Carthew-Alderson Trail
Classic summit hike: 7hrs/18km/moderate
This is an extension of the Carthew Summit trail from Cameron Lake which continues on to Waterton (another 12km).
Most of 650m of climbing is done reaching the fork on the side of Mount Carthew; from then on it’s largely steeply downhill via Carthew and Alderson lakes (1875m) to Cameron Falls and Waterton (1295m).
This popular day hike that can be turned into a more relaxed two-day trip by overnighting at the Alderson Lake campground. You need a backcountry camping permit for this – get one at the Waterton Lakes Visitor Centre and some form of transport to the start – try Tamarack Outfitters who run daily shuttles.