300px, Rainbow Lodge sat centre left at far end of lake
by grove of orange poplars on Alta Lake; Whistler sits out of view at right.
Rainbow Lodge was a small railway resort and was the first commercial fishing and weekend retreat cabin on
Alta Lake, which is now part of the Resort Municipality of
Whistler, British Columbia
Whistler (, ; , ) is a resort municipality in Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, approximately north of Vancouver and south of Pemberton, Britis ...
, and stood from 1914 to 1977.
[Christie, Jack. ''The Whistler Book: All-Season Outdoor Guide'' (Greystone Books 2005) ()] The lodge was a log cabin with peaked roof on the northwest verge of the lake by the railway line. Rainbow Lodge was among the first built along the
Pacific Great Eastern line, which as of 1915 opened from
Squamish to
Clinton, British Columbia
Clinton is a village in British Columbia, Canada, located approximately northwest of Cache Creek and 30 km south of 70 Mile House.
It is considered by some to straddle the southern edge of the Cariboo country of British Columbia, althou ...
and was one of several along the line as far as
Lillooet
Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road abo ...
where
Craig Lodge was.
Rainbow Lodge also served as the area's post office. Horse loggers were busy in the valley prior to the Second World War.
By the 1940s, Rainbow Lodge had been enlarged to serve over 100 guests, and was the most popular camping lodge west of the Rocky Mountains.
In 1948, the Philips sold the property to Alec and Audrey Greenwood.
Myrtle Philip lived in Whistler until her death in 1986. Rainbow Lodge burned down in 1977.
References
Whistler, British Columbia
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