Mount Assiniboine
British Columbia, Canada
Mount Assiniboine Park is world-renowned for its lakes, glaciers, peaks, and alpine meadows. The park is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mount Assiniboine itself sits on the continental divide near the southeast corner of the park, at an elevation of 3,618 m. I believe this is the heart of the Canadian Rockies with legendary views. Ive never seen a landscape as beautiful and as stark as this one!
Route
Lake Magog, Sunburst and Cerulean Lakes, Nub Peak
-
40 mile loop
-
3 nights/4 days
-
Hard
-
Dog Friendly (on leash)
-
Park at Mount Shark parking lot
-
Start at the Mount Shark Trailhead
-
Night 1-3 : camp at Lake Magog Campground
-
High clearance vehicle recommended
-
When to go : July - September
-
Backcountry permit required to camp (lottery permits available through BC Parks website) Booking opens 4 months before desired dates.
NOTE
You are in Grizzly Territory. Every person should be carrying bear spray. Each campsite that you reserve comes with a bear bin, and designated eating areas. Dogs are allowed, but there are strict rules. Rules come with your permit reservations as well as food storage/where to eat instructions.
If you choose not to backpack in, you can take a helicopter in and reserve lodge permits (dogs not allowed in lodges or in helicopter).
AllTrails Link
NIGHT 1 : Lake Magog Campground
I was so excited to have landed these permits! Make sure when your ready to book that you have an account with BC Parks and your logged in before the reservation window opens online. The Mount Shark Trailhead is about 1.5 hours away from Canmore. The entire road is dirt and washboardy, so you don't need a high clearance vehicle, but you will need some good suspension! Before we drove out, we dropped off our bags at the Mount Shark Heli port to get our bags flown in to save on weight. The hike to our campground is about 15.4 miles. Be sure to check in with your permits at the Assiniboine Lodge with the Warden and pick up your bags if it was flown in. He will verify your stay and confirm which campsite you are staying in. Be sure to be at the lodge for tea time and cake at 3 pm each day! Cash only! He also informed us there is a strict policy with food and dogs. He won't hesitate to evict you if you eat or store any food in your tent. Same goes for any off leash dogs. These actions can attract grizzlies which puts everyone at risk. Each campground has its own designated eating areas and make sure to hang your permit on your tent!
Day 2 : Sunburst & Cerulean Lakes & Nub Peak
We spent the morning checking out Lake Magog and Ben did some quality fishing! Caught a huge rainbow trout that was a foot long! We told that morning that 2 grizzlies were hanging out by the lake, so we were a bit nervous. We continued our trek to Sunburst Lake with was so beautiful. Definitely my favorite lake in the area witch a stark view of Sunburst Peak. We fished a little bit in Cerulean Lake and made a quick stop at Elizabeth Lake. Weather started to roll in so we knew we had to hustle to Nub Peak to get the view we've been dying to see! The trail starts to steepen a bit on your way to Nub Peak, but nothing too technical. Hikers would pass by us saying there was a Grizzly ahead but we actually never saw one! Nub Peak was gorgeous and was the only time we got to see Mount Assiniboine clearly before it down poured on us for 2 days straight.
Day 3 : Wonder Pass & Marvel Lake Trail
The next 2 days were brutal. A thunderstorm blew in and we didn't get to see much of Assinboine or the other lakes for the rest of the trip so it was cut a day short. We had a long 16 mile day out through Wonder Pass and it rained the entire time. We were soaked for 8 hours straight. Didn't get any views of Marvel Lake, which we chose to exit that way for the legendary views and we didn't get to see any of it! We want to again so bad and hopefully we won't get caught in weather next time!
