glacier national park
Updated: March 3rd, 2024
I thought it might be helpful to add what hikes I have on my to-do list for Glacier! These ones are harder for me to nail down because it's a big trip to get up there & I definitely can't solo these because it is a HIGH griz area.
Current Bucket List Hikes:
Pitamakan-Dawson Loop
Scenic Point
Highline Trail over Swiftcurrent Pass down to Many Glacier
Siyeh Pass
I also wanted to add that they've changed the car reservation system again. You will need a reservation for entrance to Going to the Sun Road from the West Side of the park, the Many Glacier Area, and North Fork Area between the hours 6am-3pm.
Note: Going to the sun road access from the east side of the park does not require a pass this year!
https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/vehicle-reservations.htm
Visited: July & August, 2024
Camped out in Fish Creek campground with my sis & Lins on the bday road trip! Lins & I snuck away to do Hidden Lake Lookout and the wild flowers were POPPING late august 10/10 vibes.
I was on the Hidden Lake trail earlier in the summer, approx. mid July, and it was pretty wild the difference between the snow packed trail & blooming flowers in just a few weeks. If you hike a lil bit past the lookout I've always seen the fat boy marmots here. I've also seen a baby mountain goat, a ton of big horn sheep, & a blonde Griz on this trail!
The next day we got to do one of my bucket list hikes, Ptarmigan Tunnel!!! On the trail we made friends with a solo hiker, Rick, who was hiking to iceberg lake. We hiked with him until the trail split to the tunnel, but ended up catching up to him on both our ways back. We ended up sharing a meal with him post hike & got to hear about his wonderful kids & late wife. Beauty nature & meeting a kind stranger really filled my cup.
Ptarmigan Tunnel
Elevation Gain: ~2400 feet
Length: 10.6 miles out & back
Difficulty: Hard
Time: ~6 hours
Note(s):
Stunning hike!!!!!
The tunnel is a 240 ft long tunnel originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s for horses and early park tours!
The tunnel is only open mid july to oct 1st, but is a high griz area so double check trail closures before you go!
I've listened to podcasts about bear attacks on this very trail :)
* If you walk through the tunnel & walk about a quarter mile further you can look back at Old Sun Glacier! The Glacier isn’t visible at the tunnel’s mouth, but is in full view once you walk far enough to see around the cliff face on the west side.
Visited: July 15th, 2023
I did not hike, but I did fish. I did not catch anything, but I had a blast. Hoping to get up this way in late October to see the Larches!!!
Visited: July 15th, 2022
I made a second trip back to the beautiful glacier in July of 2022 with a few friends from Bozeman, my sister, and the wonderful Ruth! We were in the area for the Under the Big Sky Festival and had the most amazing weather. The Going to the Sun Road had just opened up to cars and the public the day before our trip due to snow closures and keeping the road car free to allow for bikes for the first part of the season. We hiked Hidden Lake Lookout the first day (prev. mentioned in a writeup below) & the snow pack was so cool in July!!!
Highline Trail, Logan Pass
Elevation Gain: up to 2,600 ft
Length: up to 15 mi out & back
Difficulty: Med/Hard
Time: VARIES
Note(s):
Have only done a lil portion of the trail (was closed for bear activity my first year)
Want to do this! Heard it's one of the best trails in the park!
Apikuni Falls, Many Glacier
Elevation Gain: 600 feet
Length: 1.8 miles out & back
Difficulty: Easy
Time: ~1 hours
Note(s):
lil steep not too bad
wildflowers were poppin!
saw a bear near trail, but nothing while on trail!
Swiftcurrent Lake, Many Glacier
Elevation Gain: minimal
Length: VARIES
Difficulty: Easy
Time: ~1 hours
Note(s):
we had some extra time to spare post waterfall hike so we took a lil hike to the lake!
Well known moose spot! We were lucky enough to see a moose swimming across the lake :)
Bonus: Roadside Views
Visited: July, 2021
I had the honor of visiting one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen this past July. My good friend Shoeler accompanied me to the park for just a few short days. Glacier is about a 5hr drive north of Bozeman and when the opportunity presented itself we both had to jump on it. We honestly winged our trip in a desire to be flexible for whatever hikes and areas peaked our interest most and I had the most incredible time. Shoeler was visiting at the end of July which can be a very smokey time of year in Montana, but we lucked out in a previous day rain storm somewhat clearing out the smoke for a solidly beautiful day in the park.
Enjoy some facts and summaries of my previous travel & keep your eye out for adventures here in the future!
Saint Mary Lake, GNP (I think)
Visiting Glacier National Park can be a little tricky. Glacier is one of the most popular National Parks because it is so well known for its beauty. Unfortunately a large influx of visitors caused the park to begin limiting the number of daily visitors. In booking any camping sites or day trips with guides you will have no trouble with getting access into the park, but for your average travel goer this might not be your cup of tea. The best option for you is to roll the dice with the lottery system that recreation.gov offers. Tickets begin availability about 3 months ahead of time and can go pretty quick if you are not on top of it timely. However if you miss this first initial opportunity they open a few more slots a week ahead of time. These tickets are extremely hard to get and go almost immediately once they are posted at 8am MST. What happens if you fail at all these options? The early bird can get the worm and gain access to the park if they show up before 6am. For more info on the tickets check out the Recreation.gov link I've embedded here!
Narrator: They changed the reservation system to be by each area of the park in 2023, and may change their system again in 2024.
While I am sure the pictures of Glacier and sell this park alone, I will also be informing you of some of my favorite facts about the park!
Glacier straddles the continental divide- meaning it is the location of the separation of river systems. However, Glacier is unique in it being a triple divide. At the unique location of the divide peak water flows into the Atlantic, the Pacific, and Hudson Bay. So yes this is the place to go if you want to check off peeing into three basins at once.
Straddling a continental divide also means extremely temperamental weather due to the opposing Pacific and Artic airs meeting and clashing. In one area on the Eastern side of the park, in the area of Saint Mary's Lake, temperatures were recorded dropping 100 degrees in 24 hours- CRAZY.
references: https://www.doi.gov/blog/9-things-you-didnt-know-about-glacier-national-park , https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/education/continental_divide.htm
shoeler and a stream
continental divide!!
Surprise surprise Glacier is home to actual Glaciers- 25 of them to be exact!
Montana is one of four states in the US where Glaciers still exist. Alaska, Wyoming, and Washington have the honor of hosting the other icey giants.
Unfortunately the number of Glaciers are rapidly declining. In 1850, Glacier National Park was home to 150 glaciers.
snow pack in july? wait thats Jackson Glacier!
Glacier is the world's first international peace park. The park's establishment in 1932 was the beginning of a long-term peaceful collaboration between two governments collaboration on fire management, research, and preservation of an incredibly beautiful landscape. The Canadian protected part of the park is known as the Watertown Lakes National Park.
The park is one of the best places to view Grizzlies in the lower 48. Northwest Montana is one of the highest concentrations of Grizzlies. While Shoeler and I were visiting we saw a beastly blonde male and just missed out on seeing a mama and two cubs.
There are over 700 miles of hiking trail in the park- so I'll never run out of trails to tell you guys about.
references: https://www.doi.gov/blog/9-things-you-didnt-know-about-glacier-national-park , https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/education/continental_divide.htm
shoeler and I
The most well known thing about the park is the infamous Going to the Sun Road. The 50 mile length road is the only road connecting the East and West sides of the park. It offers spectacular views of a mountainous pass, drive-thru tunnels, and even waterfalls along side the road. Driving along this road was INCREDIBLE. We experienced all sorts of weather from blue-bird skies to being in clouds so thick we could barely see 10ft in front of us. I was honestly amazed that this road was even built. I'm so happy that people are able to have this level of accessibility to the mountains, but do plan a bit of time for travel on this road because it become a bit crowded with everyone jumping to see what this road is all about.
shoeler ft. a tunnel
views from the road
views from the road
views from the road
waterfall
views from the road
Despite all the beauty accessible just from a drive along the road, many stressed to me that the best way to see the park is by getting into some hikes and the backcountry. Shoe and I stopped at many little hikes alongside the road, but our most substantial hike was to Hidden Lake. We started the day in some extremely rainy clouds and had hiked a few little waterfalls hoping for the weather to clear up a little. The weather seemed to be clearing up a bit, but we didn't know if it would continue to improve or how long it would even last. We ultimately decided we would explore the area behind the Logan Pass visitor center and the accompanying hike Hidden Lake. This particular hike peaked our interest because many people told me that this was THE hike to see some Big Horn Sheep and Shoe and I decided that the hike would be well worth it regardless if our views were gonna be in the clouds.
To our luck the clouds began to lift before our very eyes and our rainy dreary day found its happy blue. We got to the lake overlook area and immediately decided we wanted to hike down to the shore to skip some rocks. We were wondering why we hadn't seen any Big Horn in the area, but our question was answered for us on our way back up the pass when we saw a blonde grizzly male scavenging for food in the very valley we just climbed out of. In talking with the ranger and other trail goers we learned there was also a mom and two cubs in the area. If I were a sheep I'd get the heck out of the area too.
Hidden Lake Lookout, Glacier National Park
Elevation Gain: 600 feet
Length: 2.5 miles out & back
Difficulty: Med (no notable overly steep areas)
Time: ~1 hours
Note(s):
beginning of trail along beautiful walkway
dope rock formations
Hidden Lake Lookout & Shore, Logan Pass
Elevation Gain: 1400 feet
Length: 5.5 miles out & back
Difficulty: Med/Hard (a lil steep but not too crazy)
Time: ~3 hours
Note(s):
we saw cute lil marmots
also saw a griz so be bear aware!
Shoe and I checked out a few other creek trails and saw some pretty cool waterfalls, horse tunnels, and simply immaculate views. Off the top of my head I'm not exactly sure where are our other spontaneous hikes were, but I know we got a few ideas after talking to one of the rangers at their station! I already have my eyes on a few more hikes in this park (I'm looking at you Many Glacier Area) and will have some more concrete recommendations coming your way soon :)
