Parking
Use Cameron Lake Day Use Area at the end of Akamina Parkway. Face the lake from the parking area; the trail starts on your left. During the winter closure, vehicles cannot continue beyond Little Prairie Day Use Area.
Overview
About Summit Lake Trail
Why go
- A steady switchback climb opens to an alpine lake and meadow.
- The rising trail brings views back across Cameron Lake.
Heads up
- Published distance figures disagree; confirm the route before setting out.
- The return retraces the same uphill corridor.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Waterton Lakes map
Full mapElevation1,660–1,960 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
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 Summit Lake 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
Cameron Lake0:00 / 0:31
“Cameron Lake is coming up at the end of Akamina Parkway. You can reach the shore straight from the parking area, so make this stop even if you don’t want a hike.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Waterton Lakes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Akamina Pass and Wall Lake
- Little Prairie Day Use Area
- Rowe Lakes Trailhead
- Lineham Falls Trailhead
- 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 Summit Lake Trail
Summit Lake and backSummit Lake is a moderate out-and-back from Cameron Lake Day Use Area.
Summit Lake is a moderate out-and-back from Cameron Lake Day Use Area. Plan for about 5 miles (8 km) round trip and roughly 3 hours. The climb passes through forest and a meadow to a small subalpine lake; turn around there to return the same way. Continuing beyond the lake takes you onto the much longer Carthew-Alderson route.
The climbFace Cameron Lake and start on the left.
Face Cameron Lake and start on the left. Long switchbacks climb through forest and ease the grade. Exposed roots and wind-fallen trees interrupt the tread. Near the ridge, the trees open into a meadow with whitebark pine and views back over Cameron Lake and across the divide.
At the lakeThe trail levels out near Summit Lake on a high plateau.
The trail levels out near Summit Lake on a high plateau. Mount Custer rises over the basin, making the lake a good place to pause before the return. For a photo, include water along the bottom of the frame and the mountain above it. This hike ends at Summit Lake; the Carthew Summit and Carthew Lakes are beyond it on a different, much longer walk.
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.
