Trip Report - Waterton, Kananaskis, and Drumheller

Long Version:
We flew into Calgary, arriving late - and delayed - on a Saturday night.  The car rental company tried to convince me to take a truck rather than the car I had booked, but we got out of there with a compact SUV.  We stayed at a hotel by the airport that night and found a bakery later the next morning with a Google search.  Byblos World Bakery is a factory making bread and other baked goods for grocery stores and restaurants, but there is a deli section beside the loading dock, so Google didn't exactly steer me wrong.  Delicious Mediterranean cheese pies for breakfast and then we went on our way with a loaf of banana bread right out of the oven and some naan bread. 

It's about a 3 hour drive to Waterton and, as advised, we took Highway 22 so the scenery gradually changed from prairie to foothills to mountains with exclamations from the kids on their first mountain trip. In the park, we stayed at Bear Mountain Motel, which is a basic older property, which had the very nice features of (1) a front room with two separate twin beds for the kids and a back room with the bed for me; and (2) a few extra kitchen things - hot plate and toaster and dishes as well as the fridge.

After checking in at the hotel, I went to Pat's to rent bear spray.  We couldn't fly with it, so paying $15 to keep it for the length of our stay was perfect.  I hadn't packed a belt to carry it properly, but I was able to secure the carrying case to have good access.  Then we took the scenic drive to Red Rock Canyon.  There are warnings about the risk of slipping as you go down the 15 feet to the canyon floor, but there were many people of all ages walking in the canyon. The temperature between the canyon walls was at least 10 degrees cooler than at the top of the canyon in the sun.  In mid-summer, the cold stream was mostly less than 6 inches deep as we walked through it, although there were a few pools. We spent a couple of hours before heading back to the Waterton townsite.

Monday morning we tackled the Bear's Hump walk, a vertical hike to an overlook of the lakes and townsite.  At the overlook, we sat on the rocks, enjoyed the view, and watched the chipmunks approach the tourists.  Although I hate looking down from heights, I do like the view out from heights.
 
In the afternoon, we took the other scenic drive to Cameron Lake where we rented a canoe.  More of the trees had survived the fire near the lake and it was beautiful looking down the valley.  Back at the beach, one daughter went swimming; wading in the cold water was enough for me.  On a Monday afternoon, there were likely less than 50 people at the lake, but on weekends, it seems like it could be 10 times as many based on the parking lot size (and the park website had indicated that the Cameron Lake parking lot was full early Sunday afternoon).  In April and May, I wasn't sure if the canoe rental still existed, but finally in June their Facebook page had a few posts.

Tuesday morning after we checked out, we took the lake cruise to Goat Haunt, Montana and back.  Pleasant to be out in the water looking at mountains.  Good history and commentary as you go.  But the only wildlife that we saw were a few gulls and ducks, not even hawks or eagles let alone elk or moose or bears.  That was disappointing for the trip overall, although we of course saw deer in the townsite (and gave them their space).

We went to the historic Prince of Wales hotel up above the townsite for lunch in the lounge.  The view is spectacular and the food was creative (wild mushrooms and gherkins on pasta - no, I don't think the gherkins worked).  This was not a gourmet trip, though. One of my daughters is a vegetarian and there was falafel at Wiener's of Waterton, vegetarian lasagne at Pizza of Waterton, curried vegetable soup at the Prince of Wales Hotel, and we saw vegetarian burger options walking by other restaurants as well, including the one that otherwise advertised wild game and BBQ. The ice cream at Big Scoops lived up to its name.

We then drove back to Calgary but were on the go again the next day to go rafting on Class 2 and 3 rapids on the Kananaskis River with Canadian Rockies Rafting.  Fun experience - the rapids are mostly at the beginning and then there is a calmer trip further down the river.  We saw a beaver swimming in the river (which is not usual) so finally some wildlife.

We then had a day in Calgary with relatives, which was appreciated but no tourist notes, before driving north east to Drumheller.  Drumheller would be doable as a day trip from Calgary, but I had hoped to hike in the evening; instead there was a thunderstorm.  The Royal Tyrell Museum was moderately crowded at 10am on a Friday; people were always around but it was easy to read the displays or get photos.  Two of us were a bit rushed trying to see it in 2 hours while the other daughter had time for the gift shop, too.  The first couple of galleries are more science intensive and then you get to the dinosaur skeletons.  The rest of the town has embraced the dinosaur theme - we drove by the World's Largest concrete dinosaur, as well as spotting other dinosaur statues throughout town.  The valley around Drumheller has badlands geology where you can see the layers of rock and strange formations known as hoodoos.  The best hoodoos are fenced off, but the hills can be climbed and there is a Provincial Park with hiking trails right beside the museum.

Glad it all worked out for you. Waterton is spectacular. It doesn't sound like you enjoyed the Royal Tyrrell Museum and the Badlands as much. Drumheller is a tacky town, but I've always loved the museum and the surrounding landscape. Too bad about the rain, and a bit surprised, we haven't had much this summer.

Thank you, Allan

You are right that we enjoyed Waterton more than Drumheller. But that probably was for two personal reasons - first that we were more rushed in Drumheller and second that, compared to several days being outdoors, it was crowded in the museum.

Thanks for the report! I am hoping to get to Watertown summer 2024, but haven’t yet decided what to put with it.
Probably Glacier NP for starters, though. For after - your report gives me ideas!

The nice thing about Americans coming to Canada right now is the exchange rate. Currently you'll get a 35% discount.