Locating Local Peaks
A thumbnail page that shows the names of the local mountains.

Park Information
The Waterton Park's homepage from the government of Canada. Also check out the Glacier Park page for information south of the border.

Accomodations
Links on where to stay. In the winter, most climbers crash at the picnic shelter on Pass Creek, just past the Red Rock Canyon turn off. This has a large shelter with a wood stove. It is reasonably sheltered from the wind. I beleive the hostel in the Lodge is still open, but am not sure if the pool and hot tub are. In the summer, the favorite campground is Crandell Lake. If you are wanting some privacy, try Belly River campground. It is by the border, and so is a ways away, but it is secluded, and swimming in the creek is refreshing. It seems like Glacier Sweets is the most popular place to stay. Kilmorey is good for the food and a romantic get away, but rooms tend to be a bit small. Crandell Lodge is nice as it has kitchenettes. In the summer the Stanley Hotel (above the Pharmacy & Gust Gallery) used to be the cheapest spot.

Area History
A collecection of some stories and images about the park. Brief, but well done. If you are looking for some good history on the park, try picking up a copy of "The Trapper". This is available at Borderline Books. "Bear's I Have Known" is also a great read that gives you a different perspective on the current bear scare. It is hard to believe, but none of the stories in it are exaggerated, in fact the author tneds to understate things more than he should.

Kayaking
Unlike meccas like Golden, Missoula, Boise, and Fort Steele, Waterton is not a true white water destination. This does not, however, mean that there is little to interest the avid paddler. A number of small creeks and waterfalls make this a unique area to visit during the short peak run off season. The nearby town of Pincher Creek is good destination for the intermediate paddler intent on low volume runs. The numerous large mountain lakes on both sides of the border also provide picturesque scenery for short, mellow get aways. Paddle Fernie is also a good site to check out if you want information of things over in BC. Creeking Sulphur Drywood Upper Cameron Lower Cameron Swiftcurrent Reynolds Siyeh Bear

Rock Climbing
While not the Bow Valley co-oridor, Waterton does have a few small crags and easy scrambles that are gaining popularity with those that prefer a bit more solitude. The rock here is not as solid as other areas in the Rockies, so visitors should be wary if they think things further up north had a loose reputation. Rock Climbing The Gap Drywood Wateron Crowsnest Pass Blackleaf Canyon Glacier Fernie Catle Wilderness

Ice Climbing
Outside of beautiful summer hikes, this is perhaps Waterton's forte. Milder, and more stable winters than those further up north, make for a good freeze thaw cycle that helps the numerous popular ice routes come into shape. While things are getting more crowded down here, it still seems like the crowds concentrate on the two main routes along the Cameron Highway. If you are prepared to do some longer approaches, you are sure to have a number of multipitch gems to yourself. Ice Climbing North Drywood Sofa Red Rock Crandel South Crandel West Bridalveil Expert's Choice Lineham Vimy Crypt Buchannon Alderson Summit Lake Jensen's Resevoir Map of Climbs Conditions

Scrambling
Few of the mountains in the Canadian side of the park are remarkable scrambles. This, however, has never been much of an issue for the numerous peak baggers that abound. A couple of excellent routes do exist in the park. On the U.S. side, things do, however, get better. Short drives to the states can provide the interested scrambler with hoards of mountains from which to view the color worn vistas. Scrambling Crandell Galwey Custer Sofa Alderson Vimy Peak Names

Alpine Climbing
Due to the paucity of active climbers in the area, little has been established. In Waterton, the mountains really aren't condusive to enjoyable routes. In Glacier, lack of winter access has sealed off investigation of what must be significant potential. If you are into exploration the U.S. side could provide you with a number of interesting first ascents. Alpine Custer Crypt

Hiking
This is the main reason why people come to the park. The unique micro climate of the area means that numerous plants and flowers abound. This coupled with the vivid colors in the rocks, severe glaciation and erosion make this one of the most attractive areas in the Rockies. Loads of accesible trails also mean that it is easy to get out and experience what so many people rave about.

Mountain Biking
While biking in the park is severly limited, numerous old loggin roads north and west of the park mean that this is a very good destination for long pedals on old fire roads. Traverses from the east side to the west side of the Rockies are great, but the shuttle can be a big nuisance.

Scuba Diving
There is a small wreck, the Gertrude, that was sunk on purpose in Emerald Bay. This is where local divers flock to. It is located in front on the picnic area underneat the Prince Of Whales Hotel. Just below of PW, by the narrows, in a small cove in the middle lake, there is also a sizeable collection of junk that may interest divers. When they were changing china at the hotel, they couldn't decide who would get the stuff, so instead of upsetting everyone, they just dumped it through a hole in the ice. Some big boxes of china should be down there.

Cliff Jumping
If you want to do this, be fore warned, lots of people end up having close calls. The best place to cliff jump is at the Wishbone in the middle lake. You either need to do a long mountain bike ride along the vimy trail to get here, or get a boat. It is located directly under the north face of Vimy, in the middle lake. The cliffs don't look to high from the water, but they are about 30 to 40 feet. The cliffs continue in the water a long ways, so hitting bottom really isn't a concern. The top overahangs a little, making things fairly safe. There are no spots to jump that are lower than 30 feet. The other place to jump is by Expert's Choice (Deja Vu). The cliff here is also about 30 feet high, however the pool is not all that deep. Do it in high water, and be prepared to hit the bottom. The creek is very cold. Some people also jump just below where Cameron Creek comes into the main lake. This is hard to get to, and the ledges can be a bit slipery. You also have to make sure to clear the slabs along the lake shore. Crypt Lake has an excellent spot to cliff jump from on the back right side of the lake. Usually the difficulty is in missing the ice bergs, and not going hypothermic before you make it back to shore. Expect heights from 5 to 20 feet. Forum lake also has a spot on the back right of the lake. Again the water is fairly cold, but much better than Crypt. Heights range from 5 feet to 20 feet.

Beaches
Not too warm if you are used to the tropics. The only time they are worthwhile is during the heat spells in the end of July and August. Most tourists are familiar with Farmers Bay (the small seaweed filled bay behind the Park Office in the Townsite), and Emerald Bay (the picnic area directly underneath the PW hotel), but not as many people now about the good spots down by Pass Creek. The Marquis hole is one place to relax, although the sand by the picnic shelter is fairly rocky, the sand by the middle lake muddy, and the mosquitoes fairly hungry. If you take the road just east of the Red Rock turnoff, you can head down to Pass Creek (some people call this the Dardenelles). There are few different spots to relax here. Directly in front of the parking there is some soft sand. Head to the main channel and go downstream about 30m. The best beach requires you to wade across the small creek off to your right (south east). Once across this, truck across the sand and rocks for about 100m. You will encounter a slightly larger creek (Pass Creek or Blackiston Creek). If you don't want to cross this, there is some good sand along the river to your left. The water here is also fairly deep. If you cross the creek you get to a small pennisula at a bend in a river. This is the nicest spot. There is lots of sand, the water is very deep, and slow moving. This is a good spot for kids to play around on tubes.

Native Natural History Sites
There are a number of interesting historical sites that you won't find out about at the Park Information Center, or in many books. Travois tracks are fairly obvious in a number of spots. The pullout just past the Beaver Pond on the Red Rock Highway is a good spot to find them. Take the trail that heads off to the Buffalo Paddock. You will have to know what you are looking for to find them, but the trail intersects the travois tracks in the first dip you cross. They seem to dissapear off to the right (east), but can be found going across knights hill, or in the meadow just before the turn off to Pass creek (hard to distinguish now from the underground telephone line). Off to the left, the tracks become more obvious, and you will also come across a failry large ?prayer circle?. Most of the rocks were moved by the boundary commision. They described finding a large altar rock and large circle of stones. These were moved to set up their equipment. The large rock had a hole drilled in it to stable some equipment. Now you can still find some large rocks that have been buried and the altar that looks directly down the lake to the south. It is a pretty location, and you can imagine natives using it before setting across the Sage Pass.

There are also supposed to be a number of Medicine Wheels along the top of Knight's Hill.

The old ford by Marquis Hole used to be quite a good place to find arrow heads, but it seems like, despite this being a national park, the frequency with which you find the has decreased substantially from the 1930's.

If you head up the bottom of Rowe or Lineham creeks, you will come across some oil seeps. These were quite widely known, and were what led to the short lived oil boom in the area in the early 1900's. Natives used to collect the oil to use in medicines.

A natural outcropping of Red Hematite (used to make red dye for ceremonies and war paint) also exists just north of the park.