Assiniboine is a high alpine Park and visitors must come expecting any kind and quicky changing weather. The Park can fluctuate between ankle deep snow and temperatures in the high 20°C. You can be building a snowman one week and plunging in an alpine lake for reprieve from heat all in the span of a few days. Each day, Assiniboine Lodge Guests can chose between two guided hiking trips. One trip is easier and shorter while one is harder and longer. The guided hiking trips can be a tour of the lakes or scrambling up ridges- it really is your choice.
Grizzly bears are often seen in the summer. Encounters in the past have been mutually respectful and it is good backcountry practice to hike in groups and carry bear spray and know how to use.
The summer season at Assiniboine Lodge starts at the end of June with a celebration of the summer solstice. Signs of the quickly retreating winter are marked by buttercups and anemonies poking through the snow. The cheerful songs of the returning thrushes, the vibrant new growth of the larches and the leisurely stretching of daylight into the late evening bring magic to the awakening landscape. The fishing is always good at Asssiniboine, but early summer is a standout as the lake ice retreats. Visitors coming in early summer should bring gaitors and be prepared to weave though snow patches in typical early season Rocky Mountain hiking conditions.
As the snowline moves to the peaks, the wildflowers take advantage of the short growing season and explode into bloom in a sea of color that blankets the alpine meadows. The height of the flowers is usually is between the third week in July to the middle of August. This period is the most popular time to visit. Every color of the palette is expressed in the Indian Paintbrush, for-get-me-nots, asters and fleabane. Even mountain tops are dotted with the purple upward march of the moss champion. Paradise usually has two sides and the height of the flowers coincides with the mosquito and horseflies. A mid afternoon nap can still be enjoyed on a mountain top where the breeze keeps the insects at bay.
The frost starts nipping in the middle of August and signs of fall gradually appear turning the leaves crimson and yellow. Quietness returns to the alpine as the gophers make an early return to hibernation, the birds start heading south and the bugs face their awaited demise with the frost. The larches take center stage in the middle of September. The light softens and the valleys become golden, the mountain peaks turn white and it is not unusual to have long stretches of brilliant weather until the beginning of October.
