The original plan for today was to use Shoreline Cruise Company to get us to the trailhead for the Crypt Lake Hike. The hike would be 12 miles of difficult terrain with strenuous uphill climbs. This hike would be epic, but with Grinnell Glacier hike just two days before our legs were all still sore and tired and the consensus was that Crypt Lake Hike would not be in the cards.
After talking to Evan, our bellhop extraordinaire at Prince of Wales hotel, we decided that instead we would tackle the Red Rock Canyon hike. The official hike is a paved trail around red canyon. But we are too adventurous for that, so we took the route down in the canyon! For the first part of the hike there were families climbing around on the rocks and playing in the water. The air was warm and we were excited to check out the deeper parts of the canyon. The girl and I changed into our water shoes and started in right in the shallow, cold mountain water, while the boys, determined to challenge themselves started out trying to stay dry by climbing and jumping around on exposed rock faces.
It wasn’t long before we were all laughing out loud in and out of the frigid water that was at times up to knee deep! We made it about a mile up into the canyon where there was a pool large enough for swimming when we decided to turn around. Coming back down was a little more difficult and after one minor fall, the girl found a way down that was a bit more fun, (and wet) slide!
The rocks made for great slippery slides which when intentional are fun, but I did take a fall on one and banged up my leg a bit. After a fun morning we headed back the 20 minutes to the hotel for a little afternoon nap.
After regrouping, we headed to the town of Waterton via the .5 mile trail that meanders by the front of the hotel and around Waterton Lake to the small downtown area. The town is small, but full of quaint cafes, fine dining, coffee, ice cream, and even some live music! We chose to stop in at Trappers Mountain Grill for dinner, with its buffalo plaid booths and extensive menu.
In the hopes of spotting more wildlife, we took a quick drive after dinner back towards Red Rock Canyon thinking we’d have some luck. And we did! A very large grizzly off in the distance hanging out for all to see on the green at the neighboring golf course. And then just a little farther up the road a black bear along the side of the road about 50 yards away. With the sun just about setting, we decided it was time to get back to the hotel.
Wanderlust Travel Diary 