Waterton Lakes National Park was originally supposed to be on our fall itinerary. But a combination of circumstances, and especially the weather, caused us to include it in our wanderings at the end of June. We set off towards it with the risk of not finding a place to camp due to the long weekend and Canada Day holiday. However, in the early afternoon we grabbed the last place in a small campground by the Belly River. And that was the base we needed. The campground was an oasis of silence, greenery, a nearby river, and views of the surrounding peaks. We couldn’t have wished for more for our plan for the next few days. More photos of Belly River Campground & Driving to Waterton Lakes National Park.
Waterton Lakes National Park offers visitors a total of three scenic roads. Two are paved, called Akamina and Red Rock. The third is gravel and leads through the area where bison live.
We first drove the Akamina Scenic Parkway. The road is 14 km long; it leads through beautiful scenery. At its end, there is a parking lot, from which hiking trails lead. We chose the trail around Cameron Lake, above which a majestic peak rises. And about two-thirds of the way along the lake, the trail ends. It ends at the border with the USA. On the other side of the border is an American national park called Glacier. We visited it 16 years ago, and now we approached it from the other side. Both sides of the mountain range are beautiful. The visitor center in the village of Waterton is also amazing. Less amazing are the crowds of people in the village and on the shores of the lake of the same name. And so we are glad that we are staying at the Belly River campground. More photos of Akamina Pkwy & Cameron Lake & Visitor Center
Next we drove the Red Rock Scenic Byway. It ends at a parking lot with hiking trails leading from it. They don’t have enough capacity around Canada Day. We took the last of the RV-only lots. Cars were waiting for spots to open up. But it was not a question of hiking trails at all…most visitors anchored at the bottom of the small Red Canyon on Red Rock Creek. We were surprised that it was allowed in a protected area. We looked at the canyon itself, filled with people, and then walked the trail to Blakiston Falls. More photos of Red Canyon & Blakiston Falls.
As a final scenic drive, we took a gravel 4 km road to the bison paddock. This is a paddock featuring a plains bison herd, rough fescue grasslands, and glacial eskers. It is free to enter and closed in winter. Visitors must remain in their cars at all times. Pedestrians, cyclists, and motocyclists are not allowed there. More photos of bison’s paddock.
From the beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park we headed north. Our real destination was another national park, Banff, but on the way we had to make a detour to Calgary, where we had an ordered package waiting for us. So we inadvertently saw part of the city center.
July 2025