O Canada! Waterton Lakes hike reveals beautiful scenery

It was a hike and a half.

Having set a goal to hike in Waterton Lakes National Park before the end of the year, I headed northeast for the four-hour drive at 9:45 a.m. Friday.

I researched and decided to hike the Lakeshore Trail, which runs south from the Waterton townsite toward the international boundary between Canada and the United States.

I had visited the park once before with my parents over 20 years ago, but never actually hiked there.

I remembered the scenic Prince of Wales Hotel but not much else.

I drove on U.S. HIghway 2 east until I reached East Glacier and then headed on to Browning, not wanting to drive Montana Highway 49 and U.S. HIghway 89, the slow curvy roads that I had driven before. Once in Browning, I bought some gas and headed north on Montana Highway 464, which runs directly north and then heads directly west past Duck Lake. I liked the road, which crossed prairie grasslands and afforded views of the mountains to the west. It connects with Babb at U.S. 89, where I headed north for a few miles before turning west on Montana Highway 17 toward the Chief Mountain border crossing.

Chief Mountain is a beautiful drive and I one I much prefer to Piegan border crossing, which heads to Cardston. One of the reasons I decided to head to Waterton Lakes last weekend was due to the impending Oct. 1 closure of Chief Mountain border crossing. I was hoping for an “Indian summer” also, but have doubts as to whether that will occur.

I encountered a number of free-range cattled on Highway 17, which caused to me go around and through them on occasion.

At the border, I stopped and photographed the picturesque international boundary, where a clearcut through pine trees is cleary visible. After a half hour or so, I came to the turnoff for Waterton townsite.

I paid $7.80 for a one-day pass to the park and headed into town.

After stopping at the visitor’s center, I headed across the highway to the iconic Prince of Wales Hotel, which was closed for the season. Nice views of Waterton Lake are available from behind the hotel. It was quite a windy day, however, so I didn’t linger on the overlook.

Next it was off to a couple shops for post cards and a cup of coffee, a nice sidetrip before beginning my hike.

I reached the Lakeshore Trail parking area on the south end of town at 2:20 p.m. The trail is marked as the Bertha Falls Trail. After hiking about a mile, I reached the diversion point between the two trails. I headed up toward Lower Bertha Falls, a nice one-mile sidetrip that I ended up regretting, although it sheltered me from the wind for a while.

The trail continues to the upper falls and to Bertha Lake, but that wasn’t on my agenda, so I turned around and walked back to the junction with Lakeshore Trail.

Once on the Lakeshore Trail, it descends rapidly toward the lake. Overall, the 3.5-mile hike to the international boundary is up-and-down, with a steep slope here and there. There are a few places with lake access. Other portions are in pine trees with some peek-a-boo views of the lake and some occasional panoramic vistas.

There are nice views of the mountains along the trail, but the real treat is reaching the international boundary. A restroom is located there, appropriately named, “House of Many Moons.”

The international boundary offers spectacular views of the lake and surrounding mountains, including a glacier. The prettiest mountains actually are located in the United States: Glacier National Park.

At the visitor’s center, a woman said that U.S. customs officials are usually located at the Goat Haunt Ranger Station five miles or so south from the international boundary, but since they left the previous week hikers were advised to turn around at the boundary. This wasn’t a big deal. My feet were starting to get sore and I only had enough daylight to hike back anyway.

After taking numerous photos and enjoying the scenery, I headed back toward civilization. It started to rain as I climbed up toward the junction with Bertha Falls Trail. The rain slowed me down. I started taking shorter steps as I didn’t want to slip. My aching feet reminded me that I shouldn’t have hiked to Lower Bertha Falls.

I ended my hike at 7:45 p.m. and drove east out of the park toward Cardston as Chief Mountain border crossing closed at 6 p.m.

It was a good day, although the guard at the U.S. customs station at the Piegan border crossing said I looked exhausted. I was.

I landed back in Bigfork at 11:45 p.m.