Park overview
Akamina Kishinena Park is located in the southeast corner of the province. Along with Waterton Lakes National Park and US Glacier National Park, this wilderness area preserves the narrowest point of the Rocky Mountains.
High spacious alpine ridges, deep secluded valleys and windswept passes provide habitat and connectivity to the last self-sustaining grizzly bear population in the United States. Exposed alpine ridges, southern latitude and southern exposure provide winter range for goats and big horn sheep.
The trails and passes of the Akamina-Kishinena used today to cross the axis of the continent, were established and used for many years by the early people’s and wildlife travelling between the Flathead Basin and the abundant Great Plains.
Advisories
Dates of operation
The park gate is open year-round
- Facility type
- Backcountry camping
- Number of campsites
- Backcountry sites: 10
- Main operating season
- 2024: year-round
- Winter season
- Not known
- Service note
- Year-round.
- Booking note
- Backcountry permit registration available through the reservation service or by self-registration in the park.
- Winter season note
- Winter camping in allowed on designated sites.
Safety info
Trail Report [PDF] (November 3, 2023)
- The park is a wilderness area without supplies or equipment of any kind. All arrangements for supplies and transportation must be made in advance.
- Weather conditions can change suddenly, and lightning storms with hail and snow are common in summer.
- Wear strong, water-proofed, lug-soled boots. Carry a day-pack with rain gear, extra clothing, and food. For overnight trips, a sleeping bag, ground pad, water-proof tent or bivouac bag, and light-weight stove are essential.
- Bring your own drinking water, as potable water is not available in the park. To ensure that water from streams is safe to drink, it must be boiled for at least five minutes or treated or filtered.
- Only experienced climbers, practiced in crevasse rescue and properly roped, should venture onto snowfields.
- Loaded logging trucks and other industrial traffic may be encountered while accessing this park from British Columbia. Drive with extreme caution, and for your safety, always yield to industrial traffic.
- Public communications are not available at this park.
Learn more about backcountry safety in our backcountry guide.
Camping
A backcountry campground with ten wilderness sawdust tent pads, outhouse, and food cache is provided at Akamina Creek. This campground is located just off the main trail 0.9km from Akamina Pass and 2.4 km from the Akamina Pass Trailhead. Register a trip itinerary with friends and check in and check out. Winter camping is available year-round at Akamina Creek sites.
Backcountry camping fee: $5 per person per night (+6 years).
The BC Parks backcountry permit registration service allows you to purchase a backcountry camping permit before leaving home. Although this does not reserve a campsite, it provides the convenience of prepaying for your trip and not having to carry cash. We encourage all visitors to register online so we can reduce the need to collect fees in the field.
A backcountry campground with ten wilderness sawdust tent pads, outhouse and food cache is provided at Akamina Creek. This campground is located just off the main trail 0.9km from Akamina Pass and 2.4 km from the Akamina Pass Trailhead. Register a trip itinerary with friends and check in and check out. Winter camping is available year-round at Akamina Creek sites.
The BC Parks backcountry permit registration service allows you to purchase a backcountry camping permit before leaving home. Although this does not reserve a campsite, it provides the convenience of prepaying for your trip and not having to carry cash. We encourage all visitors to register online so we can reduce the need to collect fees in the field.
Facilities
Fires in the developed area of the park are restricted to a communal fire ring in the Akamina Creek campground. Be prepared by bringing a portable stove for cooking. Fires in the backcountry areas must be kept small, contained and a source of water to extinguish the fire must be readily available.
To preserve vegetation and ground cover, please don’t gather firewood from the area around your campsite when staying in the developed area of the park. Dead wood is an important habitat element for many plants and animals and it adds organic matter to the soil. You can conserve firewood and air quality by keeping your campfire small.
Campfire bans may be in place. Before lighting a fire, check for bans or restrictions on BC Wildfire Service and on local or Indigenous government websites.
This park only has pit toilets, no flush toilets.
Activities
The park offers hiking opportunities for beginners as well as experienced backcountry travellers:
- Akamina Pass: This old road built in the 1920s transects the park from Akamina Pass through the Kishinena Creeks to eventually reach the Flathead River valley. Cyclists use this route for day excursions from Waterton Lakes.
- Forum Lake and Falls: From the Ranger Station, it is 200 m to the falls and 2 km to the lake. The hike to Forum Lake takes about 45 minutes with a climb of 200 m.
- Wall Lake: From the Akamina Road (200 m) from the Ranger Station it is 2 km to Wall Lake, 50 m elevation gain.
For your own safety and preservation of the park, obey posted signs and keep to designated trails. Shortcutting trails destroys plant life and soil structure. Only experienced hikers with orienteering experience should consider following routes and unmarked trails in the park.
- Trail Report [PDF] (July 18, 2023)
Anglers fish for rainbow trout in Forum and Wall Lakes. BC fishing licenses are no longer available in Waterton. Refer to the ministry website for the nearest vendor.
Anyone fishing in British Columbia must have an appropriate licence. To learn more, see the fishing and hunting guide.
Pets and domestic animals must be on a leash at all times and are not allowed in beach areas or park buildings. You are responsible for their behaviour and must dispose of their excrement. Dogs in backcountry parks must be on a leash at all times. Backcountry areas are not suitable for dogs or other pets due to the potential for problems with bears and other wildlife.
Mountain biking is permitted on designated trails only. Bicycle helmets are mandatory in British Columbia.
For details on e-biking within Akamina-Kishinena Park, see the e-biking section.
Please note that bicycles with electric assist motors (e-bikes) are permitted on signed or designated trails within Akamina-Kishinena Park, provided they meet the definitions and criteria for e-bike use as outlined in the BC Parks cycling guidelines.
If planning to horseback ride in the park, we recommend you read the Akamina Kishinena Horse Use Policy [PDF]. As horseback riders are required to obtain and carry with them a letter of permission from BC Parks please use our online form to generate and print your letter of permission, no less than seven days before entering the park.
More specific information on using horses in the park can be obtained by contacting the Kootenay BC Parks office at 250-489-8540.
There is no horse use allowed to Forum Lake, and riders travelling to Wall Lake must use the horse trail.
Hunting is only permitted in the park during open hunting seasons. Firearms may be carried by persons with a valid BC hunting licence during an open hunting season. Horse assisted hunting trips are allowed during open seasons, but only with a Letter of Permission.
From Highway 3, turn south at Pincher Creek onto Highway 6. From the park gate, access the Cameron Lake park road to reach the Akamina Pass trailhead (16 km). A 30 minute, 1.5 km uphill walk reaches the boundary between Alberta and BC and the eastern border of Akamina-Kishinena Park. The closest communities are Waterton Lakes National Park community and Sparwood. It is 48 km to Waterton Lakes National Park.
Learn more about this park
Park details
- Date established: July 13, 1995
- Size: 10,921.5 hectares
Nature and culture
History
This area is of great interest to geologists. The formations of the Akamina-Kishinena are made of the oldest exposed rock in the Canadian Rockies. The shore of Forum Lake is paved with colourful limestone estimated to be 1.3 billion years old. Remnants of oil rigs first hauled into camps on winter trails in 1905 are still visible. No economically significant wells were drilled, nor did any of the mining claims staked in the 1950s and 1960s prove viable. Other resources were explored by trappers and hunters, and a small saw mill operated at Akamina Creek. The spectacular southeast corner of the province was recommended for preservation as early as 1917. In 1995, Akamina-Kishinena became a class A provincial park.
Cultural Heritage
Cairns trace the paths of the Ktunaxa Indigenous people. They travelled through South Kootenay Pass to reach the plains for trading and buffalo hunting.
Conservation
Weather fronts from the Pacific meet arctic and prairie influences to intermingle at this axis. They create a diversity of plant species, including rare species like the yellow monkey flower and pigmy poppy, that are found nowhere else in British Columbia.
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
BC Parks honours Indigenous Peoples’ connection to the land and respects the importance of their diverse teachings, traditions, and practices within these territories. This park webpage may not adequately represent the full history of this park and the connection of Indigenous Peoples to this land. We are working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to update our websites so that they better reflect the history and cultures of these special places.