In 1932, Waterton Lakes National Park (Alberta, Canada) was combined with the Glacier National Park (Montana, United States) to form the world’s first International Peace Park.
Rangers like to remind visitors that elk, moose, coyotes and bears don’t recognize international borders and thus, the combined park. Like Glacier, to get the most out of the park, it’s best to see it from many angles. You can drive it, hike it, paddle it, or even ride horseback through it.
Scenic little Waterton is home to a 1927s-built chalet called the Prince of Wales Hotel. It is the unmistakable hillside symbol of the the Canadian side of Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park. You can get there by traveling north from Many Glacier, up Chief Mountain Highway, and entering Canada at Chief Mountain Customs. Waterton is a typical mountain town with plenty of small-business shops, breweries and eateries that line its streets but unlike some, it also has a large waterfront. There’s a campground within walking distance of downtown.
It is also a short bike ride to Prince of Wales Hotel. The ride from there to the horse stables is relatively flat with wide open views. We also spent the first day scouting a bit of Red Rock Parkway before returning to the Prince of Wales Hotel for an afternoon libation and some drop-dead gorgeous views! We were back to the campground after just 9 short miles.
We decided to spend day 2 with a drive down Red Rock Parkway. We parked at the trailhead for Blakiston Falls, which the park has built platform overlooks to stretching into the gorge to get a better view. The trail was fairly busy up to this point but the crowd quickly dwindled as we continued down the path so we threw out a “hey, bear” whenever we came up over hills or around blind corners to make sure we didn’t run into one inadvertently. The 3.2 mile hike was an easy trek that followed the river.
A quick bike ride from the campground will put you at the Bertha Falls trailhead on the edge of town. This is a popular hike but don’t let that dissuade you. This 3.6mile trail runs along the side of the mountains that overlook Waterton Lake. It’s well marked and has some stunning overlooks.
It was such a quick hike that Doug managed to fit in a 27 mile bike ride to the end of Red Rock Canyon Road and part way up Snowshoe Trail before calling it a day.
Our last day in Waterton was a doozie! We paid for the boat ride from Waterton wharf an area called Goat Haunt, at the far end of the lake. During the ride, you actually cross over the Canadian / US border, with Goat Haunt sitting on the US side. Some fun facts? Did you know that the border is marked by clearing the area of trees, etc. (see pic below)? Or that the Canadian / US border is the longest undefended border on earth? Me neither!
We were the first boat from Waterton to this area since 2019, it was a beautiful day for the trip, and the guides were happy to be back to work! Mt. Cleveland, towering 10,500 feet with the highest vertical rise in the lower 48s, was an impressive site. The tour guide talked about the 2017 fire that consumed nearly 70% of the entire park, pointed out lodgepole pine, Janet snowfield, and many other interesting geological features. He then mentioned that although the boats haven’t run since 2019, a few people (including he and the driver) have hiked the 8 miles from Waterton to Goat Haunt and that the area used to be renown for moose, but during Covid, with so few people around, wolves had moved in and he hadn’t seen moose there in awhile. Then he mentioned that this part of the park “contains more bears per sq. km than Denali”! I couldn’t verify that via Google, but I have no reason to doubt an avid outdoorsman who’s lived and worked near Waterton his entire life!
Doug reacts to this news like a 5 year old on their way to Disneyland. He’s overjoyed. I reconfirm that we have bear spray.
When we dock, the summer ranger gives us a brief talk and says he’s doing a guided tour to Rainbow Falls, one of three main hikes in the area. We ask briefly, about the trail we had planned to hike to Kootenai Lakes and he says we need bear spray and mosquito repellant. He also warns us that the trail hasn’t been used much and is a bit overgrown. Doug slathers up, as I rethink my life choices. A few people follow the ranger led hike, most just get back on the boat, and we are the only people I see who head for the lakes.
The trail is flat and relatively dry, but overgrown is an understatement. Much of the 3.1 mile trip to the lakes is thick with greenery that’s at least waist high on me and sometimes bicep high. For 3.1 miles all I can think is that we’re never going to see a bear in all of this! There’s no amount of “hey bear” or my off-key showtunes that are going to prevent it so my heart races with every step and I’ve never been so sweaty in my entire life.
About 1/2 of the way to the lakes we see another couple and his wife and I exchange a quick but pointed, “man you’re a trooper” look with one another. They let us pass and she comments that it’ll be good for us to scare the bears for awhile. Without consciously trying, my storytelling gets louder, higher pitched and more frantic as we walk. The overgrown trail finally opens up and feel myself finally take a whole breath. Whew! We’ve made it and without incident. We eat our backpacked lunch and enjoy the lake, recharging before my anxiety kicks in again for the return trip.
We never did see, or even hear, a bear, but by the time we reached the dock, I was literally exhausted. Doug, energized by the entire experience, proceeded to race towards Rainbow Falls and then up to Viewpoint, completely alone. All in all he put in 10.2 miles (an extra 4 beyond mine).
I was thrilled to be back on the boat, having survived another adventure with Doug who doesn’t mind being one of the first tourists in 4 years to reacquaint the bears with people.
I’m sure plenty of tourists have since followed or maybe bear encounters don’t worry you? Either way, I don’t want to discourage people from going. Just pack your bear spray and get your showtunes ready!
All-in-all, a memorable location with tons of activities and some of the most beautiful scenery on our travels to date. We both thoroughly enjoyed our 4-day Waterton visit, despite, or maybe even because of, one terribly anxious day.
