How to book Lake Magog, Og Lake and Porcupine in Mount Assiniboine Park, what books through the lodge instead, and how to catch a cancelled night.
About the park
Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is on the B.C. side of the Alberta border, about 48 km southwest of Banff, and its core area around Lake Magog sits below Mount Assiniboine itself. There's no road in: Assiniboine Lodge puts the lodge 26 km from the nearest road, so you hike or ski in, or fly in on the lodge helicopter (campers need a confirmed BC Parks campground reservation to book a seat). Fires are prohibited in the core area. BC Parks has the park page and advisories.
Where to stay
Bookable through BC Parks, and watched by Canada Camp Alerts:
Booked through Assiniboine Lodge, not monitored:
- Assiniboine Lodge: requests for summer 2027 were taken in August 2026, with answers by mid-December. Winter 2027 is sold out.
- Naiset Huts: winter 2027 bookings open December 8, 2026 (phone or email); summer 2027 bookings open January 12, 2027, at 8:30 a.m. MT, by phone or online.
- R.C. Hind Hut: 12 places for mountaineers, C$30 per person.
- O'Brien Meadows group campground: booked through the lodge office from May 11, 2027.
How booking works
The three campgrounds book at camping.bcparks.ca up to three months before arrival, opening at 7 a.m. PT. Assiniboine Lodge lists the reservation period as June 26 to September 30; outside it you register a backcountry permit, up to two weeks ahead. Fees are C$25 per adult per night, C$5 per youth (6–15) and a C$20 non-resident fee per trip, and BC Parks says they're increasing. Any one park is capped at 14 nights per calendar year. Last checked: October 2026.
When it books out
Because each night opens exactly three months ahead, summer weekends at Magog tend to go on their opening morning. Og Lake and Porcupine are worth a look when Magog is gone, and midweek or September nights give you the best odds.
Getting a cancelled spot
The BC Parks cancellation rules refund camping fees (minus C$6 per tent pad) more than 7 days before arrival; inside 7 days one night per person is kept, and on the arrival day two. That puts most cancellations just before the 7-day mark and in the final week.
Set a watch on one campground, or on all three, with your first and last night, and we'll alert you when a sold-out night has a free tent pad. Alerts are per night per watch: we don't match the same camp across nights or your party size, and we don't hold or book anything. You book at camping.bcparks.ca. The free plan gives one watch with email alerts 15 minutes after we spot an opening; the season pass is C$25 once for 12 months (no auto-renew), with up to 10 watches, instant alerts, and Telegram and browser push.