A panorama of Grinnell Glacier, along with Upper Grinnell Lake, Salamander Glacier and Gem Glacier.

Hiking to Grinnell Glaicer in Glacier National Park

Joshua Rutledge February 20, 2024

Back in August of 2023 I had the chance to hike to Grinnell Glacier with my wife Denise and younger sister Melissa. My sister and I had hiked to Iceberg Lake earlier in the summer and had debated at that time whether we should hike to Iceberg Lake or Grinnell Glacier. Since we had a chance to get back to Glacier National Park before the summer was over, we thought we would hike to Grinnell Glacier since we did not get to during our previous trip. If you want to check out my blog from our hike to Iceberg Lake you can find it here: Blog - Hiking to Iceberg Lake.

We decided to take the boats across Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine to cut a few miles off of the hike. We also thought the boat ride just sounded like fun. The boat leaves from out front of the picturesque Many Glacier Hotel. The hotel is designed to look like a Swiss Chalet in the alps. Some of the staff even wear lederhosen to complete the experience. The Many Glacier Hotel is located on the east side of Glacier National Park in the Many Glacier area.

We boarded the boat and were on our way across Swiftcurrent Lake. The early boat we were on is strictly for passengers looking for transportation across the lake. It is a one way trip, you do get a ticket to ride back later, you just can’t stay on the boat that first trip, you have to disembark. They do not do a full tour of the lake since it is just for transportation purposes. They do give some information on the ride over, but if you want an actual tour of the lake with more commentary, you would want to book one of those tours later in the day. You can reserve your tickets online ahead of time and I would highly recommend you do so. You do have the option to buy tickets at the booth the day of, but there is no guarantee they will have any available.

They drop you off at the dock on the far end of Swiftcurrent Lake and then there is a short quarter of a mile or so hike over the ridge to another dock on Lake Josephine. The hike is not too bad, but it can be a little rough, so if you are traveling with someone with mobility issues, this could be a problem. If I am not mistaken, the ridge between Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine is actually a glacier moraine. From there you board another boat and it takes you across to another dock on the far end of Josephine Lake. There is a small covered structure and some pit toilets near the dock. This dock serves as a pickup point for hikers coming back, so they provide the structure so there is somewhere you can sit and get out of the elements waiting for your return boat ride. There are pickups and drop offs scheduled throughout the day depending on how busy the tour boat schedule is. The last boat of the day continues to go back and forth until all of the passengers are picked up, so don’t panic if you don’t get on the first boat going back. If you do return too late and miss the last boat of the day however, you will have to hike the 2 miles or so back to the hotel (or wherever you started from.)

If you don’t want to take the boat rides, you can start your hike at the Many Glacier Hotel or there is also a parking lot between the Many Glacier Hotel and the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn that is also a popular jumping off spot. I believe either of these options adds about 2 miles both ways to your hike. So what is a 6 mile or so hike with the boats becomes over a 10 mile hike without. If you just want a nice easy hike around one or both lakes without hiking to the glacier, that is a great option too. You can also hike to Grinnell Lake instead of the glacier and this is a relatively easy hike as well. The hike to Grinnell Lake also leaves from the end of Josephine Lake.

Injured cow moose in the marshy area of Lake Josephine in Glacier National Park.

When we got dropped off to start our hike there was a wounded cow moose in the swampy area at the end of the lake. We can’t be sure, but my guess would be she may have had a run in with a grizzly bear. Both moose and grizzly bears are common in this area, so you will want to remember to bring your bear spray. The hike starts by crossing this swampy area at the end of the lake. If you keep going straight, you will go to Grinnell Lake. There is a foot bridge that crosses the main channel of the creek and then there are some boardwalks that help navigate you over the swampy areas. There is then a steep climb up the mountain that eventually connects with the main trail along the lake people use if they don’t take the boat. There are some great views of Josephine Lake once you make that initial climb.

First view of Grinnell Lake as you are hiking to Grinnell Glacier in Glacier National Park.

As you continue up the trail you continue to climb and eventually you will get your first glimpse of Grinnell Lake. From there you can also see the Salamander Glacier and the waterfall that comes out of Upper Grinnell Lake. You can’t quite see Grinnel Glacier from this vantage however. The hike continues up the side of the mountain and you work your way higher and higher above Grinnell Lake until you are eventually looking almost straight down on it. This hike, while shorter than Iceberg Lake, is a lot more strenuous as you are continually climbing. There are a couple of stretches that are pretty steep. There are also some stretches that are along cliff faces, so if you are afraid of heights, this might not be the best hike for you.

A view Grinnell Falls, Grinnell Glacier and a field of fireweed and other wildflowers.

At one point along the hike we got stopped by a group of bighorn sheep rams that were licking the salts off the cliffs near a waterfall that the trail runs under. I was honestly not bothered at all by the delay as it was a lot of fun to watch the bighorn sheep. I was happy I brought my 100-500 lens as I was able to get some pretty good shots of the rams. Eventually they did move off the trail and we were able to continue on our hike. You can select each image in the gallery below for a larger view.

Before you reach the last climb up to Grinnell Glacier, there is a flat area with some benches and a couple of primitive pit toilets. We encountered a couple more bighorn sheep in this area. As I mentioned, there is a pretty steep climb from the rest area up to the area of Upper Grinnell Lake and Grinnell Glacier. When you are on top you are greeted with an amazing view of Upper Grinnell Lake below you, the Grinnell Glacier, Salamander Glacier and Gem Glacier. And if you turn around behind you, you can see Grinnell Lake, Lake Josephine and Lake Sherburne in the distance. Being able to see 4 lakes from one location is pretty awesome. Unfortunately you can’t see Swiftcurrent Lake as it is tucked behind the mountain.

A view of Grinnell Lake, Lake Josephine and Lake Sherburne.

There is then a short hike down to Upper Grinnell Lake. The landscape here is very interesting. Since the glacier is still receding, it has left a barren rocky landscape in its wake. You can see where the rock has been ground away by the ice. Since the glacier has become very unstable they don’t recommend you actually go out on it anymore. So we did not. We did see a few brave souls out on it however. As I mentioned, besides Grinnell Glacier, you can also see Salamander Glacier, with an amazing waterfall down into Upper Grinnell Lake and the Gem Glacier as well. The cliffs behind the lake make up part of the famous Garden Wall. If you have gone over Logan Pass on the Going to the Sun Road, you have seen the other side of the Garden Wall, or maybe you have even hiked in this area before.

A panorama of Grinnell Glacier, Upper Grinnell Lake, Gem Glacier and Salamander Glacier.

The lake itself reminded me a lot of Iceberg Lake. It has chunks of ice floating in it as well as the tall imposing cliffs behind it. The water is a bit more milky from the active glaciers however. And of course the water is freezy cold like Iceberg Lake as well. While we were sitting and enjoying the views, we were visited by a couple of Golden-mantled ground squirrels and some birds. So even though it was a somewhat barren landscape, it was not void of life. I think it is also possible to see mountain goats, but we did not the day we were there. As with all of the photographs in this blog, you can select the individual pictures for a larger view.

After enjoying the views, eating a quick snack and dipping our feet in the cold water, it was time to start the hike back down. On the way back down I spotted a young bull moose wading in the waters of Grinnell Lake below me. It was pretty cool to see. I was hoping to find a pika as well, as they have been on my list for a while to photograph. While I had some quick glances of a few, I was never able to get a great picture. Something for another day I guess. By the time we returned to the boat dock it had started to rain lightly. The weather can be very unpredictable so always go prepared for a variety of conditions. I had packed my lightweight rain jacket, so even though I hadn’t needed it all day I was glad I had it. There was already a fairly large group of folks waiting for the boat, so we actually had to wait a half an hour or so until the next boat came by.

A young bull moose wading in the shores of Grinnell Lake as seen above on the trail to Grinnell Glacier.

While it was a pretty strenuous hike, I think it is probably my favorite I have ever done so far in Glacier National Park. The views are just amazing and there is always a chance for wildlife and lots of wildflowers along the way. I would certainly add it to your list if you have not done it yet. For this hike I had along my Canon R5, the Canon RF 24-105 L lens, my Canon RF 100-500 L lens and my GoPro Hero 11 Black. I was using my small ThinkTank Backstory 13 as my backpack.

We were in Glacier National Park for a couple of days, so we also spent some time looking for wildlife and driving over the famous Going to the Sun Road. Here is a little photo gallery of some of the other photos I captured during this trip.

Youtube video from our hike to Grinnell Glacier in Glacier National Park.

If you are interested in being notified when future blogs come out, please use my Contact page and let me know to add you to the email list.

For other information about Glacier National Park you may want to check out the following pages/posts on my website as well:

Dedicated page for Glacier National Park.

Blog - Hiking to Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park

Blog - Glacier National Park Day 1, June 2022.

Blog - Glacier National Park Day 2, June 2022.

Blog - Glacier National Park Day 3, June 2022.

Blog - New Year - Catching up on Glacier Trips 2021.

A panorama of Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park.

Hiking to Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park

Joshua Rutledge February 11, 2024

This last July, 2023, my sister Melissa and I decided to hike to Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park. It was a hike we had talked about doing many times before, but just never had, so we made it a point last summer to finally do it.

The sign at the Iceberg Ptarmigan Trailhead.

The trailhead for the hike leaves from behind the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn in Many Glacier on the east side of Glacier National Park. This is the same trailhead you would use if you wanted to hike to Ptarmigan Tunnel (Lake) or even locations passed there. There is a small parking area right at the trailhead, but it fills up quickly so you may need to park in the bigger parking lot in front of the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn and walk behind the cabins to the trailhead. There is also the option to hike from the Many Glacier Hotel as well, but of course that will add to the distance of your hike. As with all areas in Glacier National Park, I would recommend getting to the trailhead early, as parking anywhere close by might become impossible. Your other option is to wait until later in the afternoon when people have started to leave for the day, but make sure you leave yourself enough time to finish the hike. For the average hiker it is probably a 4 or 5 hour hike. Luckily the summer days in Montana are long. Also check on the reservation/ticketing requirements for the Many Glacier area as it tends to change year to year.

This area is home to many grizzly bears so I would be sure to bring along bear spray on your hike. We saw a grizzly bear within the first mile or so of the hike. It was a rather quick encounter so I was not able to capture any photographs or video of the bear. And we heard reports from other hikers that some others were spotted that morning as well. There are also a lot of moose in the area. As is always the case in Glacier National Park, the weather can be very unpredictable so be sure that you are prepared for a variety of conditions. It can be difficult to predict when the trail will be open year to year, but typically it is from late June/early July into early October. If you arrive too early in the season the trail might be closed all together, or there may be snow/ice fields you have to cross to get to the lake. Check with the rangers if you have any concerns about the hiking conditions or if the trail is open. Besides the weather, sometimes the trails are closed because of bear activity. The benefit of going earlier in the season is that there tends to be more “icebergs” in the lake than there are later in the season. But, if you wait and go in the fall you may be able to experience some fall colors and the crowds will be less. If you wait too late however, there may already be too much snow up high to get to the lake.

It is about a 10 mile hike round trip (assuming you leave from the trailhead at the Swiftcurrent Inn) with over 1,200 feet of elevation gain. I have seen different quotes between about 1,200 and 1,500 feet, so I am not sure what the correct elevation gain is. It is not a particularly challenging hike, some of the worst of it is actually the first quarter mile or so from the trailhead as it is a rather steep ascent up to where it meets the Ptarmigan Trail coming from the Many Glacier Hotel. Eventually it does even out some and from there it is a more continuous gradual elevation gain up to the lake.

Wildflowers and the Ptarmigan Wall near Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park.

Some paintbrush flowers along the trail.

Some small white flowers on the trail to Iceberg Lake.

A Dusky Grouse we observed on the trail to Iceberg Lake.

As you hike, you will see some awesome vistas of the mountains and the valley below. Unfortunately the day we were hiking there was a lot of smoke from wildfires up in Canada, so some of our view was obstructed and it also added weird lighting to some of my photographs. Depending on the time of year, you will see a variety of wildflowers and animal species along the way. As I mentioned earlier, keep your eyes open for bears and moose especially. It is a very popular trail, so if you are uncomfortable hiking in bear country, ask if you can join some other hikers for safety in numbers.

Melissa crossing over the bridge that is just above Ptarmigan Falls.

About halfway through your hike you will find yourself at Ptarmigan Falls. Unfortunately you never get a great view of the falls due to the terrain. But you can see a pretty good portion of it through the trees. As you arrive above the falls, there is a nice rocky area that is a popular spot to rest and maybe have a snack. There is also a primitive pit toilet in the area as well. As you leave the falls, you will cross a wooden bridge and you will have a very good picturesque view up the valley and the creek running at your feet below into the falls. This is also the area where the trail splits to either continue on to Iceberg Lake or go up to Ptarmigan Lake/Tunnel. Stay to the left to go to Iceberg Lake.

The creek crossing just before you get to Iceberg Lake, with the Ptarmigan Wall in the background.

From there you will continue to climb for another couple of miles as you start to close in on the base of the Ptarmigan Wall and a small lake that is kind of an offshoot of Iceberg lake, I do not know if it has a name. While we were there, there was an amazing field of wildflowers surrounding the small lake. As you continue up the last little climb you will cross the creek again and you will start to get your first glimpses of where the lake will appear. After you step out of the last grove of trees, Iceberg Lake and the surrounding cliffs will be right in front of you. It is very difficult to capture just how imposing the cliffs are in front of you. You really have to see it to believe it.

Ice floating in Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park.

Of course we stayed at the lake for some time. We dipped our tired feet in, and it was VERY cold. For a second the cold water felt good, but it quickly became too cold for me. I have seen pictures of people swimming in the lake, but no one was brave enough the morning we were there, but lots of people did wade out into the frigid waters. We ate a snack, rested for a little bit, enjoyed the views and then started the hike back down. Since we had got a pretty early start, we passed a lot of people coming up the trail as we were going down. I was glad we got there early to avoid the crowds.

Another panorama of Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park.

Despite the smoky conditions, the hike was awesome. Next time I may have to try the Ptarmigan Tunnel trail, as I have heard there are some spectacular views from there as well. I know some people have completed both sections of the trail in a single day, but I am not in good enough shape to do that. Later in the summer of 2023, we also did a hike to Grinnell Glacier which was also amazing. Both hikes are awesome, but I think the Grinnell hike might edge out Iceberg Lake, but only by a little bit, as my favorite. I will write a blog about our hike to Grinnell later on, so please check back.

We were actually in the park for a couple of days on this trip, so here are some pictures from the rest of our time in the park. For our hike I had my Canon R5, Canon RF 24-105, Canon RF 100-500 and my GoPro Hero 11 Black. I also had my Canon 600 F4 version 2 lens along for this trip for wildlife when not on our hike. As with all of the pictures in the blog, you can select the image for a larger pop out view.

If you are interested in being notified when future blogs come out, please use my Contact page and let me know to add you to the email list.

For other information about Glacier National Park you may want to check out the following pages/posts on my website as well:

Dedicated page for Glacier National Park.

Blog - Glacier National Park Day 1, June 2022.

Blog - Glacier National Park Day 2, June 2022.

Blog - Glacier National Park Day 3, June 2022.

Blog - New Year - Catching up on Glacier Trips 2021.

The Many Glacier Hotel with Swiftcurrent Lake and the mountains in the background.

Glacier National Park - June 2022 - Day 3

Joshua Rutledge July 8, 2022

On the morning of day three it was time to pack up and move ourselves over to the east side of the park, specifically to Many Glacier. We had a room in the Many Glacier Hotel reserved. Originally we were supposed to stay at the Swift Current Motor Inn & Cabins (we had a cabin reserved) but due to staffing shortages they moved us over to the Many Glacier Hotel for the night. We actually enjoy staying at the Swift Current Inn as it’s a little less busy and it’s closer to Fishercap Lake which we like to visit in the mornings and evenings. It also has more casual dining options including pizza and breakfast served all day. The Many Glacier Hotel is more historic and worth a stay however if you are in the area. You can’t beat the view from the deck overlooking Swiftcurrent Lake. The Swiss inspired stylings of the motel is fun to experience as well.

While traveling to the east side, we decided we better pull into the Goat Lick Overlook again after our amazing experience the night before. We were hoping with the rain having passed that the conditions might be better for viewing. There were goats there again, but fewer than before and the group that was closest the night before was no longer there, so the photographic opportunities I was hoping for did not happen. But it was still fun to watch the mountain goats some more. Since there were no goats close by, I got out my tripod with my 600mm lens and the 1.4x teleconverter to bring them in as close as possible. I was pretty popular with other people at the overlook when they saw me with so much gear out. I even let a couple fellow Canon shooters borrow my long lens on their cameras to get a couple shots.

A mountain goat nanny and her kid at Goat Lick Overlook. As always, depending your device, you can click on any of the pictures in my blogs for a full screen view.

Another nanny and kid from the overlook.

On our way into Many Glacier we spotted two black bears and a grizzly bear. So it was a pretty good start to our stay over there. As was the case on day one, we knew we had some time before we could check into our hotel, so we decided to take a hike up to Apikuni Falls. We had driven by the trailhead many times over the years (it is often closed due to bear activity though) but had never actually done the hike. It is not a long hike, less than 2 miles round trip, but it is pretty much straight up the whole way and our legs were not fresh after all of the hiking the day before. With the higher than normal water levels this spring, I am guessing it was a good time to visit the falls. I am assuming on a normal year or later in the season it would not be as impressive.

Grizzly bear near Lake Sherburne in Many Glacier - Glacier National Park.

Another shot of the grizzly bear as we were coming into Many Glacier.

A little wider shot of the grizzly bear. It appeared to be flipping over rocks and digging up roots.

One of the black bears we observed coming into the park. This one was not far from the Apikuni Falls trailhead, but on the other side of the road. Typically we see more grizzly bears in that area and not black bears.

A head on shot of the black bear in Many Glacier. You can really tell how large of a black bear it was from this perspective.

Apikuni Falls as seen from the trail leading up to the falls. Since I wanted to travel light, I just grabbed my Canon R6 and my 24-70 lens.

After finishing our hike and looking around a little bit we were able to check into our hotel room. We spent a little bit of time relaxing before it was time to go out and do some wildlife viewing. We started our evening at Fischercap Lake, hoping to find some moose that frequent the area. The lake, as was the case everywhere, was higher than normal so there was not a lot of shoreline to set up on. We were visited by a couple of white-tail deer while we waited for moose. They were obviously very habituated to people as they were getting uncomfortably close. Eventually a young cow moose did appear along the willows at the end of the lake. She was nursing a pretty sizable wound on her back leg. I am guessing it was probably from a bear attack. She eventually wandered off, and nothing else was showing up, so we decided to load up and see if we could find some bears. It didn’t take us long and we did find two grizzly bears. We talked to the rangers and they told us it was a mating pair. They knew the female as it had been previously collared and the male had appeared the day before. The rangers were very patient and interactive and were very accommodating to people trying to get pictures. Maybe because it was early in the season or because the crowds were still low, they were way more chill than usual when it comes to managing the crowds and the grizzly bears. For the most part everyone that was there viewing the bears were well behaved, so that might have contributed to the positive experience with the park rangers as well. After a while we decided to head down the road and see if we could find anything else and let someone else have our spot along the road. We did not see anything else that evening and went back to the hotel for some rest. We enjoyed some time out on the deck watching the sunset behind the mountains at Swiftcurrent Lake.

A young cow moose nursing an injury at Fishercap Lake - Many Glacier.

The young moose again in the willows along the edge of Fishercap Lake. Willow is one of the moose’s favorite foods, especially when it’s new growth. They also enjoy eating the aquatic vegetation that grows in the lake.

A male and female grizzly bear with some of the surrounding environment along Lake Sherburne in Many Glacier.

A little tighter shot on the male grizzly bear. Please make sure you follow park rules and keep your distance from the wildlife. All of these images were shot on long lenses so I could maintain a safe distance.

The next morning, day 4, we got up and decided to see what we could find before we had to head for home. We couldn’t decide if we wanted to try Fishercap Lake one more time, or see what else was out there. We decided to pass on Fishercap due to not seeing a lot the night before. We were able to find the two grizzly bears again from the night before, as they had not gone far. We watched them for a while and then continued down the road towards the main entrance and found a black bear right alongside the road. I got a few pictures on my cell phone, but that was all. Since we didn’t see anything else and a crowd was starting to form back at the pair of grizzly bears, we decided to drive down towards Fishercap just to see if anything was down there. We didn’t even get as far as the lake and we saw a big bull moose out in one of the openings. So we watched him for a while and decided we probably couldn't do much better than that anyway, and called it good for the morning without going to Fishercap Lake. We went back to the motel to pack up and then headed home. I had to be home to pick up our dogs from the kennel so we knew we couldn't stay too long.

A bull moose in Many Glacier - Glacier National Park. This was also with my Canon R6 and the Canon 100-500 as my memory card was full in my R5 and I didn’t have time to switch.

More of an environmental shot with the bull moose to include the mountains in the background.

One more shot of the bull moose in velvet grazing on the underbrush.

All in all, despite all of the closures, it was still a great trip. In total we saw 5 grizzly bears (some more than once, but 5 individual bears) 3 black bears, a whole bunch of mountain goats, 2 moose, a lot of waterfalls, tons of wild flowers, and all of the scenery you could take in. I am very blessed to live where I do, so close to so much natural beauty. For the landscape pictures I was primarily using an adapted Canon EF 24-70 2.8 II lens. I did break out my Canon EF 16-35 2.8 III lens a couple of times for some of the larger vista shots. I don’t like how that lens behaves with the stabilization in video mode with my Canon R5 though, so I don’t tend to use it a lot when I know I am going to be going back and forth between stills and video. I sometimes prefer to just make a panorama using my 24-70 if it’s not wide enough. For the wildlife I was mostly using my new Canon RF 100-500 lens. It was a lot of run and gun photo/video so I didn’t have a lot of time to get out a tripod and setup my Canon 600mm F4 II lens. I was able to use it a couple of times this trip, but not as much as I would have liked. I may need to think of a different strategy for how to use my 600 F4 in the future in those situations. Maybe a monopod? Or maybe I need to look into a tripod that’s a little quicker/easier to deploy. The Canon 100-500 worked well and for the most part I was happy with it… But it will never give me the quality (or the reach) of my 600mm F4.

Glacier National Park - June 2022 - Day 2

Joshua Rutledge July 7, 2022

We started day two of our June 2022 Glacier National Park trip heading north along Camas Road with plans to go to Polebridge and then on to Bowman Lake and eventually as far as Kintla Lake. It had been many years since I had been to Bowman Lake and even longer since I had been to Kintla. Unfortunately, we discovered that the road to Kintla Lake was closed due to flooding. So that will have to wait a little longer. We still made a stop at the Polebridge Mercantile and acquired some baked goods. You have to try the huckleberry bear claws if you ever get the chance. This year we also discovered they had a few savory items as well, we really enjoyed the baked pizza roll.

With our bellies filled, we got back on the dirt road and headed towards Bowman Lake. The road is dirt, but most of the time it is passable in a passenger car, although I would prefer something with a little more ground clearance. Once we got to the lake we spent a little time around the boat launch area and then took a short hike around the eastern shore over the bridge at the outlet of Bowman Creek and continued for another half a mile or so along the shore. We saw a lot of wildflowers, some deer and even a spruce grouse in the area.

The view of Bowman Lake from the bridge over the Bowman Creek outlet. My sister Melissa is admiring the view.

We were probably just a little early for the peak of wildflower season, but we still found a lot, including these Purple Clematis.

Another shot of the male Spruce Grouse, he was not being a very cooperative subject.

Since we could not make it to Kintla Lake, we had to shift gears and come up with a plan B for the rest of the day. So after our curiosity was satisfied at Bowman, we decided to drive all the way around to the east side of the park and do some hiking. I had been wanting to see Saint Mary Falls and Virginia Falls, so we made a plan to do that. Since we were so late in the day at that point, we were not able to find parking where we wanted for the Saint Mary Falls hike. We ended up parking just down the road from Sunrift Gorge. This meant we could do a little longer hike and also see Baring Falls, so that is what we did. We hiked down Siyeh Pass to Baring Falls and then got on the Piegan Pass trail along Saint Mary Lake until we hit the Saint Mary Falls trail and then continued past the falls up to Virginia Falls, with some lesser falls along the way. If you enjoy waterfalls, I would really recommend this hike. I believe it’s a little over 5 miles round trip. There is a little bit of elevation coming and going, but it’s not too bad. On our way back we decided to hike up to the road and walk it back to where we parked since it was a more direct route then going around to Baring Falls again.

A view from the trail between Baring Falls and Saint Marry Falls with Saint Mary Lake and the mountains in the background. There is also evidence of the fires that went through this area several years go.

A cascade along the trail between Saint Mary Falls and Virginia Falls.

Virginia Falls. Even from this far away you could still feel the mist on you. If you hike a little further there is an overlook closer to the falls.

On our way back of course we had to stop for some Wild Goose Island and Jackson Glacier pictures. With so much snow still left on the mountains, you could not really discern Jackson Glacier from the surrounding snow still on the mountains. We were hoping to maybe spot a bear on our way out too, as they often frequent the shores along Saint Mary Lake, but we did not see any this time. Even though it was getting late and it was a little rainy, we decided to pull into the Goat Lick Overlook. I am sure glad we did. We saw at least 15 mountain goats there that evening. They were primarily hanging out in three different areas visible from the overlook area. The rain and fog would kind of come and go, so it wasn’t great for photography, or at least not for what I was trying to do, but it was still awesome to see so many mountain goats in one spot. As the name implies, the goats were in the area licking the salts that leach out of the rocks/soil in the area. We stayed there until it was pretty much dark and then we finished the drive back to our hotel at Lake McDonald and called it a night.

Wild Goose Island on Saint Mary Lake with an incoming storm.

Three mountain goats in the Goat Lick Overlook area.

Near dark, a nanny mountain goat with her kid tucked in behind her on the cliffs at Goat Lick Overlook.

A cloudy sunset overlooking Lake McDonald from the Village Inn.

Glacier National Park - June 2022 - Day 1

Joshua Rutledge July 6, 2022

I had the chance to visit Glacier National Park again this June. It was a little earlier in the season than we would normally go, since we knew the Going to the Sun Road would not be open yet. But it did mean for fewer crowds and a little different vibe to the experience. We have had an abnormally cool spring, so there was still more snow than usual left on the mountains and despite drought conditions elsewhere in parts of Montana, the streams and rivers were still very high. In fact, several areas of the park were closed due to flooding, further limiting our options where we could go. If you have not followed my blog or looked around my page yet, I do have a page dedicated to Glacier National Park on my website and I also did a post on my blog this winter catching up on my Glacier trips from last year that you might be interested in.

We had two nights booked on the west side of the park in Apgar and one night on the east side at Many Glacier. Since the Going to the Sun Road was not open yet, we had to drive around outside of the park to get back and forth.

We drove up to Glacier taking the route through Choteau, Montana and up to Browning and over. We prefer this way as it is a little more scenic than going on the interstate and over. We drove through the Freezout Lake WMA near Fairfield on our way, but we did not spot anything too interesting. We stopped at Bylers Bakery in Choteau on the way through town to pick up some treats. I highly recommend it if you get the chance. We then continued north through Bynum and Dupuyer and up to Browning. Then we swung east to East Glacier and around the south end of the park to get to the West Entrance of Glacier National Park. While the Going to the Sun Road was not opened, you are still required to have passes for that side of the park. Since we had accommodations inside of the park we did not need one. We did however have to have passes to go up the North Fork which was new this year. I would recommend keeping tabs on the current conditions and requirements on the GNP website.

Avalanche Gorge - Trail of the Cedars at Glacier National Park.

Upon arriving at the park, we knew we had a few hours to kill until we could get into our hotel room. So we drove up to the Avalanche area, which was as far as you could go on the road anyway. Luckily the campground was not open yet, so it was available for parking, which was nice since it’s usually a very congested area and parking is at a premium. We did find out when we got there that the trail to Avalanche Lake was closed due to flooding and we had planned on doing that hike. So instead we just hiked around the Trail of the Cedars and then pretty much stopped at every pull out and side road along McDonald Creek to take in as much as we could on that side of the park. I was hoping to find some Harlequin Ducks as they are known to frequent the area, but I think maybe due to the high water flows I was not able to find any.

A little different angle of Avalanche Gorge. The water was still very high and a little murky.

Looking down McDonald Creek from the bridge on the Trail of the Cedars.

A water feature along the Trail of the Cedars. There was so much water that there will little water features all along the trail. I liked how the light was coming through the trees kind of highlighting this one.

Lots of flora and fauna along the trail to observe, including this little snail.

McDonald Creek was still very high and fast.

Foot bridge over McDonald Creek with a view of the mountains in the background.

A picture from the bridge looking down to where McDonald Creek meets Lake McDonald.

We then went back to the Apgar area and visited the Visitor Center, did a little shopping and looked around Lake McDonald until it was time to check in at the hotel. We stayed at the Village Inn which is a fun little hotel as every room has a view of Lake McDonald. The lake was very high, as high as I had ever seen it, so the water was right up to the hotel. Normally there is a little bit of a beach to enjoy.

Bear Grass we found up the North Fork. It was just a little early yet, so not all of the bear grass was fully bloomed yet.

After we got checked into the hotel and dropped a few things off, we decided to head north and see what we could see. We first went up Camas Road as far as the bridge heading out of the park. It was a little bit early to see a lot of wildlife, but there were some nice vistas to take in overlooking Lake McDonald and some of the meadows along the way. We then returned to the Fish Creek area and decided to take the Inside North Fork Road. It had been many years since I had been on that road. I am really glad we did as we saw a lot of wildflowers, some interesting birds (I did not get any pictures) and on our way out we saw two grizzly bears. I had not seen grizzly bears on that side of the park in a long time, so it was a nice surprise. By the time we got back to our hotel it was getting pretty late, so we enjoyed a little time on our balcony looking at the lake before calling it a day. I was hoping maybe we would get a clear night and I would try to do some astrophotography, but it was not to be. By the time it was starting to get dark the sky had filled up with clouds. I fell asleep to the sounds of waves lapping right outside our door.