Waterton Lakes National Park
By Carma Wadley Deseret Morning News
What goes up one side comes down the other. What has a front has a back. If one side is gorgeous, chances are the other side will be, too — especially when it comes to mountains in general, and more specifically to mountains that make national parks.
So it is with Glacier National Park in the United States and Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada. They are front and back — or one side and the other side — of the same Rocky Mountain chain.
When Glacier was made a national park in 1910, Waterton Lakes followed in 1911. Both were natural paradises that attracted early visitors who came to see mountains that had been shaped by glacial action eons ago.
In 1932, following a drive initiated by the Rotary Clubs of Alberta and Montana, the two parks joined together to form the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, the first such joint effort in the world.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of that momentous joining, designed “not just to promote peace and goodwill between nations, but also to underscore the international nature of wilderness and the cooperation required in its protection.” The two have since also been designated Biosphere Reserves and in 1995 were named a World Heritage Site. Special activities at the park throughout the year will honor the initial joining.
At 203 square miles, Waterton Lakes is by far the smaller of the two parks, but that size gives it an intimate feel and a personality all its own.
From this Canadian side, you get an exciting look at the amazing process of mountain-building. You see rather clearly the abrupt rise of the mountains from the flatlands, the demarcation line “where the mountains meet the prairie.” No surprise that that’s the catch- phrase theme of the park.
There are no glaciers in Waterton now, but the landscape shows evidence of icy movement in the past: hanging valleys, cirques, aretes, waterfalls. The park centers around the three Waterton lakes: Upper, Middle and Lower. They are named for a British naturalist who spent most of his energies far south of here. Charles Waterton roamed South America and the Caribbean and was the man who introduced curare into Western medicine. He never saw the lakes named in his honor by Thomas Blackiston, who led the first-recorded European visitors through the area in 1858 on the Palliser Expedition. He himself is honored by the tallest mountain in the park; Mount Blackiston rises to 9,580 feet.
Upper Waterton Lake lies to the south; the U.S.-Canadian border cuts across its southern tip, and with a depth of 492 feet, it is the deepest lake in the Canadian Rockies.
The little township of Waterton nestles on the shores of Middle Waterton Lake. Lower Waterton Lake is near the park entrance.
If this arrangement seems like upper should be lower and lower upper, it is not the only backwards thing here. Some of the rocks in Waterton are among the oldest in the world, dating back 1.5 billion years. But the thrust and twists of geologic forces often put the older rocks on top of younger ones, so they are sometimes referred to as “upside-down” mountains.
Such forces of nature create scenery that dazzles the senses. But they also make for a habitat that supports a variety of animal and plant life. There are bears, coyotes and other animals in the back country. But even visitors to the less remote areas are likely to see mule deer and bighorn sheep. Waterton is especially known for its diverse plant life. More than half of all the plant species found anywhere in Alberta are found within the park’s borders.
The most recognizable landmark of Waterton Lakes National Park is probably the Prince of Wales Hotel, which sits on a bluff overlooking Middle Waterton Lake.
Built in 1927, the hotel is an eloquent remnant of the golden age of railway resort development in both the United States and Canada. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, railroad magnates promoted railway travel — especially among the affluent — by providing destination resorts in scenic locations.
In 1910, James Hill, president of the Great Northern Railway, was one of the first to see the combined promise of Glacier and Waterton Lakes parks; and, with his son Louis, came up with a plan to build a chain of hotels, camps, chalets, boats, roads and trails that would make the parks “the playground of the Northwest.”
The Prince of Wales was the only Canadian link in this U.S. chain — and conversely became the only American hotel in the Canadian chain that included the farther-north parks of Banff and Jasper.
With soaring roof, gables and balconies, the Prince of Wales was designed to look like a grandiose alpine chalet. The timber-framed interior still calls to mind the rustic elegance the period was known for.
After 1927, visitors who came by rail to Glacier often ended their trip with a boat ride from Goat Haunt, in the United States, through Upper and Middle Waterton Lakes to the Prince of Wales. It’s still possible to do that.
But most people now arrive by road. The drive from Glacier on the Chief Mountain International Highway is a scenic one that provides panoramic views of mountains and wilderness, as well as the monolithic Chief Mountain. It takes you into the park on the northern side. From there it’s a short drive to Middle Waterton Lake.
Plan to stop by the Prince of Wales for lunch or a snack, at least. It’s a great place to sit and soak up atmosphere and enjoy breathtaking views of the lake and mountains.
If you want to explore the area further, the town of Waterton offers such options as bike rentals, boat tours, golf and horseback riding. You can also hike the backcountry (permits are required).
A couple of side trips well worth the drive are those to Red Rock Canyon, about 11 miles northwest of Waterton, and the Bison Paddock, just north of the main entrance.
At Red Rock Canyon, you get a close-up look at those 1.5 billion- year-old rocks — in this case, mudstone known as argillite, stained red by iron oxide. The gorge near the parking lot provides spectacular views. You can also do a short loop hike along the canyon or a trip to nearby Blackiston Falls; both trails are about a half-mile long.
At the Bison Paddock, you can see two dozen or so bison enclosed in a section of what is clearly the prairie side of the park. You will learn that herds of bison, maybe 60 million in all, once roamed these plains but were nearly driven to extinction. These few are a reminder of those earlier years.
The bison drew native tribes to the area — Blackfeet, Salish and Kootenai. Archaeologists have found campsites that date back as far as 8,000 years ago in the Waterton area. But they appear to have been mostly from nomadic wanderings, rather than permanent settlements.
After the Palliser Expedition of 1858, it took awhile before further development. But even early settlers recognized that the area was something special. One of the first to arrive was Thomas “Kootenai” Brown, who came through in 1865, then settled on Middle Waterton Lake in 1878.
Waterton Lakes was first set aside as a preserve in 1895. When it became a national park in 1911, Brown became the first superintendent. “This is what I have seen in my dreams. This is the country for me,” he said. It’s a sentiment easy to identify with as you stand on the bluff at the Prince of Wales Hotel.
Among the early settlers to come, if not to Waterton Lakes, at least to the nearby area, was Charles Ora Card, a son-in-law of Brigham Young, who led 10 pioneer families to Canada in 1887. They founded the town of Cardston, which is about 30 minutes from Waterton Lakes.
The LDS Cardston Temple, built on a hill in the center of town and dedicated in 1923, is the most visible landmark of the town, which has a population of close to 3,500. The C. Ora Card cabin has been restored and refurnished with hand-carved period furniture and is still in its original location on Main Street.
The little town has other places of interest. The Court House Museum is in a structure built in 1907 from locally quarried sandstone. It was in use longer than any other courthouse in Alberta and still contains the original judge’s bench, witness stand and jail cells with their graffiti intact.
The Remington Carriage Museum contains more than 250 19th- and early 20th-century horse-drawn vehicles, as well as a blacksmith shop, livery stable, carriage factory and a working restoration shop. The Museum of Miniatures offers a look at covered wagons on the move, Indian villages, buffalo, wild animals and a Western town – - all done in a 1-12 scale.
Cardston was also the birthplace of actress Fay Wray — of “King Kong” fame. A fountain and memorial on Main Street acknowledges her career.
Another look at the town’s early history can be found at Cobblestone Manor, originally a two-story log structure built in 1898 by the Joseph Young family. In 1913, Harry Hoet, a Belgian finish carpenter, bought the log home and began to build on — using local river rocks, rare hardwoods and colorful stained glass imported from Italy.
The Golden Oak Room, built between 1920 and 1929, features a delicate honeycomb ceiling; each tile has 61 pieces of oak. Local legend says that Hoet built the house for his sweetheart — but she never came to Canada, and he never married.
Today, Cobblestone Manor is operated as a restaurant by the Negrych family. Their breakfast crepes stuffed with saskatoon berries are scrumptious.
Cardston is a convenient stopping place on a trip to the parks. With its Utah roots and Canadian atmosphere, it is also a perfect extension of the International Peace Park theme of Waterton Lakes.
In addition, both places are evidence of the hope and vision of an earlier age. If Cardston was settled by faith-seeking pioneers, Waterton Lakes was created by nature-loving conservationists who realized — at a time when North America seemed boundless and wild – - that resources were, indeed, finite.
“Posterity will bless us,” the Canadian minister of the interior wrote in 1895, when Waterton Lakes was first set aside as a preserve. He was right.
E-mail: carma@desnews.com
(c) 2007 Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.