We originally planned to use this day to ride the boat down to Goat Haunt, and perhaps hike to the Kootenai Lakes. But it rained hard the evening before, and it was still wet and cloudy when we woke.
We used this day to do some short trails to nearby places - canyons and lakes - so that the fact that clouds hung low over all the mountains wouldn't ruin our views. The weather forecast called for clearing in the afternoon, so we hoped to have a sunny second half of the day.
The first thing we did was drive up to Red Rock Canyon which has some bright red colored rocks in a canyon (imagine that!) Blackiston Falls is less than a mile from that same parking lot, so we ambled over there for a view.
The guide book talked about waterfowl and moose at the Maskinonge Lakes, but when we drove over there we could only see some distant ducks out in the water. The map showed a hike trail along the shore, but we couldn't find it.
We did see a fun display by a black bear - driving back from Cameron Lake, there was a bear rolling in the underbrush to scratch. We stopped the car to watch. The bear walked out to the road and sniffed around, and then stood up next to the road sign and began to use it as a scratching post! That was some unique behavior to witness. That bear may have been the best thing we saw this entire day.
Cameron Lake is a beautiful body of water with an impressive mountain in the background, but it was still overcast and the most beautiful views had to wait until the next morning. (Cameron Lake is also the trailhead for the Carthew-Alderon Trail, which we did on the following day.)
Back in town and behind the visitor's center is a short but very steep trail called Bear's Hump. If you scramble up to the top of this outcropping, you are rewarded with a fine panoramic view of the Waterton Lakes, town and mountains. Fortunately, it was late afternoon when we scaled this rock, and by then the clouds had lifted so we got to enjoy the great views.
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Waterton Hikes Photos
