We said goodbye to Jacky and Howard and left Kananaskis Country in Alberta to head south for the next phase of our Rockies Reboot. This was the part of our trip we had to abandon last year when we rerouted to Seattle. Waterton Lakes National Park in southern Alberta and Glacier National Park in northern Montana are the focus of this blog post.
But first things first…On our way to Waterton Lakes, we stopped at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. Yes, that is the official name of this UNESCO World Heritage Site situated about 115 miles southwest of Calgary, Alberta.
This set of cliffs (about 1,000 feet long) was used for over 5,000 years by the Blackfoot tribes in mid-summer for the purpose of communally hunting bison (or less-accurately, buffalo). They would channel the bison herd to run toward these cliffs and then the bison would fall to their deaths. The Blackfoot people would then use the dead bison for food, clothing, shelter, and just about everything else.
The name “Head-Smashed-In” does not actually refer to the bison. It refers to a legend about a young Blackfoot man who was killed as he observed a buffalo hunt from beneath the cliff. The legend says that the young man was crushed by the falling bison as they went over the cliff. There is no way to verify this from archaelogical evidence, but it makes for a catchy name. The site was no longer used once the Blackfoot people hunted on horseback, but archaeologists have uncovered artifacts almost 40 feet deep, so this site saw a lot of action.
The interpretive centre is very well done, and we enjoyed both our outdoor walks (even saw a yellow-bellied marmot!) and our walk through the levels of the museum. Definitely worth a stop if you’re in the area.
After lunch, we made our way to Waterton Lakes National Park, where we camped in the Townsite Campground, situated on Upper Waterton Lake and in the middle of Waterton Park (a town in the middle of the national park). This little town is wonderful for walking around, grabbing a bite to eat (or ice cream), and it makes for convenient driving to the parts of the park we planned to explore. As in Jasper, there were signs everywhere of a devastating wildfire, this one occurring in 2017 and destroying 70% of the forested area of the national park. Several town structures were burned, but most were saved.
As was our habit in Jasper and Kananaskis, we went out in the evening to look for bears, stopping at the stunning Cameron Lake at the end of the Akamina Parkway.
Then on the way to Red Rock Canyon, we encountered this burly black bear who clearly owned the road.
Next morning was wet and rainy, but we put on our rain gear and hiked the short and beautiful Red Rock Canyon trail. The canyon and water were gorgeous, as were the many wildflowers.
A drive out to the Bison Paddock gave us a show of a coyote and a small herd of bison.
We got to experience a couple of food venues for lunch that friends had told us about–Weiners of Waterton (very good) and Beavertails (kind of a short, flat donut–we had the traditional cinnamon and sugar-covered tail). Yum!
Later we hopped on our bikes and road around Waterton Park (the town), encountering a fox (no pictures), many deer, and lots of gorgeous sights–Cameron Falls, the Prince of Wales Hotel, and the surrounding peaks.
Once again we headed out in the evening to look for bears. On Red Rock Parkway, we watched a mama black bear (though she was blonde) with her two cubs, though we only saw one cub the first time. On Akamina Parkway, we spotted another black bear mama and her one cub crossing the road. We always enjoys these wildlife sightings, which occur while we are in our vehicle on the side of the road.
For our last full day in Waterton, we headed out in the morning on the Akamina Parkway, where we encountered a lone black bear eating its breakfast on the side of the road. Then we headed to Cameron Lake, but decided against a canoe paddle because it was quite windy. Instead, we walked around one side of the lake, enjoying beautiful views of the mountains on the U.S. side of the border at the end of the lake. Hank had fun photographing several butterflies along the trail.
After lunch we joined about 100 people on the Miss Waterton boat for a shoreline cruise around Upper Waterton Lake. We learned that the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park was the first of its kind (established in 1932) and that designation allows the boat to travel across the U.S. border and back into Canada with no passport checks or other oversight. Later in the summer, there is a ranger station and campground at the far end of the lake (on U.S. soil), and many hikers will take the boat from Waterton to Glacier for some camping and hiking at the far north end of the U.S. (in Montana).
Back to the U.S.–in the morning we headed across the border at Chief Mountain, a beautifully-scenic route. We had to relinquish our eggs, bell pepper, and limes in order to cross back into the U.S., but we arrived safely at our KOA campground just outside of the East Entrance to Glacier National Park.
Driving back into Glacier National Park after four years since our last visit was breathtaking. In 2021, the conditions were smoky from area fires, so it was wonderful on this trip to see clear skies and mountains.
The Going-to-the-Sun Road up to Logan Pass (6,646 ft elevation) had just opened up from the east side, so we enjoyed the drive and the clear skies around us. No sign of the grizzly mama we had spotted with cubs four years ago in the Two Dog Flats area.
We bundled up next morning for another drive up to Logan Pass. We came prepared not only with hiking boots, but our poles as well, to do the Hidden Lake Overlook hike, a tradition of sorts for us. On our first visit to Glacier in 1996 in early September, we encountered snow flurries on this hike. In 2021 in mid-August, we were in the middle of a heat wave and got to see a mountain goat nanny and her kid right on the trail.
This time (in mid-June) we encountered a lot of snow on the trail, but we took our time and made it to the overlook. Hidden Lake was still partially frozen, but the views were stunning as usual.
We also got to see a mountain goat climbing around on the cliffs and scree above us. What a beautiful sight!
A hoary marmot was sunning itself near the overlook and several bighorn sheep bedded down near the Glacier lilies close to the visitor center. It took us 3 hours to do this 3-mile hike because we stopped so much for pictures!
In the evening, we headed out to Many Glacier, a spur road not connected to the Going-to-the-Sun Road. We had a couple of tips that bears were hanging out along the lake there. There was a 2.5-mile gravel section that we had been warned about–very bumpy.
But we were rewarded with two sightings: a black bear on the lakeside enjoying dinner and a grizzly that was digging up roots on the other side of the road several miles closer to the hotel. So, it was a wonderful wildlife day in Glacier!
Our last day in Glacier happened to coincide with the opening of the entire Going-to-the-Sun Road (previously it had only been open on the east side where we were staying). The top of the road at Logan Pass can get up to 80 feet of snow, so they don’t get it completely plowed until mid-June. Since it was opening on our last day, we decided to drive the entire iconic route, twisting and turning along this engineering feat.
We arrived in Apgar Village on the west side of Glacier, hopped on our ebikes and enjoyed biking near Lake MacDonald, along the Middle Fork Flathead River, through West Glacier, and back to our starting place.
The drive back on Going-to-the-Sun Road just confirmed why this road is considered a National Historic Landmark and an Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. 50 miles in length, it took us almost 2 hours to drive (without stopping) because it is narrow and winding, and lots of people slow down to take pictures along the way. But that was okay. We enjoyed the amazing views of mountains, waterfalls, and hairpin turns! It was a great way to end our time in the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. Now on to Yellowstone!
Wonderful! Thank you for posting.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Lynn. We love getting to share with our friends!
Cindy
So beautiful and FUN! Did you drive Going to the Sun in your RV?????
Nina, heck no! 24ft is the max length and we’re more than that. Cindy had a hard enough time in her CR-V! Challenging.
What beautiful pictures! I love the narrative of what you saw and your travels!
Ilene, that’s all Cindy! I don’t know how she does it. We often look back on our own blogs for info we have forgotten.
Great shots! I have swum in Lake MacDonald. So clear all the way to the bottom!
Sounds 🥶!!!