Picnic area · Waterton Lakes National Park
A creekside picnic with a shelter and wood stove.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Waterton Lakes Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Waterton Lakes National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Waterton Lakes audio tourRecorded for this place
Crandell Lake Trailhead and McNeely’s“The Crandell Lake trailhead is coming up, for a short hike to a small lake between Mount Crandell and Ruby Ridge.”
Plays as you drive up to McNeely’s Day Use Area in the Parkwolf Waterton Lakes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
McNeely’s is a small creekside picnic area along the 16 km Akamina Parkway between Waterton townsite and Cameron Lake. It’s a handy meal break on the drive, not a destination hike. There are six picnic tables, dry toilets, gravel parking, and one open shelter with a stove. Bring your own picnic.
Cameron Creek runs beside the clearing, with rocks along the water’s edge. The open shelter and the creek make this a more pleasant place to stop than a quick meal in the car; think picnic break rather than major viewpoint.
Wildlife
83 sightingsBisonMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
563 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
146 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
113 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
55 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
53 sightingsTrumpeter SwanMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Waterton Lakes. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyCrandell Lake Trail (Akamina Parkway)3.5 km · 1 hr · 0.5 km awayA steady climb ends at a lake tucked between forested ridges.
EasyCrandell Lake Trail (Red Rock Parkway)3.9 km · 1.3 hr · 2.4 km awayA steady forest climb to a sheltered lake between ridges.
ModerateLineham Falls Trail8.4 km · 3 hr · 2.7 km awayA steady creekside climb to a viewpoint below a 250-metre waterfall.
ChallengingLineham Ridge17.2 km · 6.5 hr · 4 km awayA hard ridge climb with the Lineham Lakes far below.
ModerateUpper Rowe Lake Trail12.8 km · 5 hr · 4 km awayCreek cascades, a flowered meadow, and an alpine lake below Mount Rowe.
ChallengingTamarack Trail34.3 km · 12 hr · 4 km awayCross high ridges and backcountry lakes from Rowe to Red Rock Canyon.
ModerateLower Rowe Lake Trail8 km · 3 hr · 4 km awayMossy creek ledges and red argillite lead to a cliff-backed lake.
ModerateRowe Meadow Trail10.5 km · 4 hr · 4 km awayA flowered meadow in a mountain bowl, reached beside Rowe Creek.Sight · 0.9 km awayCrandell LakeA mountain-framed lake reached by a short uphill walk.
Sight · 1.6 km awayFirst Oil Well in Western Canada National Historic SiteA derrick-shaped monument marks western Canada's first saleable oil.
Campground · 2.5 km awayCrandell Mountain CampgroundRed Rock Parkway’s campground, reshaped by the Kenow fire.
Picnic area · 2.9 km awayCoppermine Day Use AreaA sheltered picnic break on the Red Rock Parkway.
Sight · 4.5 km awayBear’s HumpA steep climb opens a view from the lakes to the prairie.
Sight · 4.7 km awayCameron FallsSee a close-up waterfall over 1.6-billion-year-old rock.
Lodging · 4.9 km awayCrandell Mountain LodgeA 1940 lodge in Waterton with family rooms and suites.
Lodging · 4.9 km awayKilmorey LodgeA lake-view room or a patio dinner gives this stay its edge.Parkwolf’s Waterton Lakes ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
