Often overlooked by the much more popular Banff National Park and Jasper National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park is every bit as beautiful as the other Alberta parks. Not only is it gorgeous, the park is small enough where you can see a lot of it with only one day. This guide will show you exactly how to see the best that Waterton Lakes National Park has to offer — in just one day!

One thing to note before you go – in September 2017, a large wildfire ripped through the park, and even threatened the famous Prince of Wales hotel. Firefighters were able to save the hotel but the fire left a huge mark on Waterton Lakes National Park. Approximately 38% of the park’s area was impacted by the wildfire, with significant damage to the popular Red Rock Parkway and portions of the Akamina Parkway. In the years since the fire, Waterton Lakes National Park has been undergoing a process of renewal and rejuvenation. However, even when we visited in July 2022, evidence of this fire was still there; charred trees were everywhere, especially along the scenic drives.

Getting to Waterton Lakes National Park

Waterton Lakes National Park is located in the southwest corner of the province of Alberta, Canada. It shares a border with Glacier National Park in Montana, United States. The park is situated in the Canadian Rockies, with the town of Waterton serving as the park’s main hub. Waterton Lakes National Park is known for its stunning mountain scenery, beautiful lakes, and tons of wildlife.

If you’re visiting Glacier National Park in Montana, you can easily do a day trip up to Waterton Lakes, if you’re staying in the East side of Glacier National Park (near St. Mary). From St. Mary, Montana, it’s only a little over an hour to get to Waterton! (If you’re doing this, don’t forget your passports!) You will want to cross the border at the Chief Mountain Border crossing, as it is the quickest way into Waterton Lakes. This border crossing recently reopened (as of May 15, 2023) after several years of closure. It’s a seasonal crossing and typically open May though mid-September.

Waterton Lakes National Park is about a 4 hour drive south of Banff National Park.

Admission & Fees – Waterton Lakes National Park

Waterton Lakes National Park is part of Parks Canada and does charge a fee to enter the park. The Waterton townsite (where all the shops/hotels/amenities are) is inside the park, so you will need to pay this fee even if you’re just visiting the town. Just before you enter the town boundary, there is a fee booth where you will pay. Admission is $10.50 per day, per adult. If you’re doing a larger Canada National Parks trip (like visiting Banff, Yoho, Jasper, etc.) on this trip, you might want to consider purchasing a Discovery Pass. That’s what I did, as we were in the area for 2 weeks, with three adults.

Find out more about Parks Canada fees here.

One Day in Waterton Lakes National Park

With just one day in Waterton Lakes National Park, you won’t be able to complete any big hikes, but you will be able to see the highlights of this scenic park. Let’s get into it:

Morning:

Hit up Driftwood Beach

No, you’re not going swimming here (it’s far too cold, even in the summer!) but this is an excellent place to stop and take some photos of the iconic Prince of Wales hotel perched on a hill, with the lake in front of it. This will be a very quick stop, and then you’re on your way.

Google maps location of Driftwood Beach: https://goo.gl/maps/1vY3jtgAhHfn3rjV7

Hit up the Waterton Lakes Visitor Centre

This is a very nice, modern visitor center in the center of town. They’ll provide you with maps, trail information, and maybe even a sympathetic pat on the back for attempting a one-day itinerary! They also have nice restrooms. And the beaver – he’s so cute.

Cameron Falls

This interesting little waterfall is found right in town and won’t take you long to visit. There is no hike involved; just get out of your car and snap a pic!

Google Maps location: https://goo.gl/maps/AmH69hjKVNQcLAs87

Red Rock Parkway – with Blakiston Falls and Red Rock Canyon

Time to embark on a scenic drive along the Red Rock Parkway, where the views are so stunning they’ll make your eyes pop out (figuratively, of course). Be sure to stop at a few pullouts along the way, as the views are amazing. And if you’re there in early summer, like we were, wildflowers are everywhere! At end of Red Rock Parkway, you’ll be able to visit Blakiston Falls (very short hike) and Red Rock Canyon. When we finished up here, we had a picnic lunch and then headed back to Waterton townsite.

Afternoon:

Visit the Prince of Wales Hotel

If you didn’t pack a lunch, you could splurge and enjoy lunch or tea at the hotel. We just wanted to check out the historic hotel and snap some photos. They do charge a parking fee of $10 here, but it is valid all day and you can come back later if you want.

Hike Bears Hump

This short but challenging hike only takes about an hour to complete and the trailhead is right in town. Once at the top, it provides amazing views of the Waterton. I had this on my list, and we did have time to do it, but no one wanted to hike this with me. Whomp, whomp.

Google Maps Location for trailhead: https://goo.gl/maps/dP5pSYjDM4Jmk5w27

Check out the town of Waterton, Alberta

The town of Waterton, AB is pretty small and all of the shops, cafes, restaurants are mostly located in a center, walkable area. It wasn’t very crowded, but I didn’t find it as fun and lively as Banff’s downtown (rightfully so, this is much, much smaller!). It won’t take you long to go through the shops, as there aren’t a lot of them.

You’ll probably see deer and/or bighorn sheep as they like to roam around the town!

Late Afternoon, Early Evening

Drive Akamina Parkway to Cameron Lake

The Akamina Parkway is another scenic drive in the park, and ends at a beautiful alpine lake – it takes about 30 minutes to drive from Waterton townsite to Cameron Lake. We decided to rent kayaks and paddle across Cameron Lake, which was the highlight of our time in Waterton Lakes – I highly recommend this!

We arrived here around 5pm-ish (things are open late in the summer, as the daylight hours stretch to almost 10pm!) The water was a little choppy but we easily made it across the lake to the end and back.

Evening:

Treat yourself to a well-deserved dinner at one of Waterton’s local restaurants!

From here, you can either spend the night in one of the hotels in Waterton (we stayed at the Alpine Hotel, which was nice) or you can head back to Glacier National Park if you’re doing a day trip.

Have you visited Waterton Lakes National Park? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!