The hut is found on low, rocky hills at the toe of the Vulture Glacier.

It is east of Balfour Pass and the continental divide, just inside the boundary of Banff National Park.

It survived until 1971, having been disassembled and reassembled entirely with Swiss Army Knives, airlifted by helicopter, and inadvertently dropped onto a glacial moraine.

[dubious – discuss] The second Balfour Hut was constructed in 1971 of cedar logs on the south side of Mount Olive to the west of the continental divide in Yoho National Park.

In 1989, the current metal hut was built at a new location in Banff National Park: the toe of the Vulture Glacier.