Parking
Start at Rowe Creek Trailhead on Akamina Parkway, 10.5 km from Waterton townsite on the right when driving from town. Parking capacity and trailhead facilities are not documented; bring food and water before setting out.
Overview
About Rowe Meadow Trail
Why go
- A creek-side climb ends at a stream-threaded meadow beneath a mountain bowl.
- Lower Rowe Lake offers a shorter turnaround from the same trailhead.
Heads up
- The meadow takes a half day, and the steep upper switchbacks continue beyond it.
A log bridge leads into Rowe Meadow, a green opening with a stream running through it and steep mountain walls all around. Wildflowers scatter the meadow in season, including Beargrass in its flowering period. Stop here before the path turns into steep switchbacks for the upper lakes. For a photo, keep the path in the foreground and let it lead toward the rocky bowl; the trail gives the meadow a useful sense of scale.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe meadow is the payoffMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Waterton Lakes map
Full mapElevation1,592–2,017 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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 Rowe Meadow Trail, 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
Rowe Lakes Trailhead0:00 / 0:27
“You’re approaching the Rowe Lakes trailhead, where I’d choose Lower Rowe Lake for a moderate hike.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Waterton Lakes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Lineham Falls Trailhead
- First Oil Well in Western Canada
- Little Prairie Day Use Area
- Crandell Lake Trailhead and McNeely’s
- 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 Rowe Meadow Trail
A meadow half-dayRowe Meadow Trail is a 6.5-mile (10.
Rowe Meadow Trail is a 6.5-mile (10.4 km) out-and-back from Rowe Creek Trailhead on the Akamina Parkway. Allow about four hours for a moderate, steady climb beside Rowe Creek, through forest and open slopes, past Lower Rowe Lake, and into a stream-threaded meadow ringed by mountains. For the listed distance, take the short Lower Rowe Lake branch once on the way out, rejoin the main path, and continue to the meadow; return on the main trail. The meadow is the turnaround, before the steep switchbacks to Upper Rowe Lakes or the separate Lineham Ridge branch.
Along Rowe CreekThe route begins beside water tumbling over mossy ledges and bright red argillite.
The route begins beside water tumbling over mossy ledges and bright red argillite. It climbs through mature forest, then the trees thin across open slopes. A short spur from the junction reaches Lower Rowe Lake, the first alpine lake on this route. If you want an easier outing, make that your destination instead: the lake walk is about 5 miles (8 km) return and roughly three hours.
Getting there and backThe Rowe Creek Trailhead is 10.
The Rowe Creek Trailhead is 10.5 km along Akamina Parkway, on the right when driving from Waterton townsite. Parking capacity and trailhead facilities are not documented, so bring food and water from town. Dogs are allowed on the trail but must stay leashed and under control. This is bear country; carry bear spray.
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.
