Glacier National Park is a fantastic place to hike. Besides being one of the most beautiful places in the world, there are over 700 miles of trails to hike. It doesn’t matter if you are inexperienced or a veteran hiker, there is a hike that will fit your needs. Glacier National Park hikes travel along rivers, in cedar forests, to waterfalls, beside lakes and to glaciers. There is all kinds of wildlife that you can see and enjoy along the way.
In this article, I want to share 10 hikes that my wife and I did on our first visit to the park. We were in the park for three full days. I want to share some insights on the hikes that will help you to know some things to expect if you decide to do them.
Tonya and I were in the park for 3 full days. I have an itinerary that I posted about our time in the park. You will see what we did, how to navigate the reservation system, where we stayed and tips that can help you enjoy your time in the park.
Areas of the park we hiked
My wife and I did two of our hikes on the west side of the park off of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Four of the hikes took place in the Two Medicine section of the park. Three of the hikes happened in Many Glacier. Our final hike took place on the east side of the park off of Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Knee replacement surgery
My wife, Tonya, had knee replacement surgery 8 weeks before we went on our trip to Glacier. We didn’t know how much hiking that we would be able to do. Tonya ended up doing 8 of the 10 hikes. She was a beast. Nine out of the ten hikes were classified as easy hikes. I did the one that was classified as a moderate hike on my own.
West Side Going-to-the-Sun Road Hikes
1. Trail of the Cedars
Round Trip Length: .9 miles
Elevation Gain: 60 feet
Difficulty: Easy
The Trail of the Cedars hike is located right on Going-to-the-Sun Road. You can find the trailhead 5.5 miles east of the Lake McDonald Lodge. The hike isn’t that long but it’s a memorable hike to do.
The hike is beautiful and relaxing. We started the hike on the east side of the trail which has a raised boardwalk. You instantly see the tall majestic cedars and hemlocks that are approximately 500 years old when you start the hike. The boardwalk has benches at various places where you can sit down to soak up the atmosphere.
About halfway on the trail, you will cross a footbridge that crosses over Avalanche Creek. The bridge gives you a great view of Avalanche Gorge. Once you get on the other side of the gorge, the path is paved and leads back out to the parking areas.
2. Avalanche Lake
Round Trip Length: 4.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 757 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Personally, I wasn’t going to do this hike since Tonya wasn’t going to go since it was a moderate hike. She talked me into it and I am glad that she did. The trail going to Avalanche Lake can be found at about the halfway point of Trail of the Cedars trail.
After you turn off the Trail of the Cedars trail, you will start to do some climbing. It isn’t overly steep but you will know that you are climbing. As you climb, the trail will split and you will want to turn left to go to Avalanche Lake. There is a great view of Avalanche Creek for a little while on the first part of the trail.
After about 2 miles, you will start to descend down to the lake. Eventually, you will get to a large beach area at the lake. It was a truly beautiful view. There are mountains that surround the lake and you will have a nice view of Monument Falls.
You can walk further down towards the head of the lake if you want to. I didn’t do that since I didn’t want Tonya to be waiting longer than needed. Personally, this was one of my favorite hikes that I did in the park. The only thing that would have made it better would have been Tonya with me.
Tips
- The hikes for Trail of the Cedars and Avalanche Lake are very popular. Parking for the trails can be hard to find. It took us a while to find a spot. One thing that you can do is to park at Lake McDonald Lodge and take the shuttle to the hikes.
- We hiked the trails in the early evening around 5:00. Trail of the Cedars wasn’t overly busy but there were areas on Avalanche Lake Trail that had more people. Depending on what time of the day you hike the trails, you will want to pack your patience.
- Avalanche Lake would be a great spot to have a picnic. I saw a number of people enjoying some food while they were soaking in the atmosphere.
Two Medicine Hikes
3. Running Eagle Falls
Round Trip Length: .6 miles
Elevation Gain: 15 feet
Difficulty: Easy
One thing that is plentiful to see in Glacier National Park are waterfalls. We saw many different waterfalls on our hikes. Running Eagle Falls aka Trick Falls trailhead is located a little over a mile after the Two Medicine entrance station.
The parking lot can fit 25 to 30 cars. They also have some signs at the trailhead that share information about the falls. The trail is easy to follow and is really flat. It is also handicap accessible.
The trail goes through some woods before it opens up to the river. There is a small footbridge that you will cross. As you approach the falls, there are various places that you can stop to take pictures. There is a platform where you can get some nice pics. It is possible to go beyond the platform to get a closer look of the falls.
The falls are known as the “Trick Falls” because during the spring time there is a 40 foot waterfall that runs at the top of the rocks. The lower falls are then covered by the upper falls a bit. We were there at the end of July. So, the upper falls were all dried up and weren’t running. It was still cool seeing the lower one running out of the rocks.
4. Appistoki Falls
Round Trip Length: 1.3 miles
Elevation Gain: 147 feet
Difficulty: Easy
The parking area for the trailhead to Appistoki Falls is just under 3 miles from the Two Medicine entrance station. The parking lot is gravel and will fit around 20 cars. We did the hike in the late morning and there were plenty of spots in the parking lot at that time.
The trail goes through the woods and is pretty flat.. There is a side trail that you have to follow to go see the falls. It is at this point where you will do a little climbing. The trail isn’t in great shape and you have to watch your footing at this point.
The disappointing part of this hike is the fact that there isn’t a great place to take photos of the falls. I tried my best but there was always something in the way. So, for me this particular hike was my least favorite.
Tonya didn’t make the final little trek to see the falls. So, she headed back to the car while I went up to the falls. On her way back to the car, she saw a lynx up close and personal. She said she was excited and nervous all at the same time. The lynx looked at her and walked away.
5. Paradise Point
Round Trip Length: 1.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 154 feet
Difficulty: Easy
The trailhead for the Paradise Point hike can be found at the South Shore Trailhead located at Two Medicine Lake. You go around the Two Medicine Lake Boat Companies little office and through the parking area to get to the trailhead.
Once you reach the trailhead, you will begin to climb slightly. Around a quarter of a mile into the hike, you will take a right to go to Paradise Point. The trail goes downhill and leads you down to Two Medicine Lake and a small beach area.
Once you reach Paradise Point, you will have a wonderful view of Two Medicine Lake, Rising Wolf Mountain and other mountains that surround the lake. It is a great spot to relax and take in the scenery of the area.
6. Aster Falls
Round Trip Length: 2.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 213 feet
Difficulty: Easy
The hike to Aster Falls starts on the same trail that goes to Paradise Point. Instead of taking a right to go to Paradise Point, you continue on the trail. Once you pass the turn for Paradise Point, the trail begins to travel down hill.
About a quarter mile after the turn to go to Paradise Point, the trail opens into a beautiful meadow area. You also have views of the surrounding mountains. This is a prime area for moose but I wasn’t lucky enough to see any.
About a mile down the trail, you will take a left onto the Aster Park Trail. A short distance on this trail is where you take a left to view the falls. At the falls, there is a small bench to sit down on to take in the falls. I am a sucker for falls and I thought it was worth the trip to see them.
For some reason, I had this hike as a moderate hike so Tonya didn’t go with me. This is classified as an easy hike and it was one that she could have easily done. I didn’t go up to the Aster Park Overlook because I didn’t want Tonya waiting too long on me. It is ¾ of a mile to the overlook from Aster Falls. So, it probably is worth doing if you want to get a nice view of Two Medicine Lake.
Hikes in Many Glacier
7. Grinnell Lake
Round Trip Length: 3 miles
Elevation Gain: 213 feet
Difficulty: Easy
The length of the hike to Grinnell Lake depends on if you take the boats across Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine or you don’t. If you don’t take the boats across the lakes, the hike will be 6.9 miles round trip. Tonya and I did the boat rides to do this hike.
After you cross Swiftcurrent Lake in the boat, you take a 5-10 minute hike to board the next boat across Lake Josephine. From the boat dock, you will follow the trail that goes to the right. The trail is flat and goes through the woods and is nicely shaded as you hike.
A short distance into our hike a mother moose was on one side of the trail eating with a couple of her kids eating on the other side of the trail. We had a 20 person pile up on the trail until the moose moved on.
Eventually, you will come to a suspension bridge that crosses over Cataract Creek. After you cross the bridge, there are a few wooden boardwalks to cross. The trail then slightly climbs and then you go back downhill leading to the lake.
At the lake, there are numerous places along the beach that you can walk to so that you can get different views of the lake. The hike was well worth the time and effort because of the views at the lake.
8. Hidden Falls
Round Trip Length: 2.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 250 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Just like with the hike to Grinnell Lake, the distance you hike to the Hidden Falls depends on if you take the boats across Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine or not. If you take the boats, the distance will be 2.5 miles round trip. You can add another 5 miles to the hike if you start from the Many Glacier Hotel.
The hike to Hidden Falls is a nice addon when hiking to Grinnell Lake. The turn off to go to Hidden Falls is off of the same trail going to the lake. We did the short hike up to the falls after our hike to Grinnell Lake.
The trail climbs once you go off the trail leading to Grinnell Lake. It then levels off as it leads to the falls. There is a wooden deck that you stand on that gives you nice views of the falls. We felt that it was worth the short hike up to the falls to see them.
9. Swiftcurrent Nature Trail
One Way Trip Length: .8 miles
Elevation Gain: 25 feet
Difficulty: Easy
I mentioned before, Tonya and I took the boats across Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine. After crossing Lake Josephine and doing the short hike to Swiftcurrent Lake, we decided that we were going to hike from the dock back to the Many Glacier Hotel.
We followed the trail in a clockwise direction as you look at the Many Glacier Hotel. The hike followed the lake and then went away from the lake and through the woods. Just before you start to head into the woods, you will cross a wooden bridge. On the trail in the woods, there are benches that you can sit down to relax and take in the scenery. As we got closer to the hotel, the trail came back closer to the lake once again.
We do wish that we would have gone the other direction, since we wanted to be able to see the lake more while we hiked. The trail going the other direction around the lake hugs the lake more. With that being said, we still did enjoy the hike since it was an easy hike and it did still have some nice views.
East Side Going-to-the-Sun Road Hike
10. Sun Point
Round Trip Length: .8 miles
Elevation Gain: 60 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Ten miles west of the St. Mary Visitor Center, you will find the parking lot for the Sun Point picnic area. After you pull into the main parking area, there is a smaller parking lot to the right. You will want to pull into that parking lot.
The Sun Point trailhead starts at the right front corner of that parking lot. There is a sign marking the trailhead. The Sun Point trail goes 0.1 miles downhill and dead ends into the main section of the Sun Point Trail. You will take a left to head towards Sun Point.
You will hike for around .3 of a mile and you will take a right off of the trail to go to Sun Point. This area was home to Swiss Chalets that were built in 1915. After seeing the view from this area, I could see why they built the chalets there. You have fantastic views of St. Mary Lake and the surrounding mountains.
If you are wearing a hat, you will want to make sure that it is on securely. The wind had to be blowing 30 to 40 mph. I had to put my baseball cap on backwards so it wouldn’t blow away.
This was a nice short hike that capped off our day of sightseeing and hiking. It was also the last hike we did on our three days in the park.
Final Thoughts
The following 10 hikes enhanced our trip to Glacier National Park. We were able to see more of the park and some really beautiful views along the way. I was grateful that Tonya was able to do most of them that we did.
All of the hikes that we did were worth doing. Personally, my two favorite hikes were Avalanche Lake and Grinnell Lake. They had the most beautiful views out of all the hikes that we did.
If you have any questions about any of the hikes, make sure to leave your question in the comments.
Also, go to my blog Travelwidstom, if you want to learn how to save on travel, how to earn and maximize credit card points and miles and travel itineraries.
