The Townsite Trail in Waterton Park, Alberta is an easy 1.3 km out-and-back trail that features breathtaking views of the Canadian Rocky Mountains that tower over Upper Waterton Lake.
The trailhead begins at the very end of Evergreen Ave in Waterton Park where visitors will find a trailhead located just north from the parking lot. You can instead choose to walk through the grass, skipping the defined path, to make your way over to a footbridge that spans Cameron Creek. From the footbridge, the views begin as you'll peer southward directly into the United States and into the northern reaches of Glacier National Park, which sits right on the border of the two countries.
The trail then leads along the south shore of Waterton Park's waterfront and provides stunning views the entire way as it wraps around to head north toward the center of town. Along the way, visitors will find picnic tables, Adirondack-style chairs, and other amenities to make your visit along this lake shore pleasant. The views from the trail peer southward with towering mountains on either side of Upper Waterton Lake which feel like they go on forever. We only followed the trail for as far as we needed to -- approximately 0.7 km from the trailhead, to reach a part of the shore where we found colorful rocks in the water and thus skipped the flattest stones we could find. After exploring the lake shore and the views for a while, we decided to walk back to parking for a short and easy 1.3 km out-and-back walk.
Exploring the Townsite Trail
This small section of the Townsite Trail will bring visitors to the most scenic part of the trail with views that peer into Glacier National Park however, the entire length of the trail (technically a loop) encompasses the town of Waterton Park and is significantly longer than the route provided.The trailhead begins at the very end of Evergreen Ave in Waterton Park where visitors will find a trailhead located just north from the parking lot. You can instead choose to walk through the grass, skipping the defined path, to make your way over to a footbridge that spans Cameron Creek. From the footbridge, the views begin as you'll peer southward directly into the United States and into the northern reaches of Glacier National Park, which sits right on the border of the two countries.
The trail then leads along the south shore of Waterton Park's waterfront and provides stunning views the entire way as it wraps around to head north toward the center of town. Along the way, visitors will find picnic tables, Adirondack-style chairs, and other amenities to make your visit along this lake shore pleasant. The views from the trail peer southward with towering mountains on either side of Upper Waterton Lake which feel like they go on forever. We only followed the trail for as far as we needed to -- approximately 0.7 km from the trailhead, to reach a part of the shore where we found colorful rocks in the water and thus skipped the flattest stones we could find. After exploring the lake shore and the views for a while, we decided to walk back to parking for a short and easy 1.3 km out-and-back walk.
