Plans for large Revelstoke heli-ski lodge rejected following public opposition
Published 6:03 pm Tuesday, August 25, 2026
A Revelstoke heli-skiing company won’t be proceeding with long-sought plans to rezone and transform a rural lot north of town into an all-season lakefront lodge.
The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) has denied Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing (STHS) a third reading on its Mars Creek Wilderness Lodge proposal, which required a zoning bylaw and official community plan (OCP) amendment for Area B.
STHS’s application for the property — 65 hectares located at Mars Creek off Highway 23 and Lake Revelstoke, about 45 kilometres from Revelstoke — originally came to the CSRD in December 2023.
The parcel has been privately owned since 1990 and was obtained by STHS from Buddy McKenzie, but the company hoped to switch the property from a small-holdings residential space to a commercial resort lot for development.
READ: Selkirk Tangiers nears 2nd reading on heli-ski lodge north of Revelstoke
If approved, the planned resort would’ve included 100 guest units, 50 staff units, 12 camping spaces, a spa, wellness centre, après bar and dining facilities, as well as a 10-berth marina and boat launch. It also promised to accommodate other activities such as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, biking, hiking, fishing and kayaking.
The resort would’ve been the biggest development of its kind between Revelstoke and Mica Dam.
STHS flies guests to more than 400 ski runs across 200,000 ha of backcountry tenure in the Columbia Mountains. The concept of the lodge was primarily meant to provide faster access to these runs, while also reducing air traffic congestion in Revelstoke by relocating some helicopters out of town.
Last summer the company told Black Press Media it didn’t intend to add helicopters or expand heli-ski tenure farther into the Selkirk or Monashee mountains, and wanted to preserve the look and feel of the forested Mars Creek lot.
After a quiet public information session, the proposal passed first reading back in August 2024, then second reading last March.
However, things had gotten loud this past winter when sledders who saw the rezoning application notice at Mars Creek voiced concerns to the BC Snowmobile Federation, and rallied support on social media to counter potential expansion of heli-ski tenure into snowmobiling lands.
READ: Heli-ski lodge proposed north of Revelstoke heads to public hearing
At a public hearing at the Revelstoke Community and Aquatic Centre in June, dozens of residents and stakeholders from town and Area B further took to the mic to oppose the development. Sledders, environmentalists, anglers, hunters, rural property and campground owners, and longtime locals raised myriad issues with STHS’s plans for the land, over the course of nearly three hours.
On Thursday, Aug. 20, when the CSRD board of directors reconvened, Area B director David Brooks-Hill tabled a motion to deny third reading for the zoning and OCP amendment.
With the matter seconded by Area A director Dean Trumbley, Brooks-Hill reflected on the heavy opposition he’d watched the proposal face at the June hearing.
“It was, since I’ve been elected, by far the biggest and most sort of heated public hearing we’ve had,” said Brooks-Hill, who’s been with the CSRD for nearly eight years. “I didn’t expect it, but I’ve never seen such a sort of united opposition to a proposal.”
This included more than 40 written submissions petitioning the CSRD not to grant third reading.
Given the large scale of the proposed development, Brooks-Hill said he “can’t support changing the OCP so drastically.” He expressed skepticism that the proposal even fits the parameters of an OCP amendment.
“It would totally change the character of the area,” he told the CSRD board. “There’s nothing, anything like this anywhere near there. It is kind of a tourist attraction, but also all the locals in Revelstoke and Area B around there, this is where they go to camp and sort of get away.”
READ: Heli-ski lodge proposal draws heavy flak from Revelstoke community
He added that it “bothers” him that this development could potentially house hundreds of people, yet has no defined source of power and may rely largely on diesel. This would go against STHS’s intentions, as stated last year, to run the lodge mostly off-grid.
“This (is) a small cabin on a few acres of land,” he said. “Changing it to a massive resort like this, powered by diesel generators, is a pretty severe change, and clearly not one supported by the public.”
Area C director Marty Gibbons sided with Brooks-Hill’s concerns and agreed with his motion to reject the application.
“A big part of this is, is this in the public interest?” he said. “A lot of the comments — the use of helicopters, the noise, the effect on wildlife — although we’re not directly responsible for those areas, our action will enable this, and will take it out of the community’s hands and put it into (the hands of) a provincial bureaucrat.”
The board unanimously voted in favour of denying third reading, ending STHS’s nearly three-year push for the Mars Creek Wilderness Lodge.