Hiking in Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park is one of the most beautiful national parks in the entire United States. It’s no wonder that they call it the Crown of the Continent. But did you know that there are over 734 miles of hiking trails at Glacier National Park? There are trails that can match every fitness level. If you’re thinking about hiking at Glacier, keep reading for a few tips on some of the most popular hikes inside the park

Tip #1: Arrive Early

Most of the hiking trails are centered around just a few locations. And parking is extremely limited. We did both the Hidden Lake Overlook trail and the High Line trail which are accessible from the Logan’s Pass parking lot. I read online that the lot can fill up by 7:30 am. So on our first day, I attempted to make it to the lot by 7:30 am. We stayed in Whitefish which is just outside of Glacier National Park. We left the first day at 6:20 am and arrived at Logan’s Pass at 7:45 am.

The parking sign just outside the lot said it was full, but I thought maybe someone had forgotten to change the sign. But it wasn’t wrong. The lot was completely full! We drove around a few times hoping we’d find a spot but there were none to be found.

If you continue further down the Going to the Sun road, there is another street side parking lot not far from Logan’s Pass, but even that was already full. We passed one more full lot before finding a parking spot near a picnic area. By this time, it was almost 8:00 am and we had snagged one of the last spots left. The walk back up to Logan’s Pass from that lot was approximately 1 mile all uphill. If you’re planning on doing a short hike, an extra 2 miles, might not be that bad. But if you’re planning on doing the High Line trail which is already 14 miles, the extra 2 miles might be pretty painful.

Also, the lot stays full most of the day. We tried coming back twice during the day and both times, the lot was still full.

The second day, we left Whitefish at 5:45 am and arrived at Logan’s Pass at 7:15 am. There were still a number of spots left, but within 10 minutes, the entire parking lot was full.

There are several trails that branch off of the Avalanche parking lot as well. Be prepared to get there even earlier. On our second day, the car in front of us grabbed the last parking spot at 6:40 am.

If you’re staying in Kalispell which is a little bit further south, I would add another 15 minutes to your drive.

The moral of this tip is: if you want to hike at Glacier National Park, you have to be there early!

Check out our walk in this photo:

Tip #2: Bring Layers

The first day we hiked, it was sunny and in the mid 80’s. The area we were hiking in did not offer a lot of shade, so the sun was on you for most of the hike. It was hot even in a tank top. The next day it was incredibly windy and cold. It was in the mid 50’s. I had a thick hoodie on and was still cold when the wind blew. Temperatures can vary greatly and it can go from sunny to rainy in a matter of hours. You have to prepare accordingly. Bring extra layers and rain gear just in case.

Tip #3: Be Bear Aware

There are signs everywhere letting you know that you are in bear country. Campers that are staying in the back country are required to use bear canisters to secure their food. It is highly recommended that everyone carries bear spray in case of a bear attack. That may sound scary, but just know that bear attacks are still rare. We carried bear spray and each had a bear bell on our day packs. That is one of the easiest ways to protect yourself as bears do not like to be startled. If you don’t have a bell, you can talk or play music while you hike. I also packed our snacks and anything scented in odor proof bags for extra caution.

Hike #1: St Mary and Virginia Falls

The hike to St Mary and Virginia Falls is considered to be an easy trail. But it felt more like a moderate in some spots. If you hike to both of the falls it is 2.9 miles round trip. The hike to St Mary Falls is mostly through an aspen forest that is recovering from a forest fire. The trunks still stand, but there are no leaves to offer shade through the first half of the hike. I highly recommend wearing plenty of sunscreen.

Part of this trail is narrow and flanked by dense vegetation so you really have to rely on the “pull out” spots to let traffic pass. A lot of people jump off of the bridge at St Mary Falls into the cool water below. It’s around a 25 foot drop into the water. If this is something that you want to do, make sure to plan accordingly and wear your swimsuit and bring a towel.

Virginia Falls is about a mile further down the path. It seemed much longer though. This part of the hike is well shaded but is uphill in some parts. There are several smaller waterfalls along the way and each time we reached one, we thought we had reached Virginia Falls. But we still had further to go. This might be the reason it seemed longer to us.

There’s a little bit more of an uphill climb just as you approach Virginia Falls but it’s well worth it. The force of the water acted as a natural air conditioner and cooled us off tremendously. The falls themselves are very beautiful and you can also wade around in the water to cool off too.

One thing we did notice is that there are no public restrooms near this area. On the map of Glacier National Park, it says that there is a vault toilet near Virginia falls but we never did see one. So plan appropriately.

If you want a little longer hike, you can return towards the start of the trail and then go the opposite direction which will take you to Myrtle Falls. (We were already exhausted by this point, so we passed on this option.)

Hike #2: Hidden Lake Overlook

The hike to Hidden Lake is rated as a moderate trail and definitely fits that status. Even if you’re still a beginner hiker, you can do this trail. There are plenty of spots to take breaks. We brought our trekking poles for this hike, but they really weren’t useful with the terrain. The first half of the hike was on wooden walkways. The alpine tundra is very delicate and the walkways are there to protect the vegetation. But the spaces between the wooden slats is just enough for your trekking poles to get stuck, requiring you to pull them out. That’s why they’re not very useful on this trail.

After the wooden walkways there are some stairs. Once you get to the top of that, there are some huge boulders that you can sit and rest on. This is where we took our first break. The view from that point was amazing.

From there, you’re on a dirt trail to the overlook. We were mostly out in the sun but there were some shady spots. There’s also another little spot that you can sit down and take a break.

You may see some wildlife on this trail. We had one mountain goat that wandered fairly close to the trail and we stopped on the trail until the goat wandered back into the woods.

The view of Hidden Lake is beautiful and well worth the hike. Make sure to take a panoramic shot.

The hike going back is much easier as it’s mostly downhill. We did stop at one of the spots you can sit down to eat a snack before heading back down the rest of the trail.

Hike #3: High Line Trail

This is one of the most incredible trails in all of Glacier National Park. This trail is marked as hard and it is most definitely a hard trail. This trail is at 7,000 feet above sea level and climbs from there. The entire trail runs from Logan’s Pass to Granite Park Chalet. That part of the trail is 14 miles round trip however, there are additional “extensions” of that trail that run down to a glacier overlook. If you do the additional trail, it becomes 17 miles round trip.

Here are a few tips regarding this trail:

Bring plenty of water. There is nowhere to stop to get additional water along the way.
Do not do this hike if you are afraid of heights.
Start early. It’s a long hike and you do not want to be hiking back to the parking lot in the dark.
Go to the bathroom at Logan’s Pass.

The trail starts across the street from Logan’s Pass and for the first ¼ of a mile it doesn’t seem that bad. From there, the trail becomes really narrow. You will walk alongside of the mountain on a very narrow path and there are ropes to hang on to as you go around the mountain. This was the scariest part for me. It is a steep drop down the side of the mountain if you fall. So if you are afraid of heights, this trail is not for you. That particular section of the trail is not that long and soon you will be on a dirt path with plants on either side.

The trail goes through several wooded areas and then several open areas. You’ll cross a few different streams. There are a couple of areas that require you climbing over rocks along a turn in the path. Just do so slowly and hold onto the side of the mountain for balance. The trail offers incredible views and lots of wildflowers.

Around 2 miles into the trail, there will be a rest area off the left side. There are some fallen trees you can sit on and relax. There are also a few secluded areas in which you can take a bathroom break if an emergency arises. Outside of this little spot, there are no other secluded areas, so make sure you use the bathroom at Logan’s Pass before starting on this trail.

Around the 3 mile mark you’ll arrive at the switchbacks. There are some big boulders at the base of the switchbacks that are good for taking a break and having a snack if you need one. The switchbacks are really steep and you’ll climb quite a bit in a short amount of time. There are also some boulders once you reach the top that you can sit on to catch your breath.

The trail continues slightly uphill from there, all the way to Granite Park Chalet. We did not continue however. It’s important to know your limits when hiking, and we knew that it was long enough for us. We were able to finish half of the trail and had an amazing time doing it. So even if you’re not in shape enough to do the entire hike, you can still do part of it and still see beautiful scenery.

By the time we reached the trail entrance, our feet and legs were extremely sore. We knew we made the right choice for us to turn around when we did.

There are so many other trails in Glacier National Park that we just didn’t have the time to do. We were only able to spend two days in the park but I would definitely recommend at least four days to allow you to hike in some of the other areas of the park. There are plenty of trails for everyone. If Glacier National Park is not on your bucket list, you need to add it now!

Hiking in Glacier National Park