August 27, 2025
(Photo credit: Parks Canada)
After I arrived at the hamlet of Waterton Park I turned right onto Akamina Parkway to traverse the 10 miles out to Cameron Lake.
This is the part of our program where I tell you about the wildfire in 2017. It was started by lightning and began outside the Park but worked its way south and consumed roughly 39% of the trees in the Park.
There were several parking lots where visitors could leave their vehicles and hike. I finally arrived at Cameron Lake.
And looking left and right from the pier you can see the damage to the distant trees caused by the wildfire.
As you look straight out across the lake the mountain you see at the far end is actually in the United States, as is a small portion of the lake itself.
There was a large parking lot and a building where visitors could rent canoes and small boats to go out on the lake, and I imagine earlier in the summer swimming might be popular as well. There were rangers available to answer questions or give directions to visitors.
I stood and spoke with some of the other visitors before I left and was surprised to see a small deer calmly walk out of the lake:
I started driving back towards the village.
In the photo above you can see the Prince of Wales Hotel on the left, a small part of the village below and to the right, and parts of both Upper Waterton Lake (near) and Middle Waterton Lake (distance).
In the photo below you can see more of the village at the bottom of the frame and more of Upper Waterton Lake which continues south, well into the United States.
After descending down into the village I would start driving back towards the Park entrance, but encountered this lone bighorn sheep casually walking up the road before I got all the way down the hill.
There was no one behind me so I stopped in the road and put my hazard lights on. My next thought, after not wanting to get run into by another vehicle, was “do sheep with horns react to red cars like bulls might??”
Evidently not because he walked right past me without a care in the world.
When I got further up the road I turned left on Red Rock Parkway to check out that side of the Park. Some of the campgrounds and trails along that road were still closed as a result of the wildfire.
I must say I was very impressed with this Park and am glad some people convinced me it was worthwhile to visit after I had almost talked myself out of it.
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