these locations please! Remember, this pristine mountain environment is the home of the animals. We are only guests.

 Enjoy the weekend!

Over the years Huckleberry Festival has seen many changes, with this year being no exception. Perhaps the biggest change for this year’s festival is that it will encompass the entire weekend, with events starting on Friday evening running through to the afternoon on Sunday.

The Huckleberry Chairlift will operate on both Saturday and Sunday for those looking for a lift to prime berry picking areas or those just looking to enjoy a relaxing summer chairlift ride. The running of the chairlift both days will also be helpful to hikers looking for quick access to mid-mountain and alpine hiking trails. This past June, Castle Mountain Resort and the Castle Mountain Community Association signed and marked a number of hiking trails at the resort which have been popular with locals for years; welcome news for those not so familiar with the area.

Live music is teed up all weekend long, in the base area and at the T-Bar Pub & Grub. Performances by Elk, Run & Riot, Tin & The Toad, and The Tumbleweeds are expected and can be enjoyed completely free of charge. Other free events include face painting and a bouncy Castle for kids, a vendor marketplace featuring local businesses and artisans, and a beer tasting on Friday evening (must be legal drinking age). A guided hike is also scheduled to take place on Sunday morning.

Also new this year is the Huckleberry all-access pass, for those looking to take in all the aspects of Huckleberry Festival, at our best value. Priced at $69 / adults (13+) and $49 / children (6-12), the pass doesn’t simply act as a take-home souvenir but provides a guest with unlimited scenic lift rides and a weekend of scrumptious meals. Available online, in-advance only (check back soon!) as a stand-alone product or as a package with on-mountain accommodation at the Castle Mountain Lodge and Hostel. Single meal and single lift ride tickets will be available on-site during the event.

For a full schedule of events, click here!!

Friday – 3pm – 10pm
Saturday – 11am – 10pm
Sunday – 10am – 4pm

Castle Lodge Children’s Party

Family New Years Eve Celebration at Castle Lodge.

Time: 4:30 pm – 6:00pm (mock countdown at 5:30)

Place: Castle Mountain Lodge Fire Pit (outside event so to dress warm!)

Cost: FREE

Free Bowl of Chili and Smores kit for all children around the warm fire!

Come celebrate the arrival of Happy New year 2017!  Mock count down with music, fireworks and glow sticks

T-Bar Entertainment

The Y Brothers

Tickets $45 – Includes complimentary appetizer buffet including pizza

Daylodge Party

The Gaff

General Admission – $25 (SOLD OUT)

VIP – $75  Includes private room with bar, complimentary appetizer buffet

VIP tickets include a glass of champagne at midnight.

Tickets are available on a first come first served basis at Guest Services.