Hike Location: Waterton Lakes National Park
Geographic Location: Waterton, Alberta, Canada (49.04665, -113.91677)
Length: 11.4 kilometers (or 7.1 miles)
Difficulty: 9/10 (Difficult)
Date Hiked: July 2018
Overview: A somewhat long out-and-back, steep for about half
its distance, passing two waterfalls en route to a sub-alpine lake.
Park Information: https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/waterton
Directions to the trailhead: The signed parking lot
for the Bertha Lake Trail is located on Evergreen Avenue near the southwest
corner of the Waterton townsite. If you
arrive early you can park in the gravel trailhead parking lot; otherwise you
will have to park anywhere you can find a space in Waterton and walk to the
trailhead.
The hike: For my
general comments on Waterton Lakes National Park, see the previous hike. This hike starts at the
Waterton townsite featured in the previous hike but quickly enters the park’s
natural areas. The hike’s ultimate
destination is Bertha Lake, an attractive medium-sized subalpine lake, but it
passes two view-worthy waterfalls and some nice overlooks on the way. Be warned that this trail is fairly popular
especially up to the first waterfall, so staying overnight in Waterton and
getting an early start like I did will be rewarded during the peak season.
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| Bertha Trailhead in Waterton townsite |
Start at the
signed Bertha Trailhead at the southwest corner of the parking area. The somewhat narrow dirt trail immediately
starts climbing on a gradual to moderate grade.
The townsite quickly disappears over your left shoulder, and nice views
of Upper Waterton Lake emerge as you climb higher.
Near 1
kilometer into the hike, a brief rocky area will need to be negotiated as you
continue to climb moderately. At 1.4
kilometers, you reach a bench perched on a bare rocky outcrop that provides the
best vista thus far. Upper Waterton Lake
sits below you to the left, while Mount Bertha and Mount Richards stand above
you to the right.
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| Upper Waterton Lake |
 |
| Mt. Richards behind Mt. Bertha |
Just past
this overlook, you reach a signed trail intersection. The Lakeshore Trail exits left to continue
heading south for 4.3 kilometers before reaching the United States. This hike continues straight to keep heading
for Bertha Falls and Bertha Lake. Now
heading more west than south, Upper Waterton Lake disappears behind you as you
round a low finger ridge.
Next comes
the only downhill section on the outbound portion of this hike as you descend
gradually into the ravine that contains Bertha Creek. Cascading Bertha Creek soon comes within
earshot, and the gradual climb resumes.
Part of the enormous September 2017 Kenow wildfire burned in this
ravine, and as I looked up the ravine I could see a patchwork of black and
green representing burned and unburned areas.
 |
| Looking up Bertha Creek ravine |
The signed horse
trail bypass exits right just before you reach the base of Lower Bertha Falls
at 2.7 kilometers. Lower Bertha Falls is
a cascade-type waterfall that ends very abruptly when the water enters an inclined
rock chute. The dense pine forest can
make it difficult to get a good view of the waterfall, but some rocks make nice
places to sit, rest, and enjoy the cascading water before this hike’s
difficulty picks up.
 |
| Lower Bertha Falls |
 |
| Lower Bertha Falls and footbridge |
Some people
turn around at Lower Bertha Falls, and for people in less than good health that
is a good decision: thus far you have covered roughly half the distance but
only one-third the elevation gain required to reach Bertha Lake. Prepared and conditioned hikers will cross
the locally famous wooden footbridge below Lower Bertha Falls and begin
climbing the 21 switchbacks (this math professor did indeed count them!)
required to reach Bertha Lake. In
general, the early and later switchbacks are long and hard while the ones in
the middle are short and easy. The
footing on the dirt trail is quite good throughout.
 |
| Mt. Vimy across prairie |
After the first switchback, you
pass through an interesting sunny prairie area that affords a nice view of Vimy
Peak to the east across Upper Waterton Lake.
At the fifth switchback, you pass a tree with an unusual
horseshoe-shaped tree trunk. Some hikers
use this tree as a bench, but plenty of rocks along the trail also serve that
function well.
 |
| Tree with horseshoe-shaped trunk |
At the 16th
switchback, you get your best view of Upper Bertha Falls. Upper Bertha Falls is another cascade-type
waterfall, but it is much taller than its lower brother. Dense greenery again somewhat impedes the waterfall
view, but a nice view of Bertha Peak to the northwest emerges as you make your
way past the waterfall.
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| Bertha Peak |
 |
| Upper Bertha Falls |
The
remaining switchbacks passed through some of the heaviest burned area on my
visit; only charred tree stumps remained.
After topping the last switchback, you reenter the unburned area, and a
fantastic view opens up to the northeast through a narrow gap in the
trees. Upper and Middle Waterton Lakes
now sit well below you, and the plains of Alberta unfold beyond the lakes.
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| Upper and Middle Waterton Lakes |
A little
more climbing brings you to the highest elevation of this hike, which stands
nearly 550 meters (or 1800 feet) above the trailhead. Bertha Lake can be seen through the trees
from here, and a brief descent brings you to the lake’s eastern shore. The lake’s clear, lightly rippling waters are
surrounded by pine-covered mountains with some sheer rock cliffs visible at the
lake’s west end. Some ducks were
enjoying their day at Bertha Lake while I enjoyed mine. You have earned your spot at Bertha Lake, so
take some time and have a rest and trail snack while you sit at the water’s
edge.
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| Bertha Lake |
A gravel
beach and a primitive campground lie just to the right, and an unmaintained 4
kilometer trail circles the lake if you have time and energy for more
adventure. The only way to reach Bertha
Lake is the trail you hiked up, so eventually you will have to turn around and
hike back down the way you came up. While
going down, you will find views that you missed on the way up. Also, on the Sunday in late July when I hiked
here, I passed almost nobody on my climb up, but I seemed to pass the entire
population of Calgary on my way down.
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