Waterton Park Canada

...write about our experiences of Waterton national park partly in the form of a diary, I hope you enjoy it and it is useful should you be planning a trip! But first here are a few facts about Waterton international peace park to give it its full name!

The park is situated in Alberta, and straddles the Alberta, Montana boarder. It is 159 miles from Calgary where there is an airport although as far as I know it is not possible to get a ...
...the boarder into the adjoining Waterton international peace park in Alberta, Canada. I phone the accommodation number she has given me and soon have booked our first night in the grand sounding Prince of Wales hotel.

July23rd- As we drive around Glacier Park on our way to the Canadian boarder we become increasingly aware of the smell of smoke in the air. Visibility becomes limited and ash is evident on all surfaces. The journey to ... more

In the summer of 2003 our family had the opportunity to spend 2 months touring the western United States. We had planned to start out trip in Tucson, Arizona and travel up as far as glacier national park in Montana. However due to the wildfires ravaging glacier national park during that summer we decided to travel over the boarder to Canada. I have decided to write about our experiences of Waterton national park partly in the form of a diary, I hope you enjoy it and it is useful should you be planning a trip! But first here are a few facts about Waterton international peace park to give it its full name!

The park is situated in Alberta, and straddles the Alberta, Montana boarder. It is 159 miles from Calgary where there is an airport although as far as I know it is not possible to get a direct flight from the U.K. International flights go to Vancouver to the west where you can get a connecting flight. In order to see the park you will need a car, although it is possible to hire bikes at the town site. There is no public transport system within the park.

The park is 195 sq miles in size and has an abundance of wildlife including bears, elk deer and coyote. There are numerous bird species here too.

There are several campsites all on a first come first serve basis. I suggest you enquire at the ranger station for availability. There is a good park website at www.parkscanada.pc.gc/waterton.

Heres the account of our experience in Waterton-

July 22nd- Arrived in Whitefish a small town close to the entrance of Glacier national park. We are all really excited at the prospect of spending the next few days in the park and booked our accommodation well in advance. We will be spending our first 2 nights at the Lake McDonald complex on the going to the sun highway. We haven’t pre booked any accommodation in Whitefish but manage to find a small motel, which is simple but adequate. That evening I tell another guest of our plans to visit Glacier national park. To my horror she tells me that most of the park has just been evacuated due to the serious wildfires burning out of control. As we have been media free for the past few days this was the first we had heard of it. In a panic I phone the Glacier accommodation line and they confirm our hotel was evacuated the day before. The helpful telephonist suggests we think about going over the boarder into the adjoining Waterton international peace park in Alberta, Canada. I phone the accommodation number she has given me and soon have booked our first night in the grand sounding Prince of Wales hotel.

July23rd- As we drive around Glacier Park on our way to the Canadian boarder we become increasingly aware of the smell of smoke in the air. Visibility becomes limited and ash is evident on all surfaces. The journey to the nearest crossing point at Chief mountain pass takes all day. The scenery is breathtaking with views across the mountains at every turn. Even the children are quite and not fighting!
Once over the boarder we stopped in a lay-by to take a picture of the huge Alberta sign and to have some much needed grub! The entrance to the park is about half an hours drive from the boarder .We paid our entrance fee of $12 (Canadian dollars), which is good for a day, and were given lots of useful information by the ranger. The drive from the park entrance took about another 20 minutes through wonderful mountain scenery.

Our first impression of our hotel was that it was stunning! The Prince of Wales hotel is classed as a historic building and most of the original features have been retained. It is set up high above the lake and has magnificent views of the surrounding mountains. We had booked a family room with a cot and pre paid just over 200 Canadian dollars (about £100) for 1 night, without breakfast. We waited for the ancient lift to take us and our bags plus children to our 3 rd floor room. After about 15 minutes we gave up and asked for help, there was none so we struggled up the stairs. Our room was small and cramped. There was only a double bed, no cot and no single bed for our 6 year old. This was put right after a long wait. That night our baby decided he didn’t want to sleep and it took a great deal of effort to get him down. We had just managed to get him to sleep when the phone rang loudly and woke him up! It was reception saying our neighbours had complained as it was only 10 pm we were furious! I complained to the manager in the morning that said she would refund some money to my credit card. However this never happened! The walls in this hotel are very thin, so be warned if you fancy staying here! I found the place very unfriendly and it is definitely not child friendly! I knew I didn’t want to stay there for a second night so we called in at the ranger station on the road to the so-called town site. They were really helpful and booked us in to the Kilmorey lodge. Kilmorey lodge is a small lodge on the edge of the shore of the beautiful Emerald bay. It was built around 1920 and only has 23 rooms, each individually decorated in keeping with its age. I loved the place instantly and the staff were friendly and helpful. For the same price as we had paid in the Prince of Wales we had a family suite which was huge! Having checked in and booked the room for a further few nights we went off to explore.

The small town, known as the town site, has a few other hotels and several places to eat. Everyone seemed to be riding around on hired bikes. There is a small campsite and I was pleased to find a public launderette! We bought picnic foods from the small general stores and set off to hike. There were deer grazing all around the town and plenty of signs warning you not to feed them as these are wild animals and can bite and kick! The sun was hot as we parked our car and set off on the Bertha lake trail. This is a moderate walk of about 3 hours to both the lake and a waterfall. We saw few other people on the trail. It is advisable to make a noise as you hike so you don’t surprise a bear! No problem with our 2,noise is there speciality! We didn’t see any bears but we knew they were around due to all the scat we saw! We arrived at the lake feeling hot and tired. The lake was deserted and looked cool and inviting. I stripped off and plunged in, I have never been in such cold water in my life! My muscles refused to work and seemed to burn with the cold. Family find the spectacle of me jumping out yelling very amusing! My husband says that he thought I would have realised how cold it would be as it takes all the snowmelt from the surrounding mountains! This has to be one of the best places in the world to eat out! Our rolls tasted wonderful and the children have a great time throwing stones into the lake. We hiked back taking a detour to look at Bertha Falls on the way, well worth it!

We had booked to eat in the hotel restaurant that evening and were really looking forward to it. We were not disappointed. Kilmorey lodge has a reputation for serving gourmet meals. The menu is quite extensive and the food cooked to perfection. I can honestly say it was the best meal I have ever had! The staff were really child friendly and even took our 2 off to look at the stars outside to allow us to enjoy our meal! There is a good child menu available too. We all slept well that night!

July 24 th- After a great breakfast eaten outside, we headed for the red rock canyon road. The ranger had told us that this was an excellent place to spot wildlife. We had only just started along this route when I spotted a movement in a bush at the side of the road. I large black bear emerged. We stopped at watched transfixed as it munched at the huckleberries. After a few minutes it ambled of into the undergrowth, I made a mental note that hiking in this area was of the menu! We continued along the 10-mile road to where it ends at the red rock canyon. We hiked a little way along one of the trails and the children played in a stream. We suddenly became aware we were not alone and looking over to a nearby meadow saw a coyote heading to some trees above it was a very annoyed osprey bombing it and making a lot of noise, my son was fascinated! On our return journey we saw 2 more bears in different locations.

We then hiked to Crandell Lake another place of peace and tranquillity, with superb mountain scenery.

That night we went to listen to one of the excellent ranger led takes. This one was held at Crandell campsite. Ranger takes are free and really informative. This one was about he wildlife in the area and was particularly aimed at children. There was a tale about a coyote that had had to be shot after it became a nuisance to people. This often happens when mindless tourists feed the wild animals in the park.

July 25th- Another hot sunny day with clear blue skies. The weather in the park is usually good in July and august when most visitors come. The park has heavy snowfall in the winter when all but the main road are closed. Spring has wonderful wildflowers but can be wet as can the autumn. Kilmorey lodge is open all year round so I am secretly planning a winter visit!

After breakfast we set off to Cameron Lake in the far corner of the park. The drive was another amazing one and we were entertained by a mother bear with her cubs near the side of the road. Cameron Lake is a sub alpine lake and grizzly bears are often spotted on its far shores. We decided to hire a canoe and paddle to the far shore in the hope of spotting one! Although there were no bears to be seen we enjoyed the scenery and waterfalls. You certainly get a different perspective from a boat.

Having got a taste for boats we decided to drive back to the town site and take the 2-hour boat trip to the goat haunt ranger station, back across the boarder. It was great to let someone else do the work whilst we enjoyed the mountain scenery. Vertical mountain sides rise up from the lake some still snow capped. My toddler slept, so all was truly peaceful! The trip passes across the boarder and 2 posts mark the point. The tour guide gives a brief history of the park that was created in1932 as a symbol of peace and cooperation between America and Canada and to preserve some of the world’s most beautiful scenery. We were disappointed to learn that only U.S and Canadian citizens are now allowed to hike beyond the ranger station due to heightened security, although I can’t see that will deter a terrorist! The station where the boat lands is scenic and there are loos but nothing else. I haven’t noted what we paid for the trip but I know it wasn’t cheap but I think it was well worth it. The next day we had to begin our return journey towards Seattle and home. However one last treat awaited us. We pulled into a lay-by just after leaving the park and there at the top of a telegraph pole was an osprey’s nest with several babies sitting waiting for their mum to come back with lunch! How cool is that?!

There is so much to see and do in Waterton that I could happily spend years there. The park feels small enough to get to grips with many accessible hiking trails for all abilities. Even in July there were no crowds and a few miles along a trail we saw no one. I loved Waterton and will be back!

 

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