It was a cold, rainy day and Mount Assiniboine had vanished beneath the clouds. Perfect for touring the lakes! This is a short, easy hike, suitable for everyone.
SUMMARY:
Trailhead: Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park
Map: Park Map
Distance, Loop: 4.5km
Elevation: +120m
Trailhead and Sunburst Lake
Starting at the Lake Magog campground, follow the trail north over a ridge to Sunburst Lake.
Sunburst Lake is a small, beautiful lake and the site of Sunburst cabin where Lizzie Rummel lived for many years. Sunburst lake is just 10 minutes away from the campground and we returned later in the evening to cook dinner in the sun.
Cerulean Lake
Cerulean Lake is beside Sunburst, but it is much bigger. The trail winds along the shore and then offers a junction up to Elizabeth Lake or onwards towards Mitchell Meadows and Ferro Pass. We went onwards in order to make a longer loop and come up from behind Elizabeth Lake later on.
As the trail left Cerulean Lake, it skirted the edge of a valley and offered awesome views into the basins beyond. Mount Wedgwood’s glaciers were on display, hanging just below the clouds.
Elizabeth Lake
As we left the junction for Mitchell Meadows/Ferro Pass, the trail began to climb. Elizabeth Lake sits in a basin high above Cerulean and Sunburst.
It started to rain as we crossed the creek draining from Elizabeth Lake. I snapped a quick picture and then we headed back to camp for lunch.
[…] Mt. Assiniboine: Sunburst, Cerulean, Elizabeth Lakes […]
Hello great blog! I’ve a question on trails from Assiniboine to Kootenay Rockwall. We were thinking of taking the Simpson ferro pass but read about a couple of bridges around the trail which don’t function anymore. Do you know if the trail can still be used for hiking from assiniboine to kootenay?
Hi Alicia, I haven’t hiked in from Simpson River, but I understand the main suspension bridge is down. There is some info about this on the Mount Assiniboine Lodge website: http://assiniboinelodge.com/general-info/hiking-and-assiniboine