Mount Assiniboine

Mount Assiniboine rises to three thousand six hundred and eighteen metres in a sharp pyramid that drew the Matterhorn comparison from the first climbers, and it stands above Lake Magog in a park that has deliberately never been given road access. Getting there means walking around twenty-seven kilometres over a pass from Sunshine Meadows or Mount Shark, or taking a helicopter that flies on set days. Accommodation is a lodge built in 1928, huts, or the Magog campground. The park is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO listing. Larch turn gold in late September, which is the most competitive time to get a booking.

What you actually see

• The pyramid peak - Assiniboine standing alone above Lake Magog.
• The hike-in access - twenty-seven kilometres over a pass, or a helicopter.
• The 1928 lodge - one of the oldest backcountry lodges in the Rockies.
• The larch season - gold trees around the lakes in late September.

When to go

July to September; the larch window in late September is short and bookings for it open a year ahead and fill within hours. Snow closes the passes outside summer.

Honest expectations

There is no road, and the walk in is long with a serious pass. Helicopter flights run only on certain days and are weather-dependent. Lodge and campground bookings are among the hardest to get in Canada.

Nearby

Banff lies northeast; Canmore is the usual staging town.