On Saturday I finally met up with an internet friend (Hi Melanie!) and we headed to Waterton to hike to Bertha Lake. Melanie isn’t from here and had only been to Waterton a handful of times so I loved having the chance to play tour guide and watching someone appreciate the place as much as I do.
We started off at the Bertha trailhead and hiked to lower Bertha Falls before heading back up.
After the falls the trail heads up, up, up to the lake. Oh those switchbacks! I was told there are 25 switchbacks on that trail up and at every turn you think to yourself “I have to be getting close!”
You do get a gorgeous view of Upper Bertha Falls off the trail.
Upper Bertha FallsIt’s not too long, about 2.8km from Lower Bertha Falls to the Lake so even though it uphill switchbacks we were at the lake pretty quickly.
First glimpse of Bertha LakeI originally wanted to climb to Bertha Peak but when we hit the lake I was just not there mentally. There were a ton of people having lunch on the shores so Mel and I tramped off to find a quiet spot of our own to eat.
After we ate we were going to turn back when we came upon an older couple who asked if we were planning to hike the trail around the lake. I had no idea there was a trail that went all the way around! Of course we had to check it out.
The scenery was beautiful and it took us 1.5 hours to go around the whole lake, it’s a long skinny lake!
We ran into a backcountry camper who was fishing for his supper which would be a really fun way to spend a weekend.
Overall it took us five hours total and a great way to spend a day.
Awesome pictures. I had no idea there was a trail that went around the lake.
Neither did I! It was so pretty and there was no one else there except a lone fisherman.
Looks gorgeous. I would love to do this hike! I really need to make it back to Waterton
Yes you do! And let me know when you come! 🙂
Looks gorgeous! We didn’t hike around the lake when we did it because it started hailing at the top haha, I need to get back to waterton!
I’ve been up to the lake a couple times and always thought the trails led to the back country sites. I had no idea we could go around the whole lake.
Beautiful, fantastic way to spend a sunny day! And I love those printed crops you have on.
It was an awesome day. Thanks! I’m so proud of those crops because I found them at a garage sale for $10! Lol!
Really enjoying your blog! I spent this past summer doing all the coulee’s in Lethbridge with my dog, this summer I want to try Waterton, it’s my first year of hiking, do you have recommendations of where I should check out first?
Thanks for leaving a comment Katie! There are a TON of great beginner hikes and I write about them on my blog. I suggest you try Bertha Falls (5.6 km) and Crandell Lake (2.4 km round trip) first. When you want to do something longer but still with little climbing, try the Lakeshore Trail (13 km one way) or Wishbone Trail (6.5 km one way to Vimy trailhead). I write about all of them so check out those posts for more details. Happy Hiking!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂