Beautiful Day at Waterton Lakes National Park

Friday, August 20, was the day my friend Delores and I set aside to travel to Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada. We've been to the park several times before, but never on the lake cruise on Upper Waterton Lake which travels down the lake from Canada, entering Glacier National Park, and ending at "Goat Haunt" -- a beautiful section of Glacier.

(Smokestack of the M.V. International with the Prince of Wales Hotel in the background)

You can only get to Goat Haunt two ways -- hike in or ride the boat. I had always assumed this must be at least a half day to cruise the length of the lake because it looked so long on the map. Which is why I'd never done the cruise. Upper Waterton Lake is 7 miles long -- not so long -- and 80 feet deep and the full round trip is 2 1/2 hours.

According to the commentary we heard on the boat, the lake is extremely cold -- all year long. The first 12 inches of the lake only gets to about 60 degrees, and then goes down from there. So okay.....no swimming.

Although that doesn't seem to stop a lot of adventurous souls -- particularly kids. There is boating, kayaking, canoeing, etc. on the lake. There were kids being pulled around the lake on the inflated raft and we were assured if they hit the water, we would hear the screams from where ever we might find ourselves on the lake.

We boarded the 200 passenger M.V. International (M.V. standing for Motorized Vehicle), a boat that was commissioned and built on the shores of the lake on the Goat Haunt side. It was completed in 1927 and has sailed Upper Waterton Lake for 84 years. It's a beautiful old wooden boat, which has undergone many renovations and repairs in its history. The picture shows the "International" moored at Goat Haunt, in front of the "International Peace Park" building (Glacier and Waterton became the first International Peace Park in 1932).

The cruise took us from the docks at Waterton to Goat Haunt. If you want to do any of the hikes, you'll need to have a passport to show at the ranger station, and either catch a later boat back to Waterton, or continue on for overnight back country camping (no day hike back to any facilities). Otherwise, the boat docks for about a half hour so visitors can walk around the lake area, visit the ranger station, enjoy the lake, and be back in time to re-board the boat.

One very small child apparently wanted to play in the water, and I could hardly believe it when I saw her mother take off all her clothes, and actually let the little girl go in the cold water (we had tested it outselves -- BURRRR). This is proof positive that kids do not feel cold!!! She was having a great time.

As you would expect, the cruise is lovely, and the scenery is beautiful. Mountains surround the entire Goat Haunt area, including Glacier's tallest peak, Mt. Cleveland (10,644 ft.).

After the half hour, we boarded and were back on our way to Waterton. Going either direction, the boat slows down when we come to the border, which you can see from the picture is a mowed line going across the mountains in both directions. There are two small stone pillars which say "International Boundary, Treaty of 1908".

It was a beautiful day -- if you get to the Canadian side of the International Peace Park, you should find the time to relax and enjoy the cruise.