We visited Waterton Lakes National Park about 10 years ago and absolutely loved it. At the time I remember thinking it was the best National Park in Alberta. We decided to go back this summer and see if that still held true.
In 2017 38% of Waterton National Park burned down in an intense and devastating fire. The landscape has changed immensely since we were last there. All that is left of the trees in the burned area is blackened trunks and twisted limbs. But regrowth is beginning already, and pink fireweed adds colour to the landscape. And Waterton’s population of deer seems to be thriving more than ever.
10 years ago we camped, but this time we rented a little cottage near Twin Butte. It was amazingly quiet and peaceful and the perfect choice for us after a long, hot, loud, and overwhelmingly frustrating summer.
The primary thing we came to Waterton to do was hiking. On our first day we started with a hike to Bertha Lake via Bertha Falls. It was a good starter hike for the trip, with some nice views of the Upper Waterton Lake on the way to the lovely falls, followed by a steep 21 switchbacks from the falls to lake. It was a great way to get the calves warmed up for what we had planned later in the week. We left early and the falls and the lake were not crowded. However, the number of clueless tourists we ran into on the way down went from amusing to annoying quickly. We ran into about 5 groups between switchbacks three and zero, with clearly very little water and mostly wearing questionable footwear, asking “is it much further”.
On Day 2 we decided to head south to the border to check out Police Outpost Provincial Park. We had a big hike planned the next day and didn’t want to wear ourselves out. Police Outpost was a nice little park with a lake with lots of people fishing on it, and outstanding views of Chief Mountain across the border in Montana. We also got to cross a few steps over the border to sit on a little bench overlooking some pretty wetlands.
Day 3 was our big adventure day. 10 years ago we hiked the Crypt Lake trail when we were here. That hike involved a ferry to get to the trailhead, and then many switchbacks up past waterfalls and rivers below, through a tunnel, up a ladder, along a rock ledge where we had to grip a steel cable so as not to fall off the mountain, and finally to an alpine lake at the end, where we rested and watched a mountain goat on the rocks above the lake while we ate lunch. This time we were going to tackle the Carthew-Alderson trail; a 20km whopper, requiring a shuttle to Cameron Lake at the far end of the trail, before ascending 700 meters to a ridgetop, and then descending 1000 meters past alpine lakes and through dense forest back to Waterton town. Many say this hike is better than Crypt Lake, and they are both included in Waterton’s “big three”. I have to say the views were absolutely breathtaking at the top. Both the Carthew and the Alderson Lakes were beautiful, and we saw marmots and a mountain goat on the rocky ledges, plus had lunch at the prettiest little spot beside a waterfall above Carthew Lakes. The descent from there though was long and boring at times. I am not sure I would rank this hike better than Crypt Lake. Maybe the same. While the entire middle section was stunning, the first and last 2 hours were a bit of a slog. I think, like Crypt Lake, I am happy to have experienced the hike, but I likely would not do it twice.
After our big day on the Carthew-Aldersn trail, our legs and feet were exhausted the next day. That was just as well because it was threatening rain most of the day. We slept in and got a late start, then drove up the Red Rock and the Akamina Parkways, checked out the Bison Paddock and did a short flat hike on the Bellevue Prairie trail, a nice grasslands walk with mountains flanking one side. It was a nice relaxing day with nice scenery and nice clouds.
On our last full day we drove down the Akamina Parkway to the trail head for several hikes into the Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park in British Columbia. This is a popular trailhead in Waterton so we left early to hike out to Wall Lake. Low clouds were obscuring the mountain views as we crossed the Alberta-B.C. border. The one other set of people we saw turned left towards Forum Lake while we continued straight to our destination. When we arrived at Wall Lake it was stunning. The steep cliffs surrounding the lake give it its name, and I quickly spotted a mountain goat on the sheer rock face. The lake was a beautiful mountain aqua shade of blue, and it was still as glass. The clouds were still hanging low and the reflections on the lake were gorgeous. We sat for a while and had a snack, watching the goat and taking photos. Later we walked to the far end of the lake, right up to the wall. If we would have gone there sooner we could have been very close to the goat before it climbed up high into the rocks. Oh well. As we walked the sun came out and burned off the clouds, revealing the full scale of the ridge around the lake. It was the most perfect morning I could ask for, and after over two hours there we started making our way back around the lake toward the trail. This was the point when the “after breakfast crowd”, as Jeremy calls them, showed up. The lake got crowded, the goat was now so high up it was out of sight, and the wind had picked up, causing ripples on the lake and erasing the reflections. I was happy to leave it behind with the memory of our perfect morning. We decided to hike to Forum Lake on our way out, since it was the last day of our trip. Unfortunately I think this was a mistake. It was steep, the lake was not nearly as nice as Wall Lake, and there was an absolutely horrible family with 7 plus kids screaming and throwing huge rocks in the lake when we arrived. I think we stayed about 15 minutes and this did not subside. I could not stand it any more so I left Jeremy at the lake and waited for him back on the trail, away from the noise. He showed up about 7 or 8 minutes later and we headed back. Again our feet were sore and exhausted by the end, and Forum Lake was just extra kilometers that we hadn’t needed to add.
The next day we were really sad to leave. The time was too short and we had a long drive home. We stopped in at Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump for a couple hours on the way home. It was super interesting but also really sad. I am glad to have finally gone though. It’s been on my list for awhile.
So, do I still feel Waterton is the best Park in Alberta? I don’t know. I don’t think I have a preference for any one over the other after spending more time at all of them over the last several years. They all have pros and cons. Waterton has way fewer people and crowds than the rest of the Alberta Rockies in summer, and the lakes are absolutely stunning. It also has a perfect mixture of Grasslands and Mountains, which are two of my favourite landscapes. And there is lots of wildlife in Waterton; we saw marmots, mountain goats, thirteen-lined ground squirrels, a ton of deer, and almost daily mountain sheep and and bears (thankfully never while hiking). But I found the hikes all had long boring stretches and went through a lot of burned forest. I also found the mountains themselves less stunning than those in Jasper. I would love to experience Waterton in winter someday, as we have been lucky enough to do in Jasper and Banff and Golden over the last few years.
tangentwithtanner
ellievsbear
discoholicmusic
andulkaphoto
stormborns
blakekathryn
dailybridgerton
vaporwave
turnnoffyourmind