Hiking in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park
Assiniboine Provincial Park serves up some of the best trails and views that the Canadian Rockies has to offer. Here’s a few tales, some photos of my experiences within the park and some pointers for a first-time visit - even during a pandemic!
A Marriage of Nature and Fairytale
It’s early morning at the helipad, the rain is pouring and a there’s a faint rumble echoing from the distant valley. Lots of tired eyes anxiously scan their surroundings for confirmation of a collective nervous energy - a silent buzz that is slowly breaking its confinement as the distant rumble nears. Or maybe it’s just the coffee. A truck pulls into view and an immaculately groomed gentleman steps out into the rain dressed in a tuxedo as the sea of anxious eyes look on, housed in their contrastingly practical waterproof clothing. A voice from the crowd calls out and questions the man in an attempt to solve the mystery of this juxtaposition, to which the man replies, “it’s my wedding day!” He then suddenly explodes with charisma and proceeds to charm everyone with a speech worthy of a standing ovation at any wedding reception. Of course it’s not just the coffee. A reminder that this is no ordinary place. You otherwise wouldn’t be able to tell due to the cloud coverage but it’s clear we’re about to embark on a very special adventure.
The distant rumble is now a roar and a helicopter is now approaching from the valley as the Jurassic Park theme starts playing, at least it does in my head. Another truck pulls around to a vibrant applause as the crowd, instantly won over by his charm, honours the groom’s request to give his bride a warm welcome. The helicopter gently lands in front of us, blasting everything nearby with waves of air, creating an epic-ness reminiscent of a 90’s power ballad music video. The truck door swings open, the bride steps out in a glowing white dress that completely clashes with the rugged environment surrounding her and the pair make a b-line to the open doors of the aircraft. With a swift turn of propellers and wave of hands, they are gone. The stillness of the nature around us returns and an audible buzz of excitement is flowing like a Mexican wave. We’re not here for the couple’s wedding but nevertheless we all eagerly wait for our time to be propelled into the same place that is deemed a fitting backdrop for the best day of their lives.
“The Matterhorn of The Rockies”
I know! What a start to our Assiniboine adventure. It was a moment that deserved its own short story. You can expect far less adjectives from here on out, I’ll let the photos do the majority of the talking. First though, some context… Mount Assiniboine is known as “the Matterhorn of The Rockies”. Located slap bang on the Great continental divide between British Columbia and Alberta, in East Kootenay and an area called Kananaskis Country within the southern Canadian Rockies, the pyramidal peak (oh yes, pyramidal… thank you Wikipedia) of Assiniboine sits atop Lake Magog at 11,870 ft and lays claim to the 150 sq. mile provincial park surrounding it. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its breathtaking views, abundance of natural wonders and endangered species.
“Assiniboine is more of an experience than your typical hiking destination”
We’d seen the ridiculous scenery of this place in countless books, Instagram feeds and articles online but nothing prepared us for its magic - Assiniboine is more of an experience than your typical hiking destination. From the first moments of waiting for that helicopter ride to the very last, we felt as if we were living in a dream. I’ll try not to get too poetic and cheesy on you, but dropping into this adventure playground and watching the helicopter disappear leaves you with an overwhelming feeling of remoteness and as you take your first steps towards camp, you honestly feel like it’s just you and the wilderness around you existing in this special bubble - so enclosed that it almost feels fictional, like you’re living in a sci-fi and have been sent into a new world that exists in its own separate reality. But then again I have been re-binging Lost recently so maybe I’m just getting carried away. It does definitely have Lost vibes about it though (minus all the flashbacks, smoke and death). Argh, I knew I’d struggle to put this place into words… please accept my best attempt and read on to hear about a few of our experiences whilst hiking here, doing it during a pandemic, some tips to help with planning your own trip and my best attempts to do this place justice in images.
The Journey
Getting to Assiniboine is no easy feat. For us it meant a 12 hour drive from Vancouver to Canmore in the heart of the Rockies, an overnight stay there, a 46km gravel road and 8-minute helicopter flight. For others not taking the helicopter, it may mean all of the above plus a hefty 27km hike on-foot to reach Assiniboine Lodge. Having just visited Lake O’Hara in Yoho National Park just a few days prior to this trip, where we literally hiked our socks off, we opted for the luxury of the heli. Another consideration is that here in Kananaskis Country, bear activity is seriously high and we’d heard of numerous recent encounters on the route into the park - whilst not the main factor in our decision to heli it (we’ve hiked backcountry bear territory before) it was definitely a contributing one. To heli in you’ll have to drop roughly $200 per person and we’re talking about a mere 8-minute flight! But oh my word…
“The variety of terrain that you cover is completely mind-blowing.”
We were a little worried when we arrived at the helipad to rain and cloud but in the first of a few signs of luck during this trip, the rain gradually eased and cloud lifted during the 1-2 hours we were waiting for our flight, and I can’t tell you how lucky we felt. Albeit only 8-minutes long, this was hands down one of the most scenic 8-minutes of my life. The variety of terrain that you cover is completely mind-blowing. You soar above epic valleys with walls of rock that climb towards the clouds and sit alongside your window, look down on tropical-looking waters with islands and beaches, cross winding river systems and endless green/yellow meadows, cover multiple alpine lakes that glow with a turquoise hue and eventually descend around the jagged peaks of Assiniboine. An otherwise clouded Assiniboine peak had broken free of cloud cover and was shining in all its pointy gloriousness when we landed. The icing on the cake. We stumbled out of the helicopter reeling from what we had just experienced and made our way to the safe zone as the helicopter took off and disappeared en-route to pick up its next lucky candidates. We had initially planned to heli in and fly out but in the end decided to heli both ways. Here’s a mix of the views from both trips.
Base Camp
Immediately on your right as you arrive is Assiniboine Lodge. Usually accessible to all that visit the area, offering basic amenities like cold beer, hot meals and shelter, the lodge was actually closed during our visit due to the ongoing pandemic. Those camping aren’t allowed to access the lodge for safety reasons - strictly lodge guests only! The lodge is stunning and looks out over the entire Assiniboine site, with panoramic views of Lake Magog that sits below Mount Assiniboine. You’ll pay a pretty penny to stay here though and would need to be willing to part with a minimum of $400 CAD per person per night to secure one of their lodge rooms or cabin options. This is if you’re lucky enough to snag a reservation. Much like camping permits for this park, only a limited number of spaces are available each year making Assiniboine a notoriously difficult trip to book. This is partly why it sits on so many bucket lists for so long, as lots of people miss out on opportunities to book each year. However, this year was different due to the pandemic. Whether it was the decrease in demand from tourism or the slight adjustments made to the online booking system, we luckily managed to bag a two night stay at the Lake Magog campsite (most popular) just a matter of weeks before.
“You will literally sleep at the foot of one of the most iconic peaks in the world. Who needs the lodge?!”
From the lodge, on to Lake Magog we went - the very lake that you’ll be heading for if camping nearby! A short 2km walk through tranquil meadows and wooded paths - every bend providing a fresh perspective of Mount Assiniboine’s cloud-piercing arrowhead - and you’ll arrive in what is sure to be one of the most scenically-blessed campsites you’re ever likely to lay your head in. You will literally sleep at the foot of one of the most iconic peaks in the world. Who needs the lodge?!
Niblet, Nublet, Nub Peak
With our tent pitched and all of the necessary basic amenities at our disposal, we had established base camp. Now it was time to get down to business. There are endless corners to explore in Assiniboine, but there’s one corner in particular that is simply unmissable. We absolutely knew we needed to feast our eyes on the view from the endlessly admired Nub Peak area and take in the magic for ourselves. With just a short hike up Nub Peak you’re treated to one of the most insane vistas that the Rockies has to serve up. You look out over Magog, Cerulean and Sunburst lakes and the forests that separate them before your attention is drawn skywards to the jagged Sunburst Peaks that glow in front of a towering Mt Assiniboine and its hanging glacial ice.
“There was absolutely no need to walk any further. The view is perfection.”
We had read a lot about this particular hike in preparation for this trip, and noted a lot of people saying that the full hike to the top of Nub Peak isn’t necessarily worth the trip. This is because the ascent to the peak is broken into a series of stages/viewpoints (The Niblet, The Nublet and Nub Peak - I know… some interesting names) and many argue that the first viewpoint you reach (The Niblet) boasts the best view. It’s only roughly a 45 minute hike from Magog Lake campground to The Niblet viewpoint making it an easy hike to tick off first thing in the morning. We set off in complete darkness on one of the mornings and made it to the viewpoint just before the sun appeared on the horizon - a pulse-raising experience in prime bear country but one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. You can extend your hike to the peak of the Nub as mentioned, making it more of a full-on day hike, but we arrived at this view and all that we had read about The Niblet was instantly confirmed. There was absolutely no need to walk any further. The view is perfection.
On one side the moon and the night sky was emitting the last of its blue hue and on the other the fiery red sun was beginning to illuminate the scene. From The Niblet, you look out at everything almost at eye-level which gives it an enormous sense of scale - any higher than this viewpoint and you may be almost looking down at everything, which I think would really take away from how all elements in the scene just seem to align in perfect composition to one another. The alpenglow on the peaks was some of the deepest and most vibrant I've ever seen which made every scar on the rock-faces that more defined. What made all of this even more special, whether it be down to luck or the pandemic, was that we had the entire place to ourselves! Literally just us and one of the most epic sunrises we’re ever likely to experience. Something we’ll never forget.
Wonder Pass & Beyond
Wonder pass may sound like a fitting phrase to use when moving on from talking about the wonders of The Niblet to discuss other hikes that we did in the park, but it’s not just a means of transitioning - it’s an actual place. There really are no boring names in Assiniboine. Wonder Pass is a huge open expanse of wilderness that makes up part of the route in and out of the park if journeying in/out on foot. If you take the lazy (sensible) option of helicoptering in, you can still take a short hike up to the viewpoint that overlooks the epic valley of Wonder Pass - you may even come across a few other hikers crawling their way over the finish line as they approach the end of their 27km pilgrimage to Assiniboine. With the majority of our time taken up admiring the views on the ‘doorstep’ around Lake Magog and a couple of visits to The Niblet, we just about had the time to explore a couple of other spots in the park but honestly… we didn’t even scrape the surface. Feast your eyes on the wonders of wonder pass and a few other moments from the rest of our time in the park…
Until Next Time…
As far as maiden trips go, I’m proper chuffed with the memories we came away from Assiniboine with. Thinking back, I may have never felt so immersed in the remoteness of a place before. We may have only dipped our toes in all that the park has to offer but we crammed a lot into just two nights. If we’d had the option to stay longer, of course we would have been richer with experiences but there’s always next time. It’s not until you’re a tiny dot amongst the giant backdrop of Assiniboine that you truly grasp the vastness of the wonders on offer but it’s that feeling that will give you the bug to want to return next year. We met an elderly gent in our campsite who first visited the park back in the 70s and has felt its magnetic charm every year since. It’s honestly easy to understand why. The place is magic. Just you and mother nature. I think the pandemic only exaggerated this further. You’d catch him fishing by the lake during the day and then cooking up his catch of the day back at camp in the evenings, making people’s mouths water around him as they heated up their much less desirable cardboard-flavoured freeze-dried meals - us included!
The first chapter of my Assiniboine story is now written but I’m convinced it is the first of many more and I look forward to some of the more hidden gems that other trails in the park may lead me to in future.
