|
Trail |
Description |
Directions |
Distance
(one way) |
|
Easy |
|
Hidden Lake |
The trail starts as a boardwalk and then
through a meadow full of wildflowers and views of Mount Clements and
Reynolds. There was also patches of snow that remained deep
into the summer when we were there, even though the temperatures
were warm. You can stop at the overlook after 1.5 miles, but
this is a beautiful walk. It gains about 500 feet, then loses
it so this borders on a moderate hike. |
The trailhead is by the Logan Pass
visitors' center. |
3 miles |
|
Lake McDonald |
There are viewpoints on this trail when
the trail comes out of the forest along the walk. There are
great views of the lake and the peaks on its south side. Make
sure you take the side trail the begins at the Fish Creek Campground
to Rocky Point. |
Take Camas Road north from Apgar and turn
toward the Fish Creek Campground. Park at the road information
sign past the campground ranger station. |
6.5 miles |
|
Avalanche Lake |
Avalanche Lake is surrounded by steep
cliffs on three sides - Mount Brown is west, Bearhat Mountain is to
the east and at the head of the valley are waterfalls from the
melting of Sperry Glacier. This is a great spot to relax, have
lunch and spend a long time. |
Trail of the Cedars Trailhead |
2 miles to the foot of the lake and 3
miles to its inlet. |
|
St. Mary and Virginia Falls |
Because the mileage and elevation change
are low, these have been combined. Both falls are beautiful
and make a great lunch spot. The trail goes through light
forest and offers some mountain views. |
St. Mary Falls Trailhead, just west of
Sunrift Gorge |
1.2 mi to St. Mary's, 1.7 miles to
Virginia. |
|
Upper Two Medicine Lake
(Twin Falls) |
This trail starts along the shore of Two
Medicine Lake offering views of Rising Wolf and Sinopah mountains
and others across the lake. Bear left about a half mile after
passing the lake towards Upper Two Medicine Lake which sits between
the sheer peaks of Mounts Helen, Lone Walker and Rising Bull. This
can be done as a side trip if you are taking the Dawson Pass Trail
also. |
Two Medicine Campground |
4.6 mi; 2.1 mi if you take the boat across
Two Medicine Lake. |
|
Moderate Trails |
|
Apikuni Falls |
Leads up the cliffs of Apikuna Mountain to
a slim, tall waterfalls. The scenery is great along the way
offering views of Mount Gould, Grinnell Point, and Salamander and
Grinnell Glaciers. |
3 miles west of Many Glacier entrance |
1 mile |
|
Appistoke Falls |
The trail goes through Beargrass and
forest to a small waterfall. |
Scenic Point Trailhead on Two Medicine
Road. |
.6 miles |
|
Garden Wall |
This is an easy hike except that there is
a stretch near the start where you walk along the edge of a steep
drop on the wall. There is a chain to hold but this is not for
children or those with a fear of heights. The rest of the trail was
relatively flat and incredible as you walk on the west side of the
Continental Divide. We passed more mountain goats and bighorn
than any other trail and they were close enough to touch. In
fact, at one point we had to wait 20 minutes to let a fearful
mountain goat with its offspring pass that would not veer off the
trail. The animals together with the great scenery made this
our favorite hike in the park. Across the valley, divided by
Going-to-the-Sun Road, is Mounts Cannon, Oberlin and Clements and
later there are views of Grinnell Glacier as the trail nears Granite
Park Chalet. |
Logan Pass Visitors' Center |
7.6 miles to the Granite Park Chalet, a
shelter with little comforts. You can continue to the loop in
Going to the Sun Road - 11.6 miles |
|
Grinnell Lake |
This trail leads to the shore of Grinnell
Lake where you can see its turquoise waters and the Grinnell Falls
at the head of the lake that carries down glacial melt. It can be
done in one day together with the many other hikes leaving from this
trailhead. |
Many Glacier picnic area at the end of
Many Glacier Road. |
3.4 miles from Many Glacier picnic area or
1 mile if you take the tour boat the the upper end of Lake
Josephine. |
|
Feather Plume Falls |
The trail passes Lake Josephine and
Swiftcurrent and Grinnell Lakes to reach Feather Plume Falls.
It is a beautiful, scenic trail as it makes its way through he
valley to the blue lake waters and mountain views |
Many Glacier picnic area at the end of
Many Glacier Road. |
4.5 miles from Many Glacier picnic area or
2 miles if you take the tour boat the the upper end of Lake
Josephine. |
|
Highline Trail |
The trail ends at Fifty Mountain
Campground, 12 miles away, but you can take this any distance and
get great views. It passes meadows of wildflowers and views of
the Livingston Range right from the start. At 5 miles you will
reach Ahearn Pass where there are views of Ahearn Glacier and its
waterfalls landing in Helen Lake. The trail descends to Cattle
Queen Creek and then climbs 1,500 feet in 2 miles before descending
again to the campground. |
Logan Pass Visitors' Center |
12 miles to the campground, 5 miles to
Ahearn Pass. |
|
Iceberg Lake |
Unfortunately, every time we go to
Glacier, this trail is closed at least part of the time due to bear
activity. We finally squeezed it in the last day but we did
not get to see the bears. It is said to be one of the Park's
best day hikes. The lake is aquamarine surrounded most of the
way by 3,000 foot cliffs. Icebergs float across the lake after
July when the ice begins to break. Along the way, you pass
Ptarmigan Falls and beautiful mountain vistas. |
Iceberg Ptarmigan Trailhead on Many
Glacier Road |
4.5 miles |
|
Difficult |
|
Swiftcurrent Pass |
This is an easy hike the first 4miles then
begins a steep ascent climbing1,600 feet in the next two miles.
Once you reach Swiftcurrent Lookout, the view is incredible with
jagged peaks in all directions. On the way up you will have a
good view of Bullhead Lake in the floor of a valley and
waterfalls from the melt of the Swiftcurrent Glacier. |
Swiftcurrent Pass
Trailhead at the west end of the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn parking area |
6.6 miles |
|
Ptarmigan Tunnel |
This trail climbs 2,500 feet to a tunnel
blasted through Ptarmigan Wall in 1931. The entire hike had
great views that included Ptarmigan Lake and Falls, Mt. Altyn and
Ptarmigan Wall. We continued about 10 minutes past the tunnel
and got incredible views of Mount Merritt, Ahern Glacier and Helen
Lake. You can continue to Elizabeth Lake dropping to the Belly
River Valley, but you will have to make it back up again. |
Iceberg/Ptarmigan
Trailhead, behind the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn cabin area |
5 miles to Ptarmigan Tunnel; 9.8 miles to
Elizabeth Lake |
|
Grinnell Glacier |
This trail features up close views of one
of Glaciers largest remaining glaciers as well as a few smaller
ones. Guided naturalist tours into the glacial cirque are
available. The views along the way are maybe the best in the
park. At the Swiftcurrent picnic area, take the trail that
follows the west side of Swiftcurrent lake. The trail will
then follow the west shore of Lake Josephine then climbs Mount
Grinnell before you are in a meadow with views of Grinnell Lake's
turquoise waters and waterfall at the head of the lake. The
trail continues to climb with views of Mounts Siyeh, Allen and
Cateract. After a picnic area, you will reach the
moraine left by the retreating glacier and the trail begins a steep
but short climb. You will see Gem and Salamander Glaciers and
then the Upper Grinnell Lake at the foot of Grinnell Glacier.
The view is incredible. Use care working around the lake for
different views - it is rocky and the water is freezing. It is
best to stay off the ice as there are dangerous fissures and ice
caves. It can be done in one day together with the many other hikes
leaving from this trailhead. |
Many Glacier picnic area at the end of
Many Glacier Road. |
5.5 miles but it can be reduced to 3.8 if
you take the tour boat to the upper end of Lake Josephine. |
|
Boulder Pass |
This hike in the North West corner of the
park is much less popular than those originating from Many Glacier
Roan and Going-to-the-Sun Road and provides some of the most rugged
scenery in the park. It follows the north shore of Kintla Lake
for 12 easy miles offering views of Kinnerly Peak It then begins a
tough climb from 4,000 to 7,300 feet over the next 5 miles.
The Agassiz Glacier and Kintla Peak can be seen. The trail
passes through the parks high peaks area including Mount Cleveland,
the highest in the park. Grizzly bears are frequently sighted
in the area. |
Kintla Lake at the end of Glacier Route 7
reached by traveling north the west entrance. |
Upper Kintla Campground 11.6 mi, Boulder
Pass 18 mi., Goat Haunt Ranger Station 31 mi. |
|
Numa Ridge |
The trail climbs from 4,000 to almost
7,000 feet reaching the lookout and views of Square Peak, Rainbow
Peak, Akokala Lake and other high peaks. |
Bowman Campground reached by Glacier Route
7. |
5.5 mi. |
|
Scenic Point |
Views of Appistoki Falls, Mount Henry, and
summits Scenic Point at 7,522 feet which can give views for over 100
mile, including Dawson Pass. The trail goes through open areas
affording great views of the mountains, Two Medicine Lake and Lower
Two Medicine Lake. |
Two Medicine Road, 11.6 miles from Montana
49 |
3.1 miles |
|
Dawson/Pitamakan |
These trails can form a loop or be done
separately. It starts along the shore of Two Medicine Lake offering
views of the mountains across the lake then opens to a meadow and
from there the mountain views were fantastic. The top of
Dawson's Pass at about 6 miles is a good spot to turn back, as we
did. At this point you've climbed about 2,500 feet and the
trail is much easier from there on if you will continue the loop.
The trail provides more views as it moves along the Continental
Divide passing Mounts Morgan and McClintock, Lone Walker, and
Battlement then reaching Pitamakan Overlook at 11 mi. The
trail will then go down to the campground but the views are not as
good as those coming up. There were bears and mountain goat
along the way. |
Two Medicine Campground |
Dawson Pass 5.7 mi; Loop 19 mi. If
leaving from the upper boat dock, you can save 2.5 mi. |
|
Siyeh Pass |
The trail passes meadows filled with
wildflowers in season. Mount Siyeh, Matahpi Peak, the high point of
trail, and Piegan Mountain are in view before you reach Matahpi
Peak. From there are all around vistas including many jagged
mountains, St. Mary's Lake, Baring Creek and its waterfalls and
Sexton Glacier. You can make a loop of this heading into
Baring Valley where it ends at Sunrift Gorge parking but you will
need a second car or a lift back. |
Going to the Sun Road at Siyeh Bend - a
large hairpin turn. |
4.8 mi to Matahpi Peak and 10 miles for
the loop. |
