Hiking Many Glacier Trails
Favorite Trails
Grinnell Glacier
As one would expect, this 11-mile round-trip hike is a classic. The Grinnell Glacier Trail is the only regularly maintained trail in Glacier National Park that still provides access to the very edge of a surviving glacier. Equally interesting, and certainly enlightening in its manifestation of the dramatic effect of climate change, is the transition along the trail through the obvious stages of glacial recession over the past century. As recently as the 1960s, we remember encountering the edge of Grinnell Glacier at a point at least a quarter of a mile further down the trail from where it ends today.
While the entire Many Glacier Valley provides excellent opportunities for viewing wildlife, the Grinnell Glacier Trail can seem like an exaggeration of those possibilities. On a recent October afternoon, we saw a total of five black and grizzly bears on our way up the road to the trailhead. We ran into Blackfeet Cultural Historia, Poet and Musician, Jack Gladstone, a mile down the trail from the glacier. While we were visiting, we could see a moose and calf at Grinnell Lake below us; and deer, Bighorn Sheep and mountain goats in the meadows along and on the trail, below and above us.
As we headed up the trail, we met a party of hikers who had just seen a grizzly and two cubs foraging near the outlet stream below the glacier. On the way back to the parking lot, we jumped two more moose along the trail. We cannot remember a more productive day for the diversity and quantity of wildlife viewing in our many years of hiking Glacier National Park. Such viewing opportunities are certainly not a promise, but the possibilities are well worth the hike.
Iceberg Lake and Ptarmigan Tunnel
These two hikes are featured together because it is possible and practical to combine them in a single outing. Visiting both sites would involve a total of more than fourteen miles, so, if one is not overly ambitious, the road most taken is usually to Iceberg Lake. The Iceberg Lake Trail is definitely one of the five most popular hikes in Glacier National Park, so expect to meet many happy travelers along the way. It involves a nine-mile round trip, beginning at The Swiftcurrent Motor Inn parking lot, at the end of Many Glacier Road. The Many Glacier Valley is the best bet in The Park to see Bighorn Sheep, mountain goats, moose and bears – from your car, no less! There are also many huckleberry bushes along the Iceberg Lake and Ptarmigan Tunnel trails.
One of the reasons that Iceberg Lake is such a popular destination is because it is a classic remnant glacial tarn, lying in a classic glacial cirque. The snow bank at the far end of the lake still supports winter ice well into the summer, making the lake itself exceptionally cold, but refreshing in the middle of the hike. Somewhere in an old box of actual photographs, we remember an ill-advised shot of young gymnasts doing handstands on a floating iceberg.
If you choose to visit both sites on one hike, take a left at the trail junction two miles below Iceberg Lake and visit Ptarmigan Tunnel first as the open exposure gets quite warm later in the day. The side trip to Ptarmigan Tunnel and back adds another five miles to the 9.5-mile trip to Iceberg Lake and back.
If your primary goal is a round trip to Ptarmigan Lake, Ptarmigan Tunnel and back, the hike involves a little more elevation gain, but a total of only 10 miles. The tunnel itself was an engineering feat, completed in 1931, to ease passage from the Many Glacier Valley to the Belly River Valley. Before 1931, hikers often needed to “rope up” to get over the ridge separating the two valleys. It is well worth the little extra time and distance to pass through the tunnel and on down the trail for a quarter to a half mile, in order to enjoy the views of Elizabeth Lake, Helen Lake and much of the Belly River Valley. Opening of the doors at either end of the tunnel may be delayed in the spring and closing may come early in the fall, due to late and early snowfall at high elevations. Incidentally, none of the ghost stories involving hikers being locked in from both ends of the tunnel over the winter are even remotely true!
As one would expect, this 11-mile round-trip hike is a classic. The Grinnell Glacier Trail is the only regularly maintained trail in Glacier National Park that still provides access to the very edge of a surviving glacier. Equally interesting, and certainly enlightening in its manifestation of the dramatic effect of climate change, is the transition along the trail through the obvious stages of glacial recession over the past century. As recently as the 1960s, we remember encountering the edge of Grinnell Glacier at a point at least a quarter of a mile further down the trail from where it ends today.
While the entire Many Glacier Valley provides excellent opportunities for viewing wildlife, the Grinnell Glacier Trail can seem like an exaggeration of those possibilities. On a recent October afternoon, we saw a total of five black and grizzly bears on our way up the road to the trailhead. We ran into Blackfeet Cultural Historia, Poet and Musician, Jack Gladstone, a mile down the trail from the glacier. While we were visiting, we could see a moose and calf at Grinnell Lake below us; and deer, Bighorn Sheep and mountain goats in the meadows along and on the trail, below and above us.
As we headed up the trail, we met a party of hikers who had just seen a grizzly and two cubs foraging near the outlet stream below the glacier. On the way back to the parking lot, we jumped two more moose along the trail. We cannot remember a more productive day for the diversity and quantity of wildlife viewing in our many years of hiking Glacier National Park. Such viewing opportunities are certainly not a promise, but the possibilities are well worth the hike.
Iceberg Lake and Ptarmigan Tunnel
These two hikes are featured together because it is possible and practical to combine them in a single outing. Visiting both sites would involve a total of more than fourteen miles, so, if one is not overly ambitious, the road most taken is usually to Iceberg Lake. The Iceberg Lake Trail is definitely one of the five most popular hikes in Glacier National Park, so expect to meet many happy travelers along the way. It involves a nine-mile round trip, beginning at The Swiftcurrent Motor Inn parking lot, at the end of Many Glacier Road. The Many Glacier Valley is the best bet in The Park to see Bighorn Sheep, mountain goats, moose and bears – from your car, no less! There are also many huckleberry bushes along the Iceberg Lake and Ptarmigan Tunnel trails.
One of the reasons that Iceberg Lake is such a popular destination is because it is a classic remnant glacial tarn, lying in a classic glacial cirque. The snow bank at the far end of the lake still supports winter ice well into the summer, making the lake itself exceptionally cold, but refreshing in the middle of the hike. Somewhere in an old box of actual photographs, we remember an ill-advised shot of young gymnasts doing handstands on a floating iceberg.
If you choose to visit both sites on one hike, take a left at the trail junction two miles below Iceberg Lake and visit Ptarmigan Tunnel first as the open exposure gets quite warm later in the day. The side trip to Ptarmigan Tunnel and back adds another five miles to the 9.5-mile trip to Iceberg Lake and back.
If your primary goal is a round trip to Ptarmigan Lake, Ptarmigan Tunnel and back, the hike involves a little more elevation gain, but a total of only 10 miles. The tunnel itself was an engineering feat, completed in 1931, to ease passage from the Many Glacier Valley to the Belly River Valley. Before 1931, hikers often needed to “rope up” to get over the ridge separating the two valleys. It is well worth the little extra time and distance to pass through the tunnel and on down the trail for a quarter to a half mile, in order to enjoy the views of Elizabeth Lake, Helen Lake and much of the Belly River Valley. Opening of the doors at either end of the tunnel may be delayed in the spring and closing may come early in the fall, due to late and early snowfall at high elevations. Incidentally, none of the ghost stories involving hikers being locked in from both ends of the tunnel over the winter are even remotely true!
Day Hikes
Apikuni Falls
1 mi (1.6 km)
Elevation gain: 700 ft (213 m)
Trailhead: Apikuni parking area, 1.1 miles east of Many Glacier Hotel
Cracker Lake
6.4 mi (10.3 km)
Elevation gain: 1,400 ft (427 m)
Trailhead: South end of Many Glacier Hotel parking lot
Grinnell Glacier Viewpoint
[a] 5.3 mi (8.5 km)
Elevation gain: 1,600 ft (488 m)
Trailhead: Grinnell Glacier Trailhead or Many Glacier Hotel
[b] 3.6 mi (5.8 km)
Elevation gain: 1,600 ft (488 m)
Using concession boat from Many Glacier Hotel, tour fees apply and reservations highly recommended
Grinnell Lake
[a] 3.4 mi (5.5 km)
Elevation gain: 60 ft (18 m)
Trailhead: Grinnell Glacier Trailhead or Many Glacier Hotel
[b] 1.1 mi (1.8 km)
Elevation gain: 60 ft (18 m)
Using concession boat from Many Glacier Hotel, tour fees apply
Iceberg Lake
4.8 mi (7.7 km)
Elevation gain: 1,200 ft (366 m)
Trailhead: Iceberg Ptarmigan Trailhead
Piegan Pass
[a] 4.5 mi (7.2 km)
Elevation gain: 1,750 ft (533 m)
Trailhead: Piegan Pass Trailhead
[b] 8.4 mi (13.5 km)
Elevation gain: 2,650 ft (805 m)
Trailhead: South end of Many Glacier Hotel parking lot
Poia Lake
6.4 mi (10.3 km)
Elevation gain: 2,400 ft (731.5 m)
Trailhead: Apikuni parking area, 1.1 miles east of Many Glacier Hotel
Ptarmigan Falls
2.7 mi (4.3 km)
Elevation gain: 700 ft (213 m)
Trailhead: Iceberg Ptarmigan Trailhead
Ptarmigan Lake
4.3 mi (6.9 km)
Elevation gain: 1,700 ft (518 m)
Trailhead: Iceberg Ptarmigan Trailhead
Ptarmigan Tunnel*
5.3 mi (8.5 km)
Elevation gain: 2,300 ft (701 m)
Trailhead: Iceberg Ptarmigan Trailhead
*Tunnel doors generally open mid-July to late September
Redrock Falls
1.8 mi (2.9 km)
Elevation gain: 100 ft (30.5 m)
Trailhead: Swiftcurrent Trailhead, by motor inn parking lot
Swiftcurrent Nature Trail
2.3 mile loop (3.7 km)
The first ¼ mile past the Grinnell Glacier Trailhead is wheelchair accessible
Trailhead: Grinnell Glacier Trailhead or Many Glacier Hotel
Swiftcurrent Pass
6.8 mi (10.9 km)
Elevation gain: 2,300 ft (701 m)
Trailhead: Swiftcurrent Trailhead, by motor inn parking lot
1 mi (1.6 km)
Elevation gain: 700 ft (213 m)
Trailhead: Apikuni parking area, 1.1 miles east of Many Glacier Hotel
Cracker Lake
6.4 mi (10.3 km)
Elevation gain: 1,400 ft (427 m)
Trailhead: South end of Many Glacier Hotel parking lot
Grinnell Glacier Viewpoint
[a] 5.3 mi (8.5 km)
Elevation gain: 1,600 ft (488 m)
Trailhead: Grinnell Glacier Trailhead or Many Glacier Hotel
[b] 3.6 mi (5.8 km)
Elevation gain: 1,600 ft (488 m)
Using concession boat from Many Glacier Hotel, tour fees apply and reservations highly recommended
Grinnell Lake
[a] 3.4 mi (5.5 km)
Elevation gain: 60 ft (18 m)
Trailhead: Grinnell Glacier Trailhead or Many Glacier Hotel
[b] 1.1 mi (1.8 km)
Elevation gain: 60 ft (18 m)
Using concession boat from Many Glacier Hotel, tour fees apply
Iceberg Lake
4.8 mi (7.7 km)
Elevation gain: 1,200 ft (366 m)
Trailhead: Iceberg Ptarmigan Trailhead
Piegan Pass
[a] 4.5 mi (7.2 km)
Elevation gain: 1,750 ft (533 m)
Trailhead: Piegan Pass Trailhead
[b] 8.4 mi (13.5 km)
Elevation gain: 2,650 ft (805 m)
Trailhead: South end of Many Glacier Hotel parking lot
Poia Lake
6.4 mi (10.3 km)
Elevation gain: 2,400 ft (731.5 m)
Trailhead: Apikuni parking area, 1.1 miles east of Many Glacier Hotel
Ptarmigan Falls
2.7 mi (4.3 km)
Elevation gain: 700 ft (213 m)
Trailhead: Iceberg Ptarmigan Trailhead
Ptarmigan Lake
4.3 mi (6.9 km)
Elevation gain: 1,700 ft (518 m)
Trailhead: Iceberg Ptarmigan Trailhead
Ptarmigan Tunnel*
5.3 mi (8.5 km)
Elevation gain: 2,300 ft (701 m)
Trailhead: Iceberg Ptarmigan Trailhead
*Tunnel doors generally open mid-July to late September
Redrock Falls
1.8 mi (2.9 km)
Elevation gain: 100 ft (30.5 m)
Trailhead: Swiftcurrent Trailhead, by motor inn parking lot
Swiftcurrent Nature Trail
2.3 mile loop (3.7 km)
The first ¼ mile past the Grinnell Glacier Trailhead is wheelchair accessible
Trailhead: Grinnell Glacier Trailhead or Many Glacier Hotel
Swiftcurrent Pass
6.8 mi (10.9 km)
Elevation gain: 2,300 ft (701 m)
Trailhead: Swiftcurrent Trailhead, by motor inn parking lot