"Waterton Lakes, An Undiscovered Gem" Waterton Lakes National Park by windsorgirl

Waterton Lakes National Park Travel Guide: 238 reviews and 441 photos

Prince of Wales Hotel on Lower Waterton Lake

Waterton Lakes National Park lies in southern Alberta on the border with Montana, USA. It forms one half of the world's first International Peace Park, the other half being Glacier National Park, Montana.

Mt. Vimy, Waterton Lakes NP

This park is 270 kms south of Calgary and 380 kms southeast of Banff. Because of its distance from Banff, it is less visited and certainly less touristy than the very popular Banff and Lake Louise.....to me, this is a great part of its appeal.

Waterton Lakes NP is described as "where the mountains meet the prairie". That is evident in this photo. The lack of foothills here has created a unique ecosystem, with prairie plant species intermixing with alpine vegetation to create over 960 species of unique plants, which in turn attracts a very large number of different mammals, birds and insects to a very small region.

Fireweed and Mountain Peaks, Waterton Lakes NP

Although Waterton Lakes is the smallest National Park in the Canadian Rockies at only 525 sq kms, it harbours the largest diversity of flora and fauna.

Last visit to Waterton Lakes National Park: Jul 2002
Intro Updated Jul 7, 2004
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Reviews (14)

Brown Bear, Waterton Lakes NP - Waterton Lakes National Park

Stay away from Bears Warnings Or Dangers (1)

You will probably encounter a bear while visiting this National Park. We saw two in only two days! Never leave your... more travel advice

Cameron Falls, Waterton Lakes NP - Waterton Lakes National Park

Cameron Falls Things to Do (10)

Where you have mountains and lakes, you will usually have waterfalls and this national park is no exception. You can see... more travel advice

grazing elk, Waterton Lakes NP - Waterton Lakes National Park

Drive the Scenic Parkways Things to Do (10)

There are several scenic roads to drive through Waterton Lakes NP. Be sure to drive slowly and keep your eyes peeled for... more travel advice

Sawtooth Mountain - Waterton Lakes National Park

Sawtooth Mountain Things to Do (10)

This aptly named mountain peak really does resemble a sawtooth. You can see Sawtooth Mountain from the Waterton Lakes... more travel advice

Sports & Outdoors (3)
See All Hiking to the Bear's Hump

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Comments (13)

Stephen-KarenConn Jul 25, 2006 at 10:06 AM Report Abuse

Excellent pages, Kathy, both in your writing and your photography. We're off to Waterton & Glacer NP next month. Can't wait.
Bwana_Brown May 11, 2006 at 7:30 AM Report Abuse

Great information, as always, and beautiful photos to boot! The hikes and lake cruise sound very interesting, especially in a vista like this! My wife and I hope to see for ourselves in July.
SpagBoll Jul 30, 2005 at 10:51 PM Report Abuse

Great tip. Nice pic as well. I take it you have a zoom lens then?
dabidc Jun 9, 2005 at 12:47 PM Report Abuse

Waterton Lakes N.P is indeed a gem and you have done the park full justice to its beauty. great info and good photos of wildlife. I would also add BEWARE OF BEARS, one young lady killed last week in Canmore, near Banff N.P. The bear was later killed.
Buckz Apr 22, 2005 at 12:53 AM Report Abuse

Fabulous bear picture- and you were certainly close enough!
madamx Apr 21, 2005 at 7:14 PM Report Abuse

Very nice page on Waterton, it's indeed a gem! The flora is something else, isn't it? When we were last there, we were lucky to see the bear grass blooming -- it only blooms every 3 years ~ Helen
vtveen Mar 2, 2005 at 3:31 AM Report Abuse

Hi, Nice picture of a black bear. We had the same experience in the Banff National Park (see travel page - picture made out of my car) Jaap
nepalgoods Oct 9, 2004 at 4:06 AM Report Abuse

Your pics and tips are very usefull and show how beautiful this area is.
Trekki Sep 23, 2004 at 11:25 AM Report Abuse

This is also a wonderful page ! Thanks for sharing ! I also like the less crowded ones much better, so Waterton will be an excellent choice if I visit NW America :-)
sim1 Sep 9, 2004 at 4:44 AM Report Abuse

Beautiful page of this wonderful place! I really would love to go here, such a beautiful park! Next time Canada I'll try to visit Waterton Lakes for sure! Thanks for making me dream about that a little bit :-))