The International Peace Park is what is known as the US and Canadian Glacier parks that adjoin each other. The best part about Waterton is the Townsite Campground and how close it is to the town and to beautiful Waterton Lake which has a nice gravel beach that goes on for a mile.
There is even a paved path that follows the beach with sporadic trees for shade as the towering mountains border most of its shores. There is even Cameroon Falls that is right almost in town.
Town means there are restaurants, ice cream, stores and deer/fawns that roam around freely. And above it all is the Prince of Whales Hotel.
Wind can be a bit bothersome here and we had one such day where we were happy to be snug inside Vinny, but the Canadian parks have these nice shelters for the poor people in tents. The camping facilities seem relatively new and all is in excellent order. Paddle board rentals are the only way to paddle because all vessels including SUP must be quarantined for 60 days after inspection.
The town path borders right along Emerald Bay and ends at small wharf with about dozen small speedy boats and a tour boat and a place for Parks Canada to provide an antler show.
Prince of Whales Hotel
This Scottish Hotel dominates the landscape of Emerald Bay as it sits perched high upon a hill. An old fashion and sticky toffee pudding was the reward for hiking up that hill as there is a nice path from the small parking lot that is just over the bridge that leads into Waterton Townsite.
The best views of Waterton are from the hotel lawn. It’s for just a hike up the hill, not a 10 mile, 1500 ft elevation gain like our last hike.
The hotel was very British, well rather Scottish, as most male workers wore red plaid kilts and women had matching scarves. The hotel makes for an incredible view and we heard the food is quite good as well. We were too late for the history tour.
Bertha Falls and Lake Hike
We’ve become picky with our falls and Bertha Falls was not easy to get close. The problem with the entire Waterton Mountain area is that it is in the forest life cycle where there are straight grey dead tall thin trunks that are everywhere. I try to think of them as tinsel on a Christmas tree. Yes, the bush growth and wildflowers make the earth green to an extent, and sometimes colorful, but eye level, are the trunks with little shade for the most part except on occasion where fire missed a spot like near streams.
It was nice reaching Bertha Lake, but there also is a Camp where a large group of kids were frolicking in the water. There were several nice overlooks to Waterton Lake along the trail, but the scene was available 500 feet below from the beach with no effort or blocking tree. Although it was only 7.5 miles we walked well over 8 miles as the trailhead was a bit of a walk from campground making it quite convenient. It was a 2000 ft elevation gain, so we were rather tired after this one, but the lake was beautiful.
The long hikes of last week are catching up and we are planning, park and short paths tomorrow.
Cameron Lake
The nearby Akamina Parkway takes you to Cameroon Lake (15 miles). The issue is that most of the drive was grey trunks so not particularly scenic, but at least there’s flowers.
Cameroon Lake had a delightful walking path that was shaded and much of the trees right near the river had not burned although just off the banks were the typical dead trunks; they cover the entire mountain in the photo below.
There were opportunities to rent paddling craft on the lake. No outside vessels are allowed unless they have been inspected and then quarantined for some 60 days or so. The huge parking lot made it quite a buzzing place, but less than ¼ of the parking lot was full.
Red Rock Canyon
At the Red Rock Parkway provided a bit of relief from the dead trunk look as there were some low lying shrub areas. We saw a grizzly with two cubs in the distance. At another different wildlife jam there was a black bear with cubs too.
At the end of Red Rock Canyon Parkway there was a large tourist parking area and a fenced path that went around the narrow canyon of red rock.
The different colored layers of the rock, especially the unique burgundy color, and flowing streams were really pretty, but all around the dead tree trunks as evident by the beige colored hill.
Blakistone Falls
A short kilometer hike from the Red Rock Parking Area to a very fenced observation area of these big long falls.
The Blakistone Creek also flowed through the Red Rock Canyon and this time there were quite a show of wildflowers as well as a Ptarmigan.
Summary
Four nights in this area was a good amount. Although there were many other hikes, many trailheads were from the Red Rock Parkway which is full of dead trunks with no canopy cover so not necessarily scenic and in full sun. Walking around the lake(s) was much more beautiful in my opinion because the mountain jutted up so dramatically. Although there was no smoke smell, it would have been nice to see those gorgeous jutting mountains without the shroud of smoky haze. G-loop in the campground with electricity only was really nice as we had lake view. Need to make sure to get a good lottery number to get this popular place that has lovely grass and facilities. The lake walking path into town is all very easy, quick and flat. And I found my favorite Huckleberry beverage, oops it’s actually boysenberry.
Travels with Vinny VanGo 