Parking
Use the Linnet Lake Day Use Area lot east of Entrance Road, just past Parks Canada's operations area; the loop starts there.
Overview
About Linnet Lake Loop
Why go
- Short paved circuit with lakeside views and interpretive panels.
- Two picnic tables and flush toilets at the day-use area.
Heads up
- Very brief, with little climbing for anyone looking for a sustained hike.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Waterton Lakes map
Full mapElevation1,276–1,304 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
7 active Waterton Lakes alerts
- ClosureBelly River Campground closedBelly River Campground is closed to all traffic and travel because a carcass is in the area. - Violators may be charged under the Canada National Parks Act, with a maximum penalty of $25,000.Official details
- ClosureBlakiston Fan closed to protect rutting elkThe Blakiston Fan area is closed to traffic and travel to prevent disturbance of elk rutting there.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Waterton Lakes Tour Guide
Your drive to Linnet Lake Loop, narrated.
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 trailhead
Linnet Lake and Middle Waterton Shore0:00 / 0:29
“Linnet Lake is ahead, a good stop if you want a picnic and an easy walk. The paved loop circles the small lake in about twenty minutes, with very little climbing, benches and interpretive panels along the way.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Waterton Lakes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Bear’s Hump
- Prince of Wales Hotel
- Driftwood Beach
- Emerald Bay and Kilmorey Lodge
- 51 audio storiesacross Waterton Lakes’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bison, Black Bear, Elk, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 47 trails, 70 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Linnet Lake Loop
An easy circuitLinnet Lake Loop is a 1 km (0.62 mi) paved circuit around a small lake.
Linnet Lake Loop is a 1 km (0.62 mi) paved circuit around a small lake. Allow about 20 minutes; the grade is minimal, so this is a short stroll rather than a workout. Interpretive panels line the path.
Views from the shoreThe loop circles the water below Prince of Wales Hill.
The loop circles the water below Prince of Wales Hill. From the circuit, look across Middle Waterton Lake for the Prince of Wales Hotel and Vimy Peak. The exact sightline is not pinned to one spot, so keep watching as you walk.
A little local contextParks Canada says the lake takes its name from the linnet, a small bird.
Parks Canada says the lake takes its name from the linnet, a small bird. The interpretive panels add context along the route, though their topics are not documented well enough to promise a particular story.
Make the stop workStart at the Linnet Lake Day Use Area parking lot east of Entrance Road, just past Parks…
Start at the Linnet Lake Day Use Area parking lot east of Entrance Road, just past Parks Canada's operations area. The day-use area has two picnic tables and flush toilets. Dogs are allowed on park trails when leashed and under control. The nearby Prince of Wales Loop and Kootenai Brown Trail are separate walks, not extensions of this circuit.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Waterton Lakes
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.
