Waterton-Glacier: Two Parks Are Twice as Nice

Mountains, lakes, evergreens, aspens, and clouds

As the weather started getting fall-like and as we raced west across the northern tier to get to our “unfinished business” parks, you could be forgiven for thinking that we’d done our research and knew which hikes and spots we wanted to visit once we arrived at these epic parks. You *could* be forgiven for thinking that way, but you’d be giving yourself away as a newbie to the utter chaos (structured as it may be) under which we operate! Yeah, we had almost exactly a year to think about Waterton-Glacier. In our defense, we weren’t sure how much of Waterton had burned (turns out a lot/most of it) or which areas might be open in Glacier given last and this year’s fires. Anyway, as usual, we knew just enough to know to stop in at Visitor Centers and get the real scoop before embarking on the epicness of the week.

Dropping down into Waterton, the aspens were at near peak color. The contrast of golden leaves in the evergreen fields on the rolling foothills and climbing up mountain valleys was breathtaking. As we approached the park from the east, there’s a moment when you look on the horizon and see snow topped peaks looking down on you. And as we got closer they resolved into more detail that became colorful and even more majestic. We had a discussion about how these mountains are different than the Tetons, or the Colorado Rockies, or the Banff/Jasper Rockies. We discovered that the indigenous people referred to this stretch as the Backbone of the World. Fitting.

Looking across Waterton Lakes toward the US

As we got settled into the Waterton Townsite Campground, we were chased down by the owner of a local restaurant who also owns an Arctic Fox (the model of our YOFOHome... and yes, he literally drove down the road after us just to talk to us)! We decided to try his place out for dinner and hear more of his story - first time eating bison chili and bison meatloaf and they did not disappoint. When we were talking to the ranger at the Visitor Center, we asked about the Crypt Lake hike. When she found out we had kayaks, she said that her preference would be to paddle across Middle Waterton Lake and then hike up Vimy Mountain until we either summited or got tired of the views. So, rather than taking the shuttle boat and doing the park’s most popular (and crowded) hike...we set the alarm to get up and paddle into the sunrise. The road less traveled has a certain appeal after all.

Our sunrise kayaking plan started off well enough until we left the protected cove and started taking waves into our cockpits!

All started out according to plan, but the mountain gods are fickle. And, as we discovered just a few minutes off shore, a south-southwest wind comes howling through the valley containing Upper Waterton Lake, gets channelized by the Dardanelles and then blasts onto Middle Waterton Lake. Our trusty kayaks were rolling all over and waves were crashing up, over, and into the boats. If it was 70 and sunny, our “suck it up meters” might have been set higher. But having paddled one mile in about an hour and at about 40 degrees with winds predicted to increase, well, sometimes discretion really is the better part of valor. We managed to beach ourselves and portage the kayaks about an eighth of a mile to a spot where we thought we might be able to fetch the boats with the truck. It was a very scenic walk of shame back to the truck along some equestrian trails along Driftwood Beach. We consoled ourselves at a cafe with some fresh baked pastries and Mac-n-cheese for second breakfast. Plan B was a hike up to Bertha Lake - very scenic and pleasant hike, even if the grey clouds washed out the glacially colored waters. Luckily, pb&j’s taste just as yummy on overcast days.

The hike up to Bertha Lake was a great plan B after giving up on the morning kayaking.

Theres a story behind every warning sign.

Unfortunately, about 70% of Waterton, including Red Rock Canyon was still closed. We could’ve biked up the road, but the temperatures and winds weren’t really in our favor and it (and Vimy) will have to remain on the to do list. While hiking back down from Bertha, we talked to a couple who were excited to try the local waffle place...and you would be correct in thinking that we tried it. Both the savory and sweet waffles were scrumptious and we had a fun time chatting with the staff and a couple of German tourists. The guy working the counter was telling “stupid human tricks” stories involving people and wildlife - the highlight was definitely hearing about the lady who got hoofed by a deer that she tried to pet. Yikes!

We left Waterton on the Chief Mountain International Highway and had an uneventful border crossing. Montana decided to do a super Montana thing and we had a chance to drive directly behind a cattle drive (down the highway) for a few miles. The working dogs were amazing and made us think of the Murpher. While Murph liked the couch, we’re betting he would’ve loved a chance to run around and herd some animals.

We were thinking that we wanted electricity at the campground at Glacier since temps were forecasted to get down to the low 30s. Alas, the place we were looking at closed early for the season and the park ranger at the St Mary Visitor Center said that there were plenty of spaces in the campground. So, we decided to boondock it and found a great site with plenty of open skies for our solar panels. Our panels do well even on cloudy days, so we figured we’d be fine, even if we got back to sleeping with knit caps on earlier than we would’ve liked! We drove part way up St Mary Lake and hiked to some lovely waterfalls (Saint Mary and Virginia Falls). The scenery was great and it was a great starter hike for our Glacier adventure. Back at the parking lot, someone said that a ranger had spotted a grizzly on a slope a little ways up, so we headed to take a look. Such an amazing sight - very glad that it was through binos as the mom bear was huge and the cubs were not slackers either.

Clouds lifting for a moment at Iceberg Lake. Water was absurdly clear.

The next day was cloudy with rain forecasted. We decided to chance it anyway and drove to the Many Glacier section of the park. Dean was kind and picked the “short” hike option in case of rain. As a heads up, there really aren’t short hike options at Glacier. There might be one or two that are 2-3 miles and then good luck finding something less than 10 miles round trip. Iceberg Lake would’ve been stunning...but we hiked into clouds. They started to part briefly as we headed back out, but we were left wanting more. We really were left wanting more because a young gentleman who passed us while we were stripping off a layer ending up coming back down the trail wide-eyed to find us because he was alone and proclaimed he had no clue about what to do since he had just seen a bear on the trail! Gah! That should have been our megafauna to find!! We proceeded up the trail to investigate but the bear was gone.

Snow was forecasted for the next night, so we opted to jump around to the Apgar/West Glacier side as driving the YOFOHome in the snow is not something we’re interested in. Unfortunately, it meant that our east side exploring was cut short. Again, it just gives us an excuse to go back!

We got settled into Apgar Campground (more hat wearing, no electrical connection time) with enough daylight to spare to allow us to start three days of lookout tower (hill/mountain) climbs. First up was Apgar Lookout - nice trail and great views out over the lake. We also got to have another “Norwegian grandmother” moment although this time it was a gal with her four kids (one of whom was an infant in a backpack) frolicking around the tower. #humbled

Next day we headed out after breakfast to see Logan Pass. Much swearing ensued when we found out that they closed the road. Seriously. Add it to the growing list of reasons we “gotta come back”. We decided to make the best of things and headed over to the Camas area to hike to Huckleberry Lookout Tower. Saw lots of huckleberry bushes, which usually means bears since they’re in full on eat all day and most of the night mode. Alas, no large mammal sightings, but we did get some nice views, even if the cloud ceiling was just above tower level.

Views from the trail on the way up to Mt. Brown Lookout.

We checked and they still hadn’t opened the Going to the Sun road to Logan Pass the following day. We wanted to see part of the Sprague Creek/ Sperry Area. We had three hike options: Mount Brown Lookout Tower (very hard), Snyder Lake (rather moderate), or Sperry Chalet (medium hard but longer). So, Dawn picked the path of least resistance (hey, why not see a lake instead of another tower!) only to discover that the Snyder Lake Area was closed due to displaced bears from when Sperry Chalet and Sprague Creek burned last summer and the ongoing reconstruction efforts. Missed it by this much. Tower #3 it was. After steeply climbing the equivalent of a hike out of the Grand Canyon, the reward was some spectacular views, the best yet, even if the climb was a leg and lung burner. Thankfully, the clouds lifted a little bit and we could look around while we ate another pb&j!

A view along our hike of the Quartz Lake loop. Glacier seems to have an endless supply of rewarding views if you’re willing to pay the “price” of a long hike.

We were hopeful that the road would be open on the one day between storms since temps were forecasted to climb near 60...and nope. The ranger nicely crushed our souls, but told us about the Bowman Lake Area. Off we went along a crazy rutted road that jarred Dawn’s Road bike off the truck twice. Oops. We had a choice of another tower or a loop around some lakes...you guessed it, Quartz Lake Loop won out, even though it was the longer of the two options. The lakes were pretty and it was definitely a quieter section of the park. On the way back out, we stopped at a bakery in Polebridge (how that remote spot supports a bakery is a mystery to us) and picked up some huckleberry based delectables. They alone were worth the drive (Kidding, the hike was great, but if you’re ever in the area, make sure to stop).

They’re all good trails. This one goes to a Lookout Tower.

As a quick recap, and as confirmation that Dean is legit trying to kill Dawn, here are a couple quick Waterton-Glacier stats. Seven days of hiking in a row totaling 69 miles and 14,433’ of climbing (same elevation as Mount Elbert in Colorado). Three towers. Three lakes. Lots of waterfalls. Even more smiles and views. Only downside was that squirrels and campground deer were the only non-avian critters we saw while hiking. We did see a wolf while driving to Bowman Lake Area, which was awesome. Those doggos are big!

Uh, just enjoying the peerific view. (I made him pose like that!)

Even though our visit left us with plenty of “to do” items that will require us to come back to Glacier (shucks), we can unequivocally rank it in our top 5 US Parks. It is an amazingly beautiful place, especially in the peak of fall foliage. We got run out of the area by an impending snowstorm but we shall be back. Now all we need to do is figure out where to go next!