Glacier National Park Chat

We have a very brief Labor Day trip coming up, and are thinking of camping at the Belly River front country campground, just north of the Canadian border in Waterton Lakes NP. It's first-come, first-served and we've never been... Not sure if anyone can help forecast whether or not we'll find a site over the busy weekend, but regardless, I thought this post might at least stir up some chatter about the campground.

The weather looks lovely and my gal has never been hiking in Waterton, so we're likely hiking the Carthew-Alderson Trail. Super stoked! If we're lucky enough to snag a site, I'll post some photos upon our return home!

A year late on this post, but my partner and I spent a glorious night car camping over Labor Day weekend 2017 at the Belly River Campground in Waterton Lakes National Park, a few miles north of the US-Canadian border crossing at Chief Mountain Customs. We arrived early (around 8am) on the Friday of Labor Day weekend and although many sites were taken, we had no trouble securing a spot. Most of the sites were well secluded from on another, with aspens and thick foliage providing privacy from other campers. We set up our tent and hiked Carthew-Alderson in Waterton during the day before returning back to the site where we went to bed without starting a fire.

There are ample use trails that afford various access point to the Belly River, and we spent the morning watching critters and the sun rise from the riverbank. We spotted birds of prey, busy beavers, waterfowl, kingfishers, and deer and since the river is shallow and was running very slow we enjoyed a nice early morning dip too! The views south into Glacier were spectacular and I could have sat along the banks for eternity enjoying the scenery and wildlife.

I would highly recommend this site for anyone looking for a unique car camping experience in the area!



Looking south from along the Belly River towards Gable Mountain (left) and Bear Mountain (right) from the Belly River Campground. Sept. 2, 2017

Thx for your report; sounds like you had a great time there.

Wendy and I drove through there last summer after our Waterton/Glacier Park backpack excursion. We were duly impressed by that awesome campground. I think it would be great to hang out there. Here is some of it in a video I created: on our drive from Waterton to the USA.