When I was thinking about the name of this blog, I was really confused. Because Glacier National Park has so many places to visit, so many hikes to do. We did our best to spend three days in Glacier National Park in a way to utilize the time as best as possible for us. So, this blog is all about our hikes, the places we visit in those three beautiful days.
If you tell me to rank the national parks in terms of beauty and hikes, Glacier national park will be in the five three. In some of the national parks, you can simply drive and enjoy. But enjoy the real beauty of Glacier National Park, you have to hike at least a bit. As spring is approaching, I know many of you have been planning to visit this park this year. But before you plan, check out the national park website for the opening of the Going-to-the Sun road (generally late summer- July/August, depending on the snow). If the Going-to-the-Sun road is not open, you will not be able to visit a beautiful part of the park. That’s why it is important to keep the dates in your mind while planning. After that, the question comes into mind that what places should I visit? Well, I am going to list the places I have visited in three days. We may go back to Glacier National park to do some hikes.
Drive the Going-to-the-Sun road
The name says it all! This drive has been one of the most beautiful scenic drive I have ever been to. The view is quite spectacular and during the spring full of wildflowers on both side of the road. Mountains, beautiful sky, wildflower what a beautiful combination. The road passes through the mountains and quite narrow in places. During summertime, this road gets quite busy. If you are driving the whole road, don’t forget to stop by the wild goose island in St. Mary lake.
Lake McDonald
If you are like me searching for beautiful places on Instagram, you definitely have seen the famous Lake McDonald picture with clear water, colorful rocks and mountains in the background. This lake is approximately 10 miles long located near the west entrance and probably the largest lake in this national park.
Logan pass and Hidden lake
If you are driving the Going-to-the-sun road, you will come across this most popular spot- Logan pass visitor center at the base of Reynolds mountain and Clements mountain. This is the highest point that is accessible by car. From here two popular hikes: Highline trail and hidden lake trail start. Though we visited the park in July, still Logan pass and hidden lake trail were fully covered with snow. We did not have time to do highline trail, but we hiked up to the hidden lake overlook which was one and half mile (one way) from the trailhead hiking through the snow. The trail is quite easy up until the overlook. We even saw several mountain goats here. If you want to go to the lake you have to hike total three mile (one way).
Avalanche lake
Avalanche lake is one of easy trail in Glacier national park and the trail is as beautiful as the lake. The hike length is approx. 4.6 mile (round trip) with an elevation gain of around 500 ft. For most of the part of the trail you have to walk through the forest on a very well-marked trail before it opens into a beautiful greenish blue lake surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. On a bright sunny day, this trail is heavily populated. Don’t forget to bring some snacks and drinks to enjoy the view.
Many glacier
Many Glacier is the most beautiful part of this park, but this is accessible from the east St. Mary entrance. Here you can enjoy the view of mountains, lake Swiftcurrent shore from the lobby. Many people consider this part as the ‘Switzerland of North America’, which is quite true.
Iceberg lake
The moment I saw a picture of this lake with the floating icebergs, I was determined that I have to go there. It was a 10-mile round trip with an elevation gain of 1200 ft, but all I did in these ten miles was to stare with an open mouth. The trail is very beautiful, and the lake is amazing. This was the first time I saw floating icebergs in any lake with so clear water like this.
Grinnell Glacier
If you want to do one hike in Glacier national park, I suggest you go for Grinnell Glacier. The turquoise color of the glacier fed lake is unbelievably beautiful specially with all those glaciers, it creates an amazing view. The total hike is around 11-mile round trip with an elevation gain of 1600 feet. Unfortunately, we could not finish the whole hike. At some point of the hike (probably 0.5 mile left), the trail was closed due to an avalanche and the trail was quite impassable. It was our bad luck; we chose a heavy snow year when there was still snow left in the trail during July. But still the trail was amazingly beautiful and full of wildflowers. There is another option to take the boat from the Many Glacier hotel boat dock for part of the way. It makes the trail a little bit shorter and you will be able to enjoy the boat ride with a view.
Fishercap lake
From the Swiftcurrent pass trailhead if you hike 0.3 mile, you will be able to find Fishercap lake. We read somewhere that moose generally come here during the sunrise and sunset to drink water. We spent two sunrises here and saw couple of moose and deer. We did not see any bull moose which I was really hoping for. I wanted to see a bear. I even carried a big lens to photograph one. But I think everybody in the park saw at least one except me. So, watching any wildlife always depend on luck.
Important: The east side of the park (including Many glacier) is closed due to Covid-19 and construction. To check if it is open or not please visit the national park website beforehand. Also, don’t forget to carry bear spray with you. As this is a grizzly bear country, its better to carry one to avoid any kind of risk. Don’t forget to read the instruction about what to do in case of bear encounter.
Source:
Hiking Many Glacier – Glacier National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)