Waterton Lakes overview

After Patricia Rodeo (click here if you missed it), instead of going back to Cochrane and Springhill RV to wait for the clock to tick round to house possession day..!!!!…We thought a trip back to Waterton Lakes National Park seemed like a good idea. We skipped by this park last year on our way through and with a little time to fill, it fit the bill….

There were no sites inside the park for the time frame we needed…but just outside the boundary…I found Crooked Creek RV park. It was a really lovely little campground set around the meanders of Crooked Creek. The campground has really nice tenting sites in the middle around the creek, all of them level and tucked in behind willow hedges.

Crooked Creek campground sunset

It sits just 5 minutes drive from the main gate to the park. We decided that next time we are here….the Crooked Creek is probably a nicer, smaller, definitely more sheltered spot than the sites actually in the park…well at the townsite park anyway. Waterton also has another campground further into the back country, but it has not re-opened since the devastating wildfire that hit the park in 2017. ( click here for the fire map of just how much of the park burned…..from a lightening strike in BC..!!)

After our Sofa Mountain hike we headed in to the visitor centre ( I always have to go to see if they have a pin for my growing collection……they did..!!) On our way into the town of Waterton, a black bear ambled across the road and continued on North….curses to cell phone cameras at any distance….He was maybe about 80 to 100 feet in front of us… ( if you click on it, the picture will appear bigger )

We ended up doing more hikes than we thought we would here……it is a spectacularly beautiful park….and I think probably less busy than Banff and co further north.

The views come with the wildfire reality check. Its hard to imagine that the burn here was 5 years ago….when you see the charred skeletal trees it might have been last year. A reminder that growth, and regrowth take time here…..

The irony is, that it exposes more of the landscape….enhancing the breathtaking views….!!

We also had a surprise snowstorm………a bit of a shock in the morning……but what a sight on the mountains….