May 26-29, 2024.
I first learned about Waterton Lakes National Park back in 2019, when I was beginning to plan a trip to Glacier in the summer of 2020. We all know what happened that year, so Waterton remained on the back burner until now. It felt weird to book a campsite in a town inside a National Park, but this appeared to be our best option. I signed up for an account at Parks Canada, checked the calendar and typed in the number of the debit card I specifically ordered that has no foreign transaction fees. We were set!
Townsite
Our drive from Glacier across the Canadian Border was smooth sailing. No lines, no inspections, just a few questions plus our passports and we passed through. Soon, we arrived at the entrance to Waterton National Park, purchased an annual parks pass and headed into town. I’d read about the wind here, and as soon as I stepped out the van door, confirmed the rumors. I zipped up my coat all the way and we walked around the waterfront to get oriented. Since we were a little early to check into our campsite, we picked up lunch at a cafe, grabbed coffee and wandered through a few gift shops.
On first glance, our campground seemed pretty bleak. It was your typical RV park with angled parking slots lined up one after another, with just a little grass and a few small trees scattered about. But once we settled in, I realized it was actually pleasant. I enjoyed watching the flurry of ground squirrel activity as they ran about the lawn.
Bear’s Hump
We decided to hike from our campsite to the Bear’s Hump trailhead for our first excursion in the park. That added a short, relatively flat warm-up mile before the steep climb. As soon as we reached the parking area, we got our poles out in preparation for the 700′ of vertical in less than a mile. Since this is a very popular hike, I was glad that we’d waited until after dinner to start walking. The lot was almost empty.
As we huffed and puffed up each switchback, I took time to enjoy all the lovely Canadian wildflowers: paintbrush, clematis, baneberry, Canada violet and more. Each time we visit a new place I am excited to see some familiar plants while also searching for new ones.
As we came around the final turn up to the summit area, we were thoroughly blasted with wind. “And you thought it was windy at the lake?” the mountain seemed to say. We placed our bags carefully beneath the benches atop the rock outcrop and braced ourselves against the wind to take some photos. It was breathtakingly beautiful looking down at the lakeside campground, surrounded by mountain peaks. It was definitely worth the effort and weather to get up there!
We casually walked back and returned to the van well before sunset, despite having started at 7 pm. It’s so great to have this much daylight for playing outside and being able to start walking right from camp.
Red Rock Canyon and Goat Lake
Our trip to Waterton was a little early for many of the classic hikes due to snow in the upper mountains. But based on our conversations with the ranger, we thought we’d give Goat Lake a try. The hike begins from the Red Rock Canyon area, which is also a destination of a scenic drive. However the hike turned out, I knew we’d have a great day.
We arrived to a parking area that was buzzing with activity. We geared up for our hike and decided to immediately do a short detour along the Red Rock Canyon Loop, a paved trail around the aptly named little canyon. The rock was very beautiful, as was the plethora of wildflowers all around. Many others were there enjoying the canyon, so I was a little itchy to start hiking up the trail.
As soon as we veered off to hike towards Goat Lake, we were stuck behind a group of birders excitedly pointing their binoculars up to the trees. As we sneaked past them, I listened closely to figure out what the hubbub was about. A western tanager. We got some distance up the trail, then stopped, looked and listened. There! He was the first of many birds today.
The trail follows an old fire road through some gentle ups and downs and a couple of creek crossings. We learned that the entire area had burned in a 2017 fire that impacted 80% of the park! We looked through the charred remains of tree trunks for evidence of bears, elk or any other large animals but never found anything more notable than our tanager.
Huge mountains with sheer rock faces created a horizon line far above the treetops. It was a stark, beautiful landscape. Once we left the birders behind, we didn’t encounter anyone else heading up the trail. There was peace in this solitude.
We reached the junction with Goat Lake Trail and immediately began hiking uphill. We tried to pace ourselves as the trail climbed relentlessly. The grade seemed to get steeper and steeper as we went. Along the way I found many wildflowers that had taken root after the burn: blue-eyed Mary, clematis, pasqueflower, meadow-rue, avalanche lily. As the trail traversed the upper slopes, we crossed a few small snowfields that, if they’d have been any bigger, would have caused us to turn around. The consequences of slipping would have been a fast ride to the bottom of the canyon.
Snow completely filled the lake basin and the trail just beneath it. We stepped in other people’s postholes that we’d hoped were on route. Just as we were feeling like turning around, we spied the partly-frozen-over lake. I scouted out a dry patch for us to sit down and recover a bit before the hike down.
There were no goats at the lake, but Aaron spotted a few sheep above the trail just after leaving our resting spot. Once we got back to the fire road, we started seeing lots of hikers who had finally made their way up the trail. I was glad we didn’t have to pass or be passed while we were on the steep, exposed trail near the lake!
I can imagine this trail is a real stunner once the wildflowers peak in the bloom. But it also must be devastatingly hot at that time. You get what you get, I guess?
Cameron Falls
With not much time left to explore the park, we fit in one more short walk to Cameron Falls. But first, ice cream. The best park about camping in a town is ready access to all the amenities, so why not stop for an ice cream cone first? We stopped at Big Scoop Ice Cream Parlor, then walked at a casual pace to Cameron Falls. It’s literally right in town, so there’s no need to drive. We walked to the viewing area at the top of the falls, then back down to the bottom. The thick, gray clouds in the sky threatened to rain on our parade, so we didn’t linger too long. We looped back to camp through a park and giggled at the ground squirrels the whole way back. It was a great way to wrap up a day.
Highlights
I loved Waterton Lakes National Park. In the exit survey I completed for Parks Canada, I gave it high praise. But I noticed that most of the questionnaire revolved around how I felt about overcrowding and finding parking. Since there were barely any crowds on this visit, I wonder how crazy it gets during peak season. I am grateful that I got to experience this park without a glut of visitors. While I am sure you can access more hiking and see more wildflower meadows later in the season, that comes with the pressure of being surrounded by mobs of tourists. Honestly, I’d rather see it off-season.
That being said, I would be interested in going back during the peak of the summer, but perhaps with a backpacking route in mind. My hunger to see all the flowers must be balanced with my deep need for solitude. I felt great about all the times I had to myself on this visit, including the painting session I sneaked in during a gloriously non-windy weather window one morning.
On our very last day, we parked near the hotel so Aaron could work and while we were there, a black bear super casually strode across the parking lot. He waved his hands and pointed so I just caught a glimpse of the bear as it disappeared over a hill. It was exciting to get an animal sighting as our parting gift from Waterton.