Backcountry travel between Glacier, Waterton reopens at Goat Haunt
View of Goat Haunt Pavilion from boat.(Photo provided by National Park Serivce, David Restivo)
Hikers and boaters will once again be allowed to travel between Glacier National Park and Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park in the Goat Haunt area.
Goat Haunt is a remote area on the southern end of Upper Waterton Lake that is only accessible by watercraft or hiking trails. Goat Haunt has not been fully open since 2018. It will reopen this season on June 24. Goat Haunt backcountry camping shelters will also be open for the 2023 season.
“I'm thrilled that we are reopening Goat Haunt and renewing a visitor experience that is at the heart of the International Peace Park,” Glacier National Park Superintendent Dave Roemer said in a press release. “Goat Haunt is the perfect place to celebrate the long-standing peace and friendship between the United States and Canada, and the shared resources and splendor that we protect through Parks Canada and the National Park Service.”
Glacier National Park will have interpretive programs starting the week of June 25 at Goat Haunt with a variety of talks at the Snowflake pavilion and short guided walks for visitors traveling by boat. International Peace Park hikes will be co-led with a Parks Canada Interpreter and a National Park Service interpretive park ranger on Fridays starting June 30 to Sept. 1.
The season program calendar is still being updated and visitors should check back as the season nears.
The most common way to access Goat Haunt is from Waterton Lakes National Park. Park officials recommend that visitors hike the Lakeshore trail, which starts in Waterton Village at the Bertha trailhead and leads south to the Goat Haunt Ranger Station. The hike is 8.5 miles one way and requires a pre-booked return ferry trip or can be done as a 17 mile round trip hike. Ferry trips can be booked through Shoreline Cruises.
It is also recommended to paddle or bring personal watercraft to enjoy Upper Waterton Lake, or take the hiking ferry. All non-motorized watercraft require an inspection and all motorized watercraft require a 90-day quarantine before launching in Waterton Lakes National Park. More information on watercraft requirements is available on the Parks Canada website.
Travel across the United States-Canada border requires prior planning and adherence to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Canadian Border Service Agency regulations.
Visitors wanting to cross the border by personal watercraft or hiking trail must have a passport and report their entry to the United States via the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Reporting Offsite Arrival Mobile, or ‘ROAM’ app and their return to Canada to Canada Border Service Agency via telephone.
Visitors taking a cruise through Shoreline Cruises do not require a passport. Kiosks will be available near the boat dock for visitors to use ROAM. More information about the ROAM
app can be found on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s website.
“Crossing the border by hiking trail or watercraft is a unique experience for visitors to enjoy the majesty of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park,” Waterton Lakes Superintendent Locke Marshall said. “We are eager to provide an experience once again for peace park visitors to connect with nature on both sides of the United States Canada border.”
To learn more, search ‘visiting Goat Haunt’ on Glacier National Park’s website, or go to www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/goathaunt.htm.