Stop #1: Crypt Landing  

 

To access the Crypt Lake Trail (quickly) you must ride the shuttle-ferry across the Upper Waterton Lake to the dock at the trailhead from the town of Waterton. It is highly recommended that you purchase the round trip tickets on the ferry before the hike. These shuttles run at different times depending on the season, so call ahead to the ticket office ahead of time to reserve tickets and check departure times. Regardless of the season, these shuttles bring passengers back to Waterton at 4:00 and 5:30 pm, and if you are late to the shuttle, they will not wait on you. The ride to the trailhead is a great time to familiarize yourself with some of the landforms in the Upper Waterton Lake's valley. To start, this valley is a U-shaped valley, excavated to a depth of 122 m (400 ft) by a cordillerian glaciation. The Upper, Middle, and Lower Waterton Lakes are a fine example of patrenoster lakes, a chain of glacially carved lakes joined by steams. The town of Waterton lies on an alluvial fan, overshadowed by the massive kame upon which the Prince of Wales hotel sits.