Waterton Lakes National Park holds grand opening of controversial visitor centre

It’s been a controversial way to welcome visitors, but now the Waterton Lakes National Park visitor centre is officially open to the public.

Parks Canada held a grand opening ceremony on Tuesday of the new multi-million dollar facility, but not everyone is happy about it.

Nearly five years after the Kenow wildfire destroyed Waterton’s visitor centre on the edge of town, a new facility has been built, but this time in the heart of the community. Parks Canada felt the location would draw more visitors into the town of 158 people.

“It’s designed to be a hub for visitors who come to the park to learn about its culture and its history, but also to invite them to go out and experience that in the park,” said Locke Marshall, Superintendent of Waterton Lakes National Park.

Back in 2018, more than 1,700 people signed a petition complaining about the new location. They worried about traffic and parking hazards as well as a loss of green space and a water park.

“I like the inside of it, but I feel like the space could’ve been utilized a lot better,” said Parker Byam, whose family owns property in Waterton.

Back in 2018, more than 1,700 people signed a petition complaining about the new location. They worried about traffic and parking hazards as well as a loss of green space and a water park.

The Byam family owns almost a dozen cabins in town near the new centre and are upset with the new location and the design of the surrounding area.

“It may have made sense to put it there, just maybe they didn’t need to take out the entire field as well to put a new fake field basically and they just covered it with a bunch of random stuff,” Byam said. “As a national park we should try and protect the land, not put a bunch of cement over it.”

The $25 million dollar project features outdoor art pieces and inside, the exhibits cover Blackfoot language and culture as well as a theatre for educational talks and presentations. 

But for Sawyer Remington who grew up in Waterton, the new centre only takes away from the beautiful views the town site offers.

“I love how it kind of fits in here, it’s interesting the location, I think they would get more people coming to it if it was at the entrance of the park,” Remington said.

Still, some nearby business are happy with the added foot traffic bringing in revenue, especially following the pandemic.

“I like it,” said Joey Robb, head chef at Pizza of Waterton. “Most of the people go onto the Main Street when they get here, it’s close to the water, but we have found that this year we are getting a bunch more extra business that we think it is due to this."

The visitor centre has been open since February, but with so few tourists in winter that Tuesday marked the official opening.