Waterton a popular long weekend getaway

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on May 19, 2023.

Herald file photo Waterton Lakes National Park is a popular destination year-round.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

With the arrival of the May long weekend, many will be looking for places to escape their everyday lives, and Waterton Lakes National Park is ready to offer Albertans just that.

President of Waymarker Hospitality, Lockey Craig said May long weekend is the start of their operating season.

Waymaker Hospitality operates the Kilmorey Lodge, Waterton Lakes Lodge Resort, Crandell Mountain Lodge and Aspen Village. As well as Kilmorey Pub and Kilmorey Restaurant, Pearls Café, Pizza of Waterton, Vimy’s Lounge and Grill.  

“The Kilmorey Lodge and Crandell Mountain Lodge were opened all winter long and we had a very good winter, but the real start of our peak season or our main season, which is the summer season, is the May long weekend,” said Craig.

He said that even though some of the hiking trails, which are one of the main reasons people visit Waterton, are not ready for the long weekend, the hotels and restaurants they operate fill up nonetheless.

“The volume of traffic we get on the May long weekend is very weather dependent. Even though we still have lots of visitors in bad weather, during May long weekend all of the hotels will fill and the restaurants will be packed when the weather is right.”

Craig said the Kilmorey Lodge is already booked at full capacity for the long weekend, even though the rates are higher than when it first opened in February. He said even though his data shows that visitors from Calgary are the main source of hotel bookings, people in Southern Alberta play an important role in keeping their restaurants full.

When it comes to previous years, including those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Craig said they have not seen negative impacts, other than in 2020 when restaurant restrictions were imposed, which affected local tourism.

“What we learn from COVID is that we do not need the Americans to fill Waterton Lakes National Park, it can be filled by Albertans only. We don’t even need people from other provinces. There’s not a lot of hotel rooms there, there are 350 and we can fill that supply and demand from Albertans alone.”

During the summer last year, about 30 per cent of the guests were Americans.

“We expect more Americans this year, but in fact don’t need them to fill the hotels for sure.”

Craig advised people wanting to take advantage of the long weekend, should book their hotel in advance.

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