Bear's Hump Trail
Bear's Hump Trail at Waterton Lakes National Park in Waterton Park, Alberta is a difficult 2.3 km out-and-back hike that leads to a cliff with awe-inspiring panoramic views of the lakes, the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and southern views into the USA and Glacier National Park.Hiking to Bear's Hump
The hike to Bear's Hump begins at the main trailhead located on the west side of Highway 5 just west of the Prince of Wales Hotel entrance, north of Waterton Park. The trailhead starts by following an easy-grade path for a very short distance before the trail begins to follow a moderate grade as it heads uphill for approximately 1 km. On your hike up, you'll hit 24 switchbacks as the trail climbs to Bear's Hump, but you'll also find stunning views along the way. During 2017, a wildfire swept through the park and since, it's opened up views all over the mountain sides. Be sure to take breaks and look back and down every now and then -- you'll notice the Prince of Wales Hotel's green gabled roof sitting alongside Middle Waterton Lake. Yimy Peak will be sitting just to the south and west of the hotel and even Upper Waterton Lake will begin to make its appearance where it connects to Middle Lake.After climbing the 24 switchbacks and hiking up large rock steps along the way, the trail eventually starts to level-out as you make your way to the top of Bear's Hump. The trail finally flattens where you'll find a bench with south-facing views sitting below the cliff. Signage asks hikers to stay back from the cliff and for good reason -- a fall from this cliff will most-likely be deadly; however, you can certainly enjoy views from high-up on the bedrock to take-in the best views. Once at the top of the bedrock of Bear's Hump, you'll find Waterton Park below along with the hotel, but you'll also find sweeping panoramic views of Middle and Upper Waterton Lakes. Upper Waterton Lake connects the United States to Canada by an immaginary border line located not too far south of Waterton Park, so the south-facing views peer directly into the USA and into Glacier National Park and it's towering ramparts of the United States' Rocky Mountains. To the east are views of Vimy Peak and Middle Waterton Lake with the Prince of Wales Hotel sitting below as well. Don't forget to take a panoramic photo here, it's well-worth the time to enjoy after hiking down.
The hike down from Bear's Hump is straight forward -- just follow the same path out. Just be sure to take it slow as its a killer on the knees, especially if you hike down each tall rock step. I found it much easier to side-step these rock stairs where the ground was sloped enough without slipping so that I could take less impact on my knees. You'll make it back to the trailhead around 2.3 km to wrap up this difficult, but stunning hike.
Parking
Hikers will find a large parking lot on the west side of Highway 5, locate across the street from the entrance to the Prince of Wales Hotel north of Waterton Park, Alberta. The lot is large enough to fit a couple dozen vehicles as of September 2024.Pets
Dogs are allowed only if leashed and must be cleaned up after.Warning
Steep cliffs: This hike leads to very steep and dangerous cliffs located on bedrock. Be sure to stay back from the cliffs for your own safety.Difficult trail: At times this trail follows steep grades and hits 24 switchbacks (one-way) to reach Bear's Hump. This hike is not easy what-so-ever, but should not be considered strenuous, hence the "hard" rating.
