Campground · Waterton Lakes National Park
A planned overnight base for Waterton's backcountry trail junctions.
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
Red Rock Canyon“You’re coming up on Red Rock Canyon, where a creek cuts through red and green rock. This is a good stop for a close look at the landscape without a long hike.”
Plays as you drive up to Snowshoe Backcountry Campground 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
Snowshoe is a primitive backcountry campground in the Bauerman Creek valley, reached from the upper Red Rock Canyon parking lot by a former fire road. The walk is 16.4 km return and Parks Canada estimates about five hours, so this is a planned overnight for hikers or riders, not a quick side trip. You need a backcountry reservation and permit.
The site has tent pads, a pit toilet, food lockers, picnic tables and a water source that needs treatment or boiling. The pads are 2.7 m square. Fires are allowed only in the provided metal rings, using small dead-and-down wood. Horse camping is allowed with permission, with corrals for up to eight horses.
The Snowshoe route began as a fire and warden service road to the cabin now known as Snowshoe Cabin; today it is also used for hiking, biking and horseback riding. From camp, short uphill spurs reach Lost Lake and Castle Divide, with longer routes connecting toward Twin Lakes and Goat Lake. Snowshoe is a campground stop; don't plan on a cabin stay based on the name.
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
ChallengingTwin Lakes Trail22.7 km · 9 hr · 7.2 km awayTwo alpine lakes reward a long climb through creekside meadows.
ModerateSnowshoe Trail16.4 km · 5 hr · 7.2 km awayA 10-mile return on the former fire road to Snowshoe Cabin.
ModerateLost Lake Trail20.8 km · 8 hr · 7.2 km awayA long creek walk ends at a lake below the Continental Divide.
ModerateCastle River Divide Trail22.5 km · 8 hr · 7.2 km awayA long forest walk to a quiet watershed ridge.
EasyRed Rock Canyon Loop Trail0.7 km · 24 min · 7.2 km awayA quick paved loop through red, green and pale canyon walls.
EasyBlakiston Falls Trail2.3 km · 54 min · 7.3 km awayTwo creek bridges lead to twin views of the waterfall.
ModerateBlakiston Valley Trail20.1 km · 7 hr · 7.3 km awayA daylong creek walk to an open valley junction.
ChallengingGoat Lake Trail14 km · 5 hr · 7.3 km awayA rolling forest approach rises steeply to a cirque-ringed lake.
Campground · 2.5 km awayTwin LakesTwo backcountry lakes, a wildflower meadow, and a hike-in camp.
Campground · 3.3 km awayGoat LakeCliff-ringed lake at the end of a steep, hard-earned hike.
Campground · 6.1 km awayLone Lake CampgroundA hike-in lakeshore camp with corrals for up to eight horses.Sight · 6.7 km awayBlakiston FallsAn easy creekside walk ends at two platforms above the falls.
Sight · 7.2 km awayRed Rock CanyonA quick creekside walk through red and green canyon rock.Parkwolf’s Waterton Lakes ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
