Glacier National Park pulled in more than 3 million visitors in 2025. Just across the border in Alberta, its sister park Waterton Lakes got about half a million — for what is essentially the same run of Northern Rockies scenery. That gap is the whole pitch: alpine trails, heritage lodges and genuinely dark skies, without permit wars or shuttle queues.
Waterton and Glacier were jointly designated the world's first International Peace Park in 1932, and hikers can still walk between the two countries through the mountains. You'll need a valid passport — anyone crossing into the US must report via the CBP ROAM app, and returning visitors have to phone in to the Canada Border Services Agency. A popular route is hiking one-way to Goat Haunt, Montana, then catching the boat back across Upper Waterton Lake. The Waterton Shoreline Cruise does the border-hopping for you too, with an interpretive sailing that stops 30 minutes at the Goat Haunt ranger station — two countries in one afternoon, no checkpoint in sight.
The headline hike is Crypt Lake: a $25 boat shuttle across the lake, then a climb that ends with a narrow ledge, a 60-foot ladder and a short tunnel through the mountain. If that sounds like a lot, Bertha Falls, Red Rock Canyon along the parkway, and the short pull up Bear's Hump deliver big views for modest effort. Longer options include the Carthew-Alderson traverse and the exposed Akamina Ridge scramble.
The park's other icon is the Prince of Wales Hotel, which turns 100 in 2027. Built by Louis Hill — the force behind Glacier's development — partly to tempt Prohibition-era Americans north for a legal drink, it sits on a knoll above Upper Waterton Lake. Summer lakeview rooms run roughly $425–495 USD, and the Royal High Tea remains a fixture. Expect to see the landscape's recent history too: the 2017 Kenow Wildfire burned nearly 20,000 hectares, and charred trunks amid fireweed blooms are now part of the scenery, alongside grizzlies, plains bison and the odd wolverine.
Waterton is also a certified International Dark Sky Park (since 2021), with amber streetlights that cut light pollution dramatically — one of the most southerly spots for reliable northern lights. Dark Sky Guides runs family-friendly stargazing tours. Warmer-weather extras include kayaking (watercraft must be rented in-park) and even scuba diving to the wreck of the Gertrude, a paddle wheeler resting about 65 feet down in Emerald Bay. Winter is a different animal: The Last of Us filmed its icy scenes here, and with no groceries or gas available, you'll want a full tank and supplies. The reward is a near-empty park for snowshoeing, ski access to Cameron Lake, and aurora watching without staying up all night.
For anyone who loves Glacier but hates its crowds, Waterton is the practical answer — same mountains, half a million people, and an easy add-on to any Alberta or Montana trip.
