One day in Waterton?

If you have questions, comment or experiences in Waterton Park in Canada, please post them in this section, although Glacier is the Focus, Waterton is the sister that has much to offer.

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Hoot
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One day in Waterton?

Post by Hoot »

If I make a day trip to Waterton, what are some of the highlights that I must see? I went to the Parcs Canada website but am fairly underwhelmed by it's usefulness. (maybe I'm just navigating it poorly)
With only 1 day, I won't be doing any hiking other than short, obvious roadside stuff.
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Re: One day in Waterton?

Post by Hockey Ref »

You can do the Carthew-Alderson trail in one day, easy. It's very nice. Leave your car in Waterton, take the shuttle to the trailhead, and hike back. It's just under 13 miles and climbs 1,440 feet but descends 3,150 feet.

Or, park at the trailhead and hike as far as Carthew Summit and turn around to return to the vehicle for a 9-mile round trip.
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Re: One day in Waterton?

Post by orin »

If a long hike isn't in the cards, you might enjoy the boat up the lake. If you catch one of the earlier sailings and take a later one back you will have some time for a short hike or two at GoatHaunt. If you like car based sightseeing, you could take a drive to Cameron Lake and walk the trail along the lake or rent a canoe. In morning or evening, the Red Rock parkway is a good place to spot bears and other animals. And on the way in or out, take a few minutes to drive up to the Prince of Wales Hotel for a look see. And there are hikes near the town such as the scenic Bears Hump which is short but steep.
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Re: One day in Waterton?

Post by pitamakan »

If its your first trip to Waterton and you don't feel like a major hike, my suggestion would be to do the boat trip down to Goat Haunt. That would still leave enough time to drive to Cameron Lake and Red Rock Falls, and check out the Prince of Wales Hotel.
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Re: One day in Waterton?

Post by Jen »

Red rock parkway is where I saw my first bear ever.

I too vote for taking the boat to goat haunt. Waterton lake is gorgeous and the narrative is informative and humorous.
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Re: One day in Waterton?

Post by trevbo »

If you have a full day, i would consider some combination of the following:

* Bear's Hump hike: 1-2 hrs - short but strenuous, but great views of the townsite, lake and Mt. Cleveland.

* Stop off at the Prince of Wales hotel for the view out back and a beer in the bar (I'd pass on the restaurant as it is crazy expensive - unless you want to do 'high tea'.) Prince of Wales is just across from the visitor's centre, which is the trailhead for Bear's Hump.

* Drive up Red Rock and do a short hike along Red Rock Canyon (30 min.) and/or to Blakiston Falls. (1 hrs.)

* Bertha Falls hike from Waterton townsite (1-2 hrs). Slightly easier alternative to the Bear's Hump

* You can drive down the Cameron Lake road as some have suggested and rent a canoe or go for a short hike along the lakeside trail (1-2 hrs). Alternatively, if you have your own canoe you can float around on Lower Waterton Lakes (it can get CRAZY windy though)

* Might as well go for a stroll in Waterton townsite along the water (1-2 hrs)... have an ice cream on the beach and stick your toes in the frigid water (if you have a bathing suit, you can swim but it's pretty dang cold!)

* Bring a road bike and bike up Red Rock Canyon road to the end (strenuous, 2-3 hrs) or along newly minted Kootenai Brown bike path (easy) 1-2 hrs.

* Bring a mountain bike and try one of the trails open to bikes such as Wall Lake (2-3 hrs, challenging) or Crandell Lake (1 hr, easy)

* I would personally put the boat trip to Goat Haunt on the "Don't do it!" list as it is relatively expensive and I find the views underwhelming. I would also pass on the buffalo paddocks, as it's almost like visiting some kind of zoo. That said, I have brought family members from out of town along for both the buffalo paddocks and the boat ride, and will probably end up doing so again in the future as they are good options for those who are not able to do big hikes... another touristy option to consider is a horseback ride from the stables.
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Re: One day in Waterton?

Post by mikie »

Crypt Lake is also a very nice hike. Requires a boat ride ($20/person). About 11miles. Not for people who have a fear of heights. There is a small exposed section just after the tunnel. But, it does have a cable railing (like the Highline Trail). You would want to take the 9am boat. Last boat out is 5:30pm. Lots of waterfalls on the side trail. Considered one of the best hikes in Canada.

Here is a link from the Boat Company: http://www.watertoncruise.com/crypt-lake.php
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Re: One day in Waterton?

Post by Hoot »

Thanks all. That gives me some ideas and something to work with.
How long is the drive from St. Mary? 2 hours or so? Anything of great importance along that drive?
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Re: One day in Waterton?

Post by llholmes1948 »

It is about 55 miles from St. Mary to Waterton and should take about an hour and half. Be on the lookout for cattle on the Chief Mountain highway between the junction of route 89 and 17 and the border. I have never seen range cattle on the Canadian side. Allow time for a (hopefully) short delay at the border.

Chief Mountain would be a major site along the way.

While it is not particularly dramatic, if you have an interest in history or engineering or both, you could check out the Milk River Reclamation Project, a project which pre-dates the Park and was constructed to divert water from the St. Mary River to the Milk River. There is a road off of route 89 north of the route 17 and 89 junction which runs alongside the canal and takes you to the large siphons which are part of this project. If interested, I suggest you inquire locally for directions at the post office or Thronson's General Store. This side trip takes about 20 minutes to a half hour but we found it quite interesting.

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Re: One day in Waterton?

Post by Tara »

Hi Hoot, Good to see you here!

I don't spend much time in Waterton...I always find there is too little time to do what I want in Glacier. That said, the times we have gone up we haven't hiked (except the first year Marc and I were there in September and I think we were doing the Bertha hike in the snow and it kept snowing harder so we turned back).

Our best memories of Waterton are probably just seeing bears along Red Rock Parkway. All black bears, but we have always seen some, one drive we saw 13 different bears. So if you're looking for wildlife photo ops, that would be a good bet. There are sometimes (sadly) habituated black bears in the townsite too.

I do know a lot of people love both the Crypt Lake and Carthew Alderson hikes...haven't done them though, and haven't done the boat ride there.

Honestly, I usually tell people that unless you have a LOT of time, to just stick to Glacier, there is so much to do and see. But it depends on what you're looking for and wanting to do...this probably wasn't helpful at all :oops:
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Re: One day in Waterton?

Post by Hoot »

No, Tara, that helps.
It all goes into deciding whether it is worth subtracting a day from Glacier to do Waterton
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Re: One day in Waterton?

Post by llholmes1948 »

Hoot wrote:No, Tara, that helps.
It all goes into deciding whether it is worth subtracting a day from Glacier to do Waterton
I hear what Tara is saying, but I think it depends on your interests and your schedule. I think if you are on the east side of the Park and want to take a day off from hiking, a trip to Waterton can be a great thing to do and it is just not that far. It would give you an overview of the place and then you can decide if you want to plan some serious hiking there on your next visit. It is not a place which is lacking in beauty.

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Re: One day in Waterton?

Post by ynpwolfluvr »

We thought about Waterton but with only 4 full days we decided we didn't even have enough for Glacier proper, so not going. But I want to someday, so glad I read this. Storing away ideas for the future.
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Re: One day in Waterton?

Post by MYK »

I stopped in Waterton Lakes for a few hours on the way from Glacier to Calgary where we were leaving.

We spent a bit of time photographing the outside from afar and checked out the inside of Prince of Wales Hotel.

Then we wandered over to Cameron Falls for some photos.

Then hiked Bears Hump. The most strenuous hike of the trip. Those railroad tie steps are just too high for old, aching legs. Unfortunately it got cloudy as we got near the top so the view wasn't what I hoped it would be.

However, the above gave us a good taste of the differences between this park and Glacier.

I find thet Waterton Lakes and Banff are a bit more touristy than U.S. Parks. They have towns catering to tourists in the parks.
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Re: One day in Waterton?

Post by GoDucks »

On our only trip to Glacier (so far) we did take a couple of days out to spend at Waterton. I can recommend the International Peace Park Hike (http://www.waterton.ca/waterton-glacier-peace-hike.cfm) as a Not Too Tough 9 mile hike from the Township to Goat Haunt with rangers from both parks. I think it is offered once or twice a week and you may need to sign up ahead of time. Not too strenuous, as there is not all that much up and down, and a lot of history, geography and flaura and fauna info is imparted. After a short visit to Goat Haunt, you take the boat back to Waterton Township. We enjoyed the hike and the stories from the rangers. That said, I tend to agree with those who have said that there is just so much to see and do in Glacier that the time spent going to Waterton might be better spent further exploring Glacier. If you have a lot of time in the area, do take the time to go up to Waterton, but, if you have only a few days, my opinion is that you will get more Wows! for your money on the American side.
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