FLIRTING WITH CANADA
A cross-country backpack to Alberta
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park & World Heritage Site
Travel Alert 2026:
There is a small but non-zero chance that this flirting opportunity will bring you into contact with US or Canadian customs
A few years ago I visited the International Peace Garden, which is open to Americans but part of it is in Manitoba. I blogged about that. Since then I’ve returned to the U.S.-Canadian border looking for other places along the US-Canada border where Americans are permitted inside a hermetically sealed little chunk of Canada.
Given the current repressive climate against PFR’s that has come to be known as the Epstein Shadow, combined with the violent climate against immigrants and others deemed suspicious at our borders, I now warn any current or formerly registered person against putting yourself in any situation where you might come into contact with U.S. Customs unless you have a valid passport in hand.
Although I believe the chances of coming into contact with US or Canadian Customs in the back country are small, I strongly recommend having a passport if you attempt this. If something bizarre happens, Canada won’t let you in, but they’ll send you back, and that’s when having a passport will be really handy when going through US Customs.
One thing I want to make clear is that this is just a game. Nobody is trying to sneak across the border. I don’t even want to do that and it would violate the rules of the game – which are that it has to be a bona fide place where any American is allowed to be without a passport. So let’s play the game:
From the 50 State Visitor Guide : Montana
Mont. Code Ann.
2021 §§46-23-504
through 46-23-520.
Registration Triggers and Deadlines:
Three business days
for initial registration and updates; transients shall register within 3
business days of entering state.
Visitors: Must register within 3 business days of
entering the state for a temporary residence of 10 days or more, or for an
aggregate period of 30 days in calendar year.
§§46-23-504, 46-23-505.
Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:
None.
Per Montana SOR office, visitors required to register should return to
the locality where registered and “check out” and will be removed from
registry. Whether this system works in practice is untested.
Duration & updates:
Life. Petition to
remove – T1 - 10 yrs; T2 – 25 yrs.
Updates by mail: T1 – annual; T2 – 6 months; T3 –90 days; Transients in person- 30 days. §§46-23-504, 56-23-506.
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park & World Heritage Site
High Adventure Rating
– A+
Flirt Rating – D
One of my goals in this game has been to find at least one flirting spot for each Canadian province. Until August 2026 I had found flirting spots for – Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick. Alberta is a particular challenge.
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park & World Heritage Site, known to Americans as Glacier National Park, is the obvious (and only) choice. However, it’s a 60 mile round trip backcountry high difficulty hiking adventure to get to the Canadian border and back from the closest trailhead on Going-to-the Sun Road, which is “The Loop.” I’m way too old to even think about this one, but if you attempt it you should do so for the love of backcountry hiking through a spectacular World Heritage Site that you as a registered person are allowed to go to – and only secondarily as a flirting opportunity.
In addition, Montana law only allows you nine days for the whole adventure, because the 10th day triggers your obligation to register. Your first reaction might be, oh surely that’s enough time! But think about it – That’s 4 days each way plus one day to hike a loop around the international area. Plus, you’ll have to base yourself in Idaho, the closest neighboring state, a half day drive from the trailhead. If you divide 30 miles by 3 1/2 days, you get about 8 1/2 miles per full day.
I hear someone thinking, okay, well that’s not too bad. But just keep in mind, every step is high difficulty backpacking. Be realistic – how far can you get in one day? How about nine days? Plus, you’re going to have to pack in all 9 days of supplies, because you can’t stop in Watertown, Alberta for supplies halfway through because if you do you’ll just get deported.
However … I’ve been thinking, that might not be a bad way of cutting the trip in half, right? Hike the 30 mile trail to Waterton, turn yourself in and really, the only consequence is you get deported on Day 5. Now you have all the time you need in Montana for arrival and departure. But I sure wouldn’t do that without a passport to show US Customs when the Canadians drop you off on Chief Mountain International Highway (MT Hwy 17). Also wouldn’t hurt to have someone waiting to pick you up.
One last comment: Obviously you’re not going on a 30 mile high difficulty hike in the wilderness by yourself. That’s a good way to get eaten. So my advice is, anybody in your group who has any past felony should definitely have a passport when attempting this. But … anybody in your group with a clean record should probably leave their passport at home – so you all can be deported together.
As part of my research I stopped at the St. Mary Visitor Center and approached the young lady behind the reception desk. I told her exactly what I was doing, with the only generalization being that I said my website is aimed at “people with past felonies.” Which is completely true. Then I asked:
“If I was to hike up there, at what point would I actually encounter Canadian Customs? I mean, they don’t have some guy sitting at a desk at the border, right?” Answer: No, they don’t. But you’ll definitely encounter them in Waterton.
Looking at the map, you’ll see I have labeled the area between the US checkpoint at Goat Haunt Ranger Station and the Canadian checkpoint in Waterton as “Land Between the Ranger Stations.” This is the open border zone.
The rest of Glacier National Park
The first thing you should know about Glacier National Park is that it is, of course, magnificent. In 2023 the clouds shrouded the jagged mountains such that I thought I must be taking the road tour through Middle Earth. Unfortunately in 2026 the air was smokey. At the mountain peaks (the U.S. Continental Divide) it was cold even at mid-day – I was glad I’d brought gloves and winter clothing just in case. However, the sad news is that due to global warming there are few glaciers in Glacier National Park, at least when I was there in August 2026.
The second thing you should know is that as with most great national parks, this one can be very crowded during peak season. In 2023 I was distressed to find they were only allowing “reserved admissions” during daily peak hours. However, if you get there early like I did in 2026 there was no problem.
Nevertheless Glacier National Park was quite crowded that day. I found it impossible to find parking anywhere close to the main visitor center at Logan Pass. In fact people were parking street-side over half a mile away, so I had to skip that even though it meant missing out on a freezing cold mountaintop tundra hike. With some effort I was able to find parking at other stops along the main park road.
Perhaps this is why Glacier runs frequent shuttle bus service along the length of the main road all the way from Agpar Visitor Center to St. Mary’s. It has stops at every major point of interest along the park road. The only catch is you’ll need to plan your trip so you park at the big parking lot at one of the park entrances and return there at the end of the day to continue on your Pacific Northwest journey.
Regional Fruit: Huckleberry
Gift shop displays at and
around Glacier National Park feature huckleberry jams, candy bars, taffies,
pancake mixes and syrups. Most
native people of the region, including the Blackfeet Tribe just east of
Glacier, have also adopted the huckleberry as their tribal fruit. It’s all made by the same company with
different labels. Choose which national
park or tribe you wish to support with your tourist dollars.
PS – Huckleberry bits dark chocolate bar – YES!
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