MadMountainMegan

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is situated between Kootenay National Park and Banff National Park. It can only be accessed by foot, horse or helicopter. There’s a few ways to hike into Assiniboine, the two most common are hiking in from Mount Shark and Sunshine Meadows. Mount Shark trail head is located in the middle of the Smith Dorrien road and Sunshine Meadows is located at the base of Sunshine Ski Resort. Both ways are about a 27km-30km long and travel over a mountain pass. They both have campgrounds to stop at. The other most common method is to helicopter in. You can helicopter from either Canmore or Mount Shark. Mount Shark has the most departure times and is about an 8 min ride. In the park there is a full service lodge, cabins and a campground. We were lucky to get a cabin through the lodge so I will talk about our booking experience, our stay, our helicopter in, our hikes in the park and our hike out. I have not booked any campsites so I will include what I do know in the side notes section.

Booking the hut

The Assiniboine lodge offers a cheaper version of there lodge, these are called the Naiset huts. I will describe there amenities in a separate paragraph. If you check the Mount Assiniboine Lodge website they will have a date, usually in January when booking opens for the Naiset huts. On booking day you must call the phone number. However, the hold line can only hold 25 callers at a time. So, you and about 1000 other people are trying to call for the exact moment, once a caller speaks to an employee and a spot in line opens. This usually will result in a voicemail. I called from 0800am to 1:15pm until I finally got in line. I probably called about 2000 times, because I had my call time down to about 3 seconds. Once in the hold line you are placed on hold until it is your turn to speak to an operator. This took me 2 hours and 30 minute’s. Long time. When you speak to the operator they are quick and to the point. They will ask you your dates and how many people. I asked for the biggest cabin and said I didn’t care what dates. So, they gave me a few to choose from and I picked from there. YOUR CABIN DATES MUST ALIGN WITH THE HELICOPTER FLYING DATES EVEN IF YOU ARE HIKING IN OR OUT. This is for emergencies. The Helicopter fly’s Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. It is better to be flexible with dates as I have heard of people getting through and not being able to do the dates they wanted, resulting in not going.

Naiset Huts

There are 5 huts that hold different amount of people. The huts have bunk beds, matteress pads, wood burning stoves and hooks to hang things. The huts get extremely warm at night due to there size and body heat. There are 2 out houses with toilet paper and sanitizer. Also there is a water tap with non potable water and a cooking shelter. The cooking shelter has a large bear bin for each cabin. A foyer had info about Assiniboine park, a place to store boots and coats. The cooking shelter has 3 large picnic tables. Around 8 gas stoves, a sink with non potable water, pots, pans, cooking utensils, cleaning supplies and counters for cooking. The shelter also has gas lights and is warm when people are cooking. This is a shared space.

The Helicopter

The helicopter is around $270 dollars and is optional. On the Assiniboine confirmation email you will get a date the helicopter booking opens. On this date you can go to the website and reserve inbound and outbound helicopters. You will need your confirmation code, first and last name of each guest and weight. Assiniboine Lodge and Naiset Hut guests get first dibs on the helicopters. You can take a helicopter from Canmore. It only leaves once a day, it costs a little more and holds 6 people. The helicopter will email you a time to be at the pad. They like you to arrive early to arrange all your gear. You can not have anything on the outside of your pack, like poles. Extra luggage are is an extra charge. The staff will tag everything and check your gear. When you arrive at the parking lot the pad is a short walk. They have a billboard with your name and your flight number. Your group may be split due to weight. They will give you a safety briefing on the helicopter and tell you when to load. The helicopter lands very close to the huts. The staff have a list of what hut you will be in.

Hikes in the Area

We only did 2 hikes while in the area so I will describe those 2 and mention the other ones we looked at in the Side Notes section. I will describe our hike out in a separate section.

The niblet and nublet

Distance: 7.6km round trip from Nublet Elevation:500m approximately

This hike is the premier hike of Assiniboine. This is where everyone gets the photos of the Mount Assiniboine with Lake Magog. It is short and steep. We did this hike right after dinner and the lighting was stunning.

Starting at the Naiset huts hike on a nice, wide, well beaten and a well marked path through the lodge area. This section is flat and provides good views of the lake and lodge. Past the lodge you will go straight following the signs. The path is wide, well beaten down and begins to go up. It is very steep as you head up the trees. Eventually you will reach and open grassy area. You have reached the Niblet. Some people stop here and then turn around. We stopped to take photos as you have a good view of the main lake but also Sunburst and Cerulean Lakes. Continue through the flat meadow, you soon reach a rocky trail heading steep upwards. The trail is well defined and easy to follow, however there is a lot of rocks, and slippery dirt. There were a few spots of mild exposure**. The top is a large open grassy and muddy area. It provides good views of the Mount Assiniboine area but also the neighboring valleys.

Wonder Pass and wonder Viewpoint

Distance: 7.8km round trip from viewpoint          Elevation: 300m approximately

Wonder pass is one way you can enter Mount Assiniboine from Mount Shark. However, it provides good view of the neighboring Marvel Lake and valley as well as the Assiniboine park.

From the Naiset Huts head south on the boardwalk following the signs for Wonder Pass. The hike passes by nearby lakes and is mainly flat until you start to climb the pass. The trail is wide, well beaten and in good shape. The switch backs are gentle and climb through the trees. You eventually come out of the trees and walk a gentle open incline to the pass. The Mount Assiniboine sign marks the top of the pass. Heading towards the viewpoint you go gently down into the pass. The pass is beautiful as it is surrounded by alpine flowers and trees. Head slightly left on an unmarked path. The official trail will lead you down the pass to Marvel Lake. The path winds through the meadow in the pass, eventually you come to a hill with rocks. The climb is steep through the loose rocks but manageable. You come to a flat rocky area with alpine shrubs. The view point is straight ahead and marked by a cairn**. You will now have views of a neighboring glacier and Marvel Lake.

Hiking from Assiniboine to sunshine meadows

This hike is roughly 27km not including the ski out if you do not take the gondola. Most people go from the meadows to Assiniboine, however we went the opposite way. The hike was challenging, we were hot and tired, I did block out some of the hike, but it was very rewarding and scenic. I was happy we did it.

We woke up at 4:30 am and left around 5:30 am. We were trying to get to the gondola in time before it closes as well as beat the heat. Starting from the Naiset huts the hike was pretty flat and easy to Og Lake. This section was about 5km. Og Lake campground has outhouses. From Og Lake to Porcupine the trail goes up and down through forests and large bouldered areas. There are a few streams to fill up waters. We were told from a ranger to not go to Porcupine campground if we can because it is a large detour. After the Porcupine turn off,you travel on a flat path around the mountain. You end at the base of the pass. The pass is steep and through the trees with switchbacks. You will soon reach the top of the first pass which has some small lakes situated on the top, these are called tarns** not a good place to fill water if you can as tarns do not have moving water. Travel through the alpine forest in the Citadel Pass, the views are amazing and you can still see Mount Assiniboine. There was a lot of mud. The hike was pretty flat and smooth sailing to Howard Douglas campground. However there were a few hills leading up to the end of the Citadel Pass which nearly ended me as they were straight up, steep and it was hot. The views are stunning in this section however. We took a break at the last hill of the pass before it descends down to the area before Sunshine Meadows and flattens out. You have the option to detour to Rock Isle Lake but we were nearly dead so we did not. You soon enter the meadows and meet many people and tourists on the trail,as this is a popular attraction near Banff. Walk along the gravel road you will end at Trappers, which is the pub at Sunshine which serves food and beer. The gondola is $55 down or you can take the ski out which is another 9km down a dusty road. If you have bought your early bird seasons pass it includes the summer gondola as well.

Side Notes

• You can stay at Magog Lake campground which is reservable on BC parks. You can also stay at Mount Assiniboine Lodge which provides full meals and is FAR out of my budget. Check website for details.
• You can also stay at campgrounds outside of the park and pass through Assiniboine park or not have to hike the 30km in one day. You can find these campgrounds on the BC parks website and Banff National Park.
• Another way into the park is to hike the Assiniboine pass which is a little easier then Wonder Pass.
• Helicopter list fills up, book right away to ensure your spot or be on the wait list.
• We started at Mount Shark and ended in Sunshine. We left two cars prior to departing at Sunshine so they would be waiting for us. Taxis are very expensive and there is no shuttle.
• You can also hike Windy Ridge, Wonder peak, Sunburst peak and around the Sunburst and Cerulean lakes. There are also plenty of scrambles and some mountaineer Mount Assiniboine. There is an alpine hut on the mountain called Hind Hut, you can reserve for mountaineering.
• Lake Magog is lovely for swimming and even fishing.
• Every day when the helicopter is not flying they hold “Happy hour” on the front porch of the lodge. They serve drinks, food and beer. You can not go in the lodge and are only allowed on property right at 3pm. We called this “peasant tea” Cash only.
• A ranger comes every evening to the huts and campground to post weather and check on everyone.
• There is limited water the sunshine route in end of July to end of August, be prepared.
• Cairn: a pile of rocks marking a trail.
• Exposure: steep section on trail with a large drop off.

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