Carthew-Alderson Trail
- ventureswithvictoria
- 11 hours ago
- 4 min read
Hike Stats
Trail: Carthew-Alderson Trail
Distance: 12 mi point-to-point
Elevation Gain: 2800 ft
Location: Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada
Date Hiked: Sept 13, 2023
If you love to hike and have a passport plus a couple extra days in your trip to Glacier National Park, I highly recommend you head up the road into Alberta, Canada, to visit Waterton Lakes National Park. Located just a one hour drive from the east entrance of Glacier lies the main entrance into Waterton Lakes, the stunning Canadian side of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. One of the park’s most famous hikes is the hike to Crypt Lake, which is super fun and definitely a must-do, but I have to say that I think the park’s premier hike is the Carthew-Alderson Trail, a point-to-point hike that takes you from Cameron Lake up to Carthew Summit, down to the Carthew and Alderson Lakes, and back to the town of Waterton. Heads up, there are tons of photos in this blog because I couldn't narrow them down any more.
To get to the trailhead, you’ll need to take the Tamarack Hiker Shuttle from Tamarack Outdoors to Cameron Lake, which is a great stop in its own right. Be sure to book at least a few days ahead of time if you can; while the hike is not crowded, the shuttles are small and typically only go once or twice daily.
The start of my hike was quite rainy and foggy, but was still lovely as I made my way up the switchbacks taking me above Cameron Lake. I had waited a bit at the lake for the rain to let up some so most of the hikers were ahead of me which was nice.
After about 2.5 miles, I reached Summit Lake, a nice spot to take a short rest to catch my breath before continuing up the climb to Carthew Summit, which really should be named Carthew Pass as it’s a saddle between Mount Carthew and Mount Alderson but I digress.
The fog and clouds started lifting as I headed up the seemingly never ending climb and popped out of the tree line to reveal a beautiful blue lake off in the distance nestled among the mountains, which was an unexpected treat after an hour of being rained on and socked in!
The views from the top of Carthew Summit are absolutely gorgeous. From here you have a couple of options, including hiking to the actual summit of Mount Carthew on the left. I was not in the mood for that plus it was still fog covered so instead I took a quick detour to the right to the Carthew Summit Overlook which provided a fantastic overview of the small lakes I could see on my way up as well as of the surrounding mountains.
I could’ve stayed here enjoying the views for hours but the wind was absolutely brutal so I eventually forced myself to continue on down the trail. Oh. My. Stars. This section of the trail was the highlight of the whole day. Coming down the trail with the Carthew Lakes coming into view ahead then getting to walk alongside each of them was such a treat; I would definitely take your time here!
After passing through the trio of lakes, I continued through even more incredible mountain scenery on the way down to Alderson Lake. I’m genuinely running out of adjectives to describe how beautiful this hike is so I'll let the photos speak for themselves...
Alderson Lake is down a short, maybe 0.2 mile trail detour, and is worth a quick stop as it’s a quintessential alpine lake with the jagged peaks of Mount Alderson rising directly behind it. There is a backcountry campground here as well with a pit toilet if needed.
Once back on the main trail from Alderson Lake, it is mostly forest walking back into the Waterton townsite. I really enjoyed getting to see the town come into view from above! Unfortunately some of this area was burned in a prior forest fire, but it’s beautiful nonetheless.
At the end of the trail, there is a lovely waterfall called Cameron Falls which people can actually drive to and park at, which was a bit jarring after being alone most of the day. From there it was a short walk along the sidewalk back to my car which was parked near the outdoors store.
Waterton has lots of food options so definitely stop into one of the restaurants for a well-earned post-hike meal! I also highly recommend getting a “beaver tail,” which is like a Canadian carnival treat somewhat similar to a cross between a donut and a funnel cake. I got mine with Nutella and bananas which was delightful. If they’re free, take your treat and grab a seat in one of the famous red Adirondack chairs that Parks Canada has sprinkled throughout their national park system and enjoy the view looking out over the water towards the Prince of Wales Hotel.
Heading to Glacier or Waterton Lakes? Pin this for later!
Nearby Adventures in Waterton:
Crypt Lake hike
Boat trip to Goat Haunt
Lower Bertha Falls hike
Bear's Hump
Red Rock area
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