Mount Assiniboine Camping Elopement

Banff Helicopter Backpacking Adventure

Leah and Andrew

Mount Assiniboine Camping Elopement

This Mount Assiniboine camping elopement just outside of Banff, Alberta was such a fun adventure wedding in the mountains! Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is a remote area in the Canadian Rocky Mountains that borders Banff National Park in Alberta and Kootenay National Park in BC. The only way you can access this stunning wilderness is by hiking 30km or by helicopter. Once you are in the park you can camp, stay in the rustic Nasiet huts or treat yourself at the beautiful Mount Assiniboine Lodge. The limited accommodation makes this area a truly special and isolated experience for anyone who loves nature and the feeling of disconnecting from the urban world. For this reason, this is one of our favourite places to visit. Especially in the fall when the larch trees turn the alpine landscape bright yellow.

How to Choose the Perfect Place for your Adventure Elopement

We always suggest you choose your location on what you want to experience on your day. Leah and Andrew live in Ontario but lived in remote BC for years really missed camping and exploring in the mountains. For their elopement day they wanted to experience something different and go on an unforgettable adventure in the mountains. They had always wanted to explore Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park and this to them was the perfect opportunity to create some amazing memories there. When planning the logistics of their day, they decided to take a helicopter in one way and hike the 30km on the way out. This way they could make the most of both experiences.

To read more about this topic check out our resource blog how to choose the best elopement location in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Hiking and Camping in the Canadian Rocky Mountains

Planning an adventure camping elopement is a lot different from planning a traditional wedding. It’s just you and your loved one, your tent, a map and your hiking boots! Once you pick your dream location and book your campsite you can really start thinking about what you want to experience together.

This camping adventure was very laid back and we kept our timeline open so we could make plans to take advantage of the best weather. We met up at the Mt Shark helipad in Kananaskis with our bags packed and ready to get on the helicopter. The short flight in is incredible, flying over alpine lakes and beside rugged cliffs. We were then reunited with out backpacks and made the short hike along Magog Lake to our campsite. Finding the best campsite is one of my favourite ways to start the adventure. Two tent pads that stood out to us were nestled in the forest with an incredible view of the peaks around us. While studying our topo map, we brewed some coffee and made a plan for the two days of adventuring around this autumn paradise.

If you are planning an adventure wedding check out our resource blog about how to create an adventure elopement packing list.

Sunset Scrambles and Sunrise Vows with the Most Amazing View

Leah and Andrew packed in their wedding clothes and knew they wanted to have a first look and say their vows together at sunrise the next day. We decided to make the most of the amazing afternoon and headed out on a scrambling adventure up to the top of the peak right behind our tents. In the photos, you can see the amazing bird’s eye view we got of our campground while hiking up.

That night we got a good sleep before our early wake-up call for their sunrise adventure! We hiked through the night by headlamp up to our favourite view in the park. Soft clouds and smoke from a distant wildfire painted the landscape around us in soft light. Leah and Andrew got changed and met up on a point overlooking the peak we had climbed the night before. It was nothing short of magic. They then shared some private vows to one another, making promises to make the most of this amazing life they share together. We then explored this incredible area before making our way back down to our campsite for a big breakfast.

Glacier Lake Swims and Sleeping Under the Stars

We decided to head down to the lake for the afternoon as we were all feeling tired from our sunset and sunrise adventures. We brought some cards, some wine and found some lawn chairs crafted by someone before us out of slabs of rock. Leah and Andrew jumped in the freezing cold glacier lake and then we all napped in the sun. It was the perfect way to spend the day. This gave us enough energy to go exploring for sunset and we found the most amazing golden field to play in for golden hour. By the time we got back to our tents, the stars were out and we took a few final photos under the Milky Way.

Everything about this adventure was so beautiful and we hope it inspires you to dream up something different for your elopement day. We can’t thank Leah and Andrew enough for inviting us along and we had the best time getting to share these unforgettable memories with them.