Fishing in Waterton Lakes National Park

Waterton Lakes National Park sits in the southwest corner of Alberta where the Rocky Mountains meet the prairies, and the water here reflects that collision.

The park holds a chain of connected lakes — Upper, Middle, and Lower Waterton — along with rivers and creeks that drain both sides of the Continental Divide.

The fish are a mix of native and introduced cold-water species, and the fishing ranges from deep lake trolling to small stream work on foot. A Parks Canada fishing permit is required to fish anywhere in the park, separate from any provincial licence.

Check with Parks Canada for current rules before you go. The Waterton River connects Middle and Lower Waterton Lakes, and the roughly 2-km stretch inside the park is the most accessible river fishing in the area.

Two unpaved roads off Highway 5 reach the riverbank. Cutthroat and rainbow trout are the target here. No motorized or trailered watercraft are permitted on the river; human-powered craft are allowed.

The Waterton Lakes themselves hold lake trout, a native species that has been drawing anglers to this corner of Alberta since the 1880s. Lake trout grow slowly and live long — up to 25 years — which makes them worth handling carefully.

Upper and Middle Waterton Lake allow motorized and trailered watercraft, but only after completing a mandatory 90-day quarantine seal program, a measure aimed at keeping invasive species out.

Bull trout, Alberta's provincial fish and a threatened species, are present in the upper reaches of the Belly River. They were largely removed from the park through the mid-1900s and have never fully recovered. Fish them with that history in mind.

The backcountry lakes — Crypt, Bertha, and Alderson among them — require a hike to reach but tend to hold better-quality fish than the more accessible front-country lakes.

Crypt Lake involves a trail of nearly 19 km return and a boat shuttle across Upper Waterton Lake to the trailhead. The park holds over 20 species in total, including northern pike and mountain whitefish alongside the trout.

The fishing here is inseparable from the landscape it sits in — remote, regulated, and worth the extra steps it takes to do it right.