50 Day Hikes in Glacier National Park by The West Is Big! Travel Guides

[Music] hi this is Steve again and as you know glacier is my favorite national park and I've been to most of them it has everything for the person who loves the outdoors in nature there's a beautiful Drive mountains lakes streams broad valleys diverse wildlife and of course glaciers but my favorite part is the over 700 miles of trails that help you experience at all do you probably know that I've produced a 90-minute documentary slash Travel Guide called glacier the hikers National Park it covers lodging in the Sun Road and other basics and it also takes a very detailed look at several of the parks most popular trails in this video travel guide I'll provide abbreviated looks of the parks most popular hikes and many others that I have taken over the years I'll also talk about the parks hiker shuttle system and provide some info on how to be safe in the backcountry the park has trails for everyone even if you're in a wheelchair if you're a backpacker glacier has great multi-day backcountry hikes but permits are required for those and there are a limited number of fact country camping permits most people have heard of the Appalachian Trail but did you know there's also a Continental Divide Trail the 3100 mile trail begins in Mexico and goes all the way to Glacier National Park and then on to Canada a few of my favorite glacier trails are actually part of this monster trail the park covers 1,600 square miles and has over 730 miles of trails in this video I'm gonna show you about 50 day high trails and I'll tell you which are my favorites I'll show you a hiking plan for a one-week stay it won't be perfect for everyone but it's a good place to start I'll also provide alternatives because weather bears and Mother Nature's other influences don't really care that you really want to do a trail on a certain day nature is in charge here and she's gonna do what she wants to do regardless of your plans I'll show you easy hikes even wheelchair accessible trips and flat hikes and trees and magnificent valleys and of course I'll show you some strenuous ones as well most of the trails are out and back but there are also some loop trails and some one-way trails that require transportation back to the trailhead I'll tell you how to arrange for that too for those of you who are new to the park first let's say that there are five general areas plus one that's accessed through the adjacent companion park in Canada called Waterton Lakes National Park the Park Service website created a trail map for each of these five areas and I'll refer to them often so you might want to download and print them out before we really get started this video is organized according to these maps these maps include data that can be confusing and one frankly a little hard to figure out but the website also lists distance and elevation gain information below the map and the map itself the trails are listed at the top of each map along with the net elevation game which can be a bit misleading so I'll help fill in the gaps as we go along so first here's a brief overview of each area let's start with the Lake McDonald area this is where most people enter the park and it can be a bit crowded the base elevation here is the lowest in the park and most trails are well below the 6000 the sixty nine hundred foot tree line so they're shaded which is handy on hot days massive fires in 2017 and 2018 burned about thirty thousand acres in this area the many glacier map covers trails in the northeast part of the park which is my favorite there are flat trails with great views strenuous hikes with great views and my favorite trail which ends at a glacier the north fork and goat hunt map extend to the Canadian Porter the North Fork area has many remote Finger Lakes to access via rough gravel roads donut can only be accessed from a trail or through Canada the st. mary' map includes trails along the east side of the Sun Road in Logan Pass here you'll find easy access to waterfalls near the Sun Road hikes to high mountain passes and popular trails at Logan Pass to medicine is in the southeast part of the park from the time the park opened in 1910 until the going-to-the-sun road was completed in 1932 most part visitors arrived by train in the nearby town of East Glacier today - medicine is less crowded than the other areas of the park which is kind of odd because it has some amazing trails so that covers the five Maps but there are also some great trails in the adjoining waterton national park so I'll talk about a couple of these too if you're not a hiker there's another way to do a trail by horse at the end of the video I'll list my favorite hikes which I consider must dues and I'll have a list of what I would call second-tier hikes one very important thing we need to talk about before hitting the trail is safety including bear safety moose and goat safety even mountain lion safety and well my even saw a porcupine near my swift current cabin once even if you're not gonna hike a trail you need to read the parks info on bear safety for legal reasons I can't really describe it here all I'm gonna say is that it's very important for you to know how to be safe out here I've hiked hundreds of miles in the park and I've never seen a bear near me hey bear but I always follow the rules and rule number one is make noise I have been close to goats and moose on trails and even they can be dangerous so please educate yourself and maybe buy a can of bear spray when you get to the park as it's not allowed on most airlines and I've got one more housekeeping item before we start hiking glacier is a popular park and at times it can be hard to get around up to three million people visit each year and the vast majority do it in about the three month window when the going to the Sun Road is open which is usually in late June or early July depending on the weather and it usually closes in mid September to October in the parks Lodge as well they're not open year-round either the lodges on the west side open in mid-may the east side lodges don't open till a few weeks later usually in early June and they tend to close in mid-september which is a couple of weeks earlier than the west side lodges to help you get around there is a form of mass transit the parks website has the getting around page check it out at least once before heading here there's border crossing info typical driving times from the five park areas and shuttle and tour information the shuttle system has its own page and even if you're planning on driving to trail heads every day you may feel differently once you're here so read it the hiker shuttle is free along the going-to-the-sun road from st. Mary to Logan Pass and on the west side is free from Apgar to Logan Pass the west side shuttles run every 15 to 30 minutes but they only run every 40 minutes from st. Mary express service to Logan Pass starts at about 7:00 a.m. the regular service doesn't begin until 9:00 a.m. and the last bus leaves Logan Pass at 7:00 p.m. and you don't want to miss that one of course these times are subject to change so always check for yourself and remember that there's no cell service in the park there's a little bit Apgar generally can get it but the rest of the park you're not gonna have any connection I've heard that you can get some coverage if you have t-mobile near st. Mary's but the bulk of the park has absolutely no cell phone coverage and yes there's Wi-Fi in the park lodges but it's very slow and frankly intermittent don't count on it because of size restrictions on the Sun Road the shuttles are small and they only hold 12 to 20 people and they're often full so you may have to wait for a second or even a third bus during peak times and our weights are not there's another way to get around and that's with a red bus we have both shuttles and tours the shuttles 10 operate only when the lodges are open for a fee of three to ten dollars on the west side they can take you to and from the train station or from Apgar to Lake McDonald on the east side you can take a red bus from the mini glacier hotel or the Motor Inn to the st. Mary visitors center glacier is beautiful maybe too beautiful overcrowding is now a problem in the last few years about 3 million people have visited the park that's up about 50% from 10 years ago I was here when Al Gore visited a hectic Grinnell glacier with his group and by the early 2000s media reports claimed that all the glaciers in the park would be gone by 2020 prompting millions to come to see them before they melted away but 26 of the glaciers are still here by the way you still may find a few signs in the park that claim all the glaciers will be gone by 2020 they removed a few of them in 2019 but they didn't have enough money in the budget to remove all of the inaccurate signs but even though the glaciers are still here I've had overcrowding will continue to be an issue the vast majority of visitors stay outside the park meaning they drive in this leads to traffic jams and full parking lots some parts of the park are even closed for hours each day because of overcrowding before your trip monitor the parks parking status page in its Road status page to see where and what time of day overcrowding starts to shut things down and consider taking a red bus or hiker shuttle when you're in the park if you're lucky enough to stay in the park check with the hotel staff or a local ranger station before leaving for another area road congestion is also caused by road construction such delays are common on the son road and there may be closures at night too in 2020 and 2021 the popular mini glacier road will be reconstructed and long delays are expected both in and out of the area well on that cheery note I think I've given you plenty of time to print out the trail maps so let's get started since most people come to the park from the west side I'm gonna start with a lake mcdonald area since most people come from the west side of the park I'm gonna start with the Lake McDonald area one of the most popular trails in the park is the trail of the Cedars it's one of two wheelchair accessible trails in the park it's located five and a half miles east of the Lake McDonald Lodge it's very popular and it's often not possible to park near the trail it so if you really want to see this one get there early the trail is a raised wooden boardwalk arranged in a mile-long loop through an old-growth cedar and Western hemlock forest The Cedars reach heights of 100 feet and the big ones are said to be over 500 years old by the way here it's just about 3,500 feet above sea level this trail has more than just big trees killer growth is also on the lush side this side of the park is lower in much better than the east side after only a few minutes the sounds of the forest give waits the sound of rushing water avalanche Creek cut this beautiful Gorge this is one of the parks best photo ops and it's the primary reason I've done this trail community you can shoot it from a couple of vantage points and get some really good shots if you feel the need to add a little more up to your day elevation game just after the bridge there's another trail that heads up along the creek you can see it just beyond the bridge in this shot 1.9 mostly pave miles from here and another 500 feet up you'll arrive at avalanche lake it's nice but I've only been up to avalanche like blunts and frankly I don't really feel the need to do it again there are better sites to come that's just my opinion [Music] this area also has hikes too high peaks away from the Sun Road there's a hike with a great view of Lake McDonald from the Apgar lookout if you've been to the parks website there's a webcam at this spot it's a strenuous hike though it's only a seven point two mile round-trip because it rises about eighteen hundred and fifty feet there's little shade and it's frequented by bears so bring your bear spray it'll take most folks about three hours to get to the top where you'll see that familiar view and webcam it's to the left of the lookout tower one of the best trails in this area is the amazing twelve point three mile round trip hike to Sperry Chalet and you can do it by horse on a group ride on foot the trail is tough and you need to be in shape to hike up three thousand three hundred and sixty feet a fire in 2018 burned one of the historic building and it's reconstruction is scheduled to be complete at the end of 2019 the burned trees also mean there is less shade here so this one is a Tuffy but the views make it worth all the effort and once you get here there's actually quite a bit to do look at the website check it all out a couple of other trails intersect with this one one of the toughest trails in the park the one to mountain Brown lookout goes up forty two hundred and fifty feet in just five miles and of course that's why I've never done it the height to Schneider Lake is an eight point seven mile round-trip with only two thousand and forty five feet of climbing when I haven't done this one either the Johns Lake Trail is only at one point eight mile loop but there's not much parking there so this one can be kind of hard to do and yes it goes by the nearby Falls which are very photogenic but I slipped and fell and while the two cameras I was carrying survived intact but one of my ribs didn't it still hurts sometimes so let's move on there are many more trails in the Lake McDonald area and maybe I'll talk about them in an update of this video but frankly I prefer the Eastside trails [Music] now take out your st. Mary and Logan Pass man I'm gonna start at the six thousand six hundred and forty seven foot Logan Pass it's at the top of the going-to-the-sun road for many this is the highlight of their Glacier trip so the parking lot fills up early consider taking a hiker shuttle or red bus to get here this is a great place to sightsee the valley views are incredible and there's often wildlife and the weather can change at any moment of course there's also a visitor center and a gift shop but for whe hikers the best thing about being here is the trails one of the most popular hikes in the park is the Hidden Lake Nature Trail this 2.7 mile round trip begins on the paved path behind the Visitor Center it quickly changes to a raised boardwalk to stay above the snow which often doesn't melt until late summer the trail is in an open alpine meadow which wildlife frequent I've seen goats marmots Alpine squirrels bighorn sheep and even a grizzly or two and don't be too surprised if the trail is closed because of too much bear activity the trail gains a modest 540 feet by the time you reach the Hidden Lake overlook and weather can play a big role in how nice it looks when I did it well it only looked okay this is what it looks like on a nice sunny day and for those who are interested it's another mile and eight hundred or so feet of down to get to the lake this hike is not on my top ten list but if you're not ready for a long hike this may be the one for you this is the garden wall and one of my favorite trails is carved into it the Highline trail I've taken three different day hikes from this trailhead another one will take you all the way to Canada is this as part of the Continental Divide Trail the one spot hike is only about four miles roundtrip it's about eleven and a half miles to the loop route and if you include a steep spur trail to Grinnell glacier overlook then you can add a couple of miles though this is called the loop read the trail is an O loop it requires a hiker shuttle to get back to look and pass my favorite hike from this trailhead is the 15-point two mile route to Swift Current via swift current pass and yes I'll talk about how to get back and looking pass a bit later the trailhead is across the street from the Logan Pass site I'm going to talk about the shortest version of this height first it's a hike out to what I call my lunch spot there isn't really any official name for it that's just what I call it and for those who are interested this hike is covered in great detail in my hike errs National Park video the trail starts with a short meander and then takes a dramatic turn onto a shelf it is carved into the garden wall and no it's not really that scary this is a must-see part of the trail and remember you can turn back at any time you're only on this little shelf for about five minutes then you're crossing on an alpine meadow and you're going through a few groves of trees where by the way it's a good idea to make some noise before entering them my lunch spot is about two miles out and I've got to say they're probably my favorite two miles the cliff the views the wildlife it's all incredible just after this grove the trail is on another shelf and above the trail there's a little carved out bench this is my favorite lunch spot it's right across from the haystack formation and there's a great view of Heaven's peak even with stops along the way it only takes about an hour to get here and it's pretty flat so it's not too difficult I've done this version of the trail many more times and I've done the others because well the others are hard and they require quite a bit of time in a physical commitment I tend to ask passers-by if they've seen anything interesting some don't have much to say but this couple saw a bear chasing a goat in the next meadow a quarter mile away I captured a grizzly and briefly her kids boy am I glad I bought the 600 millimeter lens this is an incredible spot and sometimes well it moves me to say incredibly sappy things to the camera and I'm not gonna bore you with that a jaunt to my lunch spot and back only takes two to three hours and they are amazing hours the route to Granite Chalet goes up a switch back over the haystack the chalet and Logan pass are at about the same altitude but the trail goes up and down between the two so it's hard to guess the total elevation game I've heard estimates in the range of 795 feet so let's use that one except for this 300-foot --is-- switchback the trail is gradual enough that you never really noticed the grade the top of the haystack is at about 70 300 feet and it has some great views after that the trail clings to a ridge and there are some great views along the way including the one of granite Park just before the seven mile point there's a signpost and a trail that goes straight up 900 feet in just nine tenths of a mile I did this portrayal when I did the loop trap it's a soul crunching slug that seems never to end but when it does you're on top of the Continental Divide at about 7,500 feet and yes we've been on that monster trail I didn't spend much time up there as I breathlessly looked down at salamander and Grinnell glaciers frankly I was too tired to take any more pictures this was not an easy spur trip Granite Park is a small compound you can stay in hostel style rooms if you're lucky enough to get reservations but you need to bring your own sleeping bag there are 12 guest rooms with two to six beds each there's no power but there is propane for cooking there's a little camp store that's open for everyone remarkably horses bring the items up here so you can buy a snack and get something else to drink by the way you'll pack out whatever you buy from Granite Park there's another spur trail this one goes to the Swift Current look at [Music] to complete the loop trail go down 2300 feet through a recent burn area to the loop on the going-to-the-sun road and I wish I had hiking poles when I did it going down it's pretty rough on the joints by the time you get here from Logan Pass you've covered about eleven point eight miles but if you went up to the Overlook you've covered thirteen point six miles and gone up eighteen hundred feet and gone down about 3,300 and oddly the loop trail is not a loop a free hiker shuttle can get you back to low and pass but make sure you get down here before the last run of the day and of course you can start here and go up to granite chalet from here it's an eight point four mile hike with about 2300 feet of up and then down from granite Park to the Swift Current Motor Inn there are about 6.6 miles on the swift current path trail the first mile or so includes about two to three hundred feet of up but after that is one of my favorite views in the park this is Swift Current Valley it's a view that is earned in sweat I've done it twice and I really hope to do it again the valley floor is about 2,300 feet below and the view from the valley is quite nice I describe it in detail in my bull head lake hike in the mini glacier segment the hike from Logan Pass the Swift Current is one of my favorites if you're in good shape I highly recommend it if you're not remember that rescue is hours away now that you know what Logan Pass has to offer it's time to look at some easy hikes on the st. Mary map there are many places to stop along the going-to-the-sun road and Sun rift Gorge is one of them and of course it has limited parking but there is a shuttle stop here there's a trailhead in your sunroof cords that connects to a few short trails that lead to three waterfalls one goes all the way to gunsight pass much of this area burned in 2015 drastically changing the view this Google Maps view shows the extent of the burn area of course in the years to come these dead strands of trees will become excellent fuel in an inevitable dry year to come the gorge is on the north side of the road the trail to the Falls drops below the road on the south side following the signs is important here because you want to make sure you end up where you started bearing Falls it's just about a third of a mile away the trail drops about 250 feet along the treeline Creek it's a nice waterfall especially on a hot day but I like to do hikes like these on cloudy days so that the water doesn't get overexposed when I'm taking pictures the second fall is just about a mile and a half down the trail it's less than a mile from its own Trail it this is st. Mary Falls it's two tears can look quite different depending on how much water is flowing over them there's a nice view from the bridge a couple of hundred yards further is a large cascade as a photographer this is my favorite feature of the trail as there are several interesting places to put the tripod less than a mile later you're at Virginia Falls it's 86 feet tall and a nice way to end the hike of course you have to hike back to but you know what I mean a hike back is pretty easy except for the 250 foot climb up to the Sun Road but there are a couple of routes back to the road and they end up in different places I took the wrong paths when I got up to the road my car wasn't there I have a feeling it was to the right and 15 or so minutes later I found my car from sunroof gorge you can also join the Sun Point Nature Trail which follows the st. mary lake shoreline but there's another way to walk this nature trail and it's even shorter and it has much more parking the trailhead is near the st. Mary boat dock it's a short one point four miles out and back with lovely views of the lake and surrounding mountains this is a short flat walk that just about anyone can handle early in the morning wildlife like to come here to get a drink so you never know what you might see one time I saw this sign near the parking lot I've never seen a mountain lion and frankly I don't want to especially since I often hike alone which of course is a very bad idea one of the longer hikes on the st. Mary map is the twelve point four mile round trip hike to gunsight Lake it is only about 500 feet of down and then up but if you want to add another six miles and another 1700 feet of up you can take it all the way to gunsight Pass you can get to it from the Falls trail I just showed you but it's a bit shorter from the jackson glacier overlook the beginning of the trail goes down through the trees about 500 feet and I was glad I had bear spray eventually the trail opens up on one side and there's a view of jackson glacier there's also a little spur trail leading to Florence Falls unfortunately I didn't know the spur trail even existed at the time so I didn't take it but you won't have that problem the bridge in the Falls are clearly the highlight of this trail without them this trail is not on my to-do list I've only done it once and frankly I don't plan on doing it again it's a lot of work for only an okay view of the lake but that's just my opinion and if I had been there on a day when the weather was really interesting I might feel completely differently now I've never been up to gunsight pass or Jackson glacier but I've heard the glacier is quite interesting maybe one day from jackson glacier overlook there's another trail on the opposite side of the road it connects to the Piegan Pass Trail but if you drive west on the Sun Road to SIA Bend you'll find another parking lot and a trail for Piegan pass in SIA Pass many say that these are some of the best hikes in the park heigen Pass is a nine mile round-trip while gaining only 1,750 feet it tops out at about 76 or so hundred feet SIA Bend is about the same length but it's 300 feet higher it might be the highest peak in the park after following the creek for a bit the trail goes through dense forest I've seen bear scat on the trail so again carrying bear spray is a good idea after a little more than a mile the trail hits a tee this is where we meet the trail from the jackson glacier overlooking we want to go to the left you'll cross a creek or two but your feet should stay dry there's another trail junction to the right is the splendid SIA Pass at this point the trees are kind of thinning out and soon there's an open scree field and there's quite a slope there's a great view of Jackson glacier to the south there's also a nice view of Piegan glacier it's the only glacier in the park that is not shrunk significantly in the last 80 years or so and while you're crossing the scree field don't be surprised if you feel a bit strange the reference points are so far away and the slope is so severe that well frankly I felt a little vertigo ish of course that might have been my sinus infection too but anyway it's kind of interesting from here it's only a few more minutes to the pass it's a nice place to stop and rest and just kind of take in the view and for me it was quite quiet I only saw two or three other hikers when I was here and you can hike from here all the way down to many glacier but that's not for me I stopped and took him to view at the saddle just above a small lake before heading back down it was rather nice up there from here he can take a trail all the way too many glacier well that's about all I had to say about the trails on the st. mary' map I think you'll agree that there are some spectacular trails here and some of them are on my must do list they provide access to amazing view points high mountain passes and roaring waterfalls and it's hard to do them all in one trip and that's why I keep coming back [Music] okay now I'm gonna show you my favorite part of the park many glacier to me it's the most scenic it's also where my favorite trails begin I only hope that this video won't make it more crowded than it already is there are many trail heads in the area and each has multiple destinations this one traverses the Swift Current Valley while passing by a chain of lakes this one goes to the popular iceberg lake and the ptarmigan tunnel and there are shorter trails off the mini glacier road and my favorite trail in the park begins at this crowded trailhead near Swift Current Lake also there are some unofficial trails that really unmarked routes to the top of the surrounding mountains if someone your group aren't into hiking many glacier is one of the places where they can take a horse on a trail ride I'm a flatlander and on my first day in the park I plan to do an easier flattest trail to help me get used to the 4,800 foot altitude the bull head lake trail or a portion of the eight mile round trip is usually my first choice when staying on the east side of the park when you're this close to the Continental Divide you assume that the best hikes involve a lot of going up and down well the bull head Lake Trail proves that this is not necessarily the case this is also one of my favorite trails the trailhead is near the west end of the Swift current motor end parking lot like many of the other parks trail heads you can take it to one of several amazing destinations depending on how far you want to go this one goes all the way up the Swift current pass where it connects to the Highline trail which of course is a part of the Continental Divide Trail so you can go from here to Logan Pass Canada or even Mexico but bullhead Lake is just a 7.2 mile round-trip and again it's relatively flat with only a few hundred feet of up-and-down again depending on who you want to believe the trail passes a chain of lakes the nearby first lake is full of moose nearly every evening the second has a colorful small waterfall in the final one bullhead Lake is in a beautiful terminal Valley the first is Fisher Cap Lake that's someone with a moose it's accessed via an unmarked spur trail that's just about a quarter mile from the parking lot and this spur trail is easy to miss and I've missed it many times but this is the best place in the park to see moose they feed in the water nearly every evening and they do draw a crowd I tend to make the photo-op at this Lake it's all activity I don't really come here when I'm going all the way to bowhead Lake then I'll talk more about that in a second during the day the moose are often in the nearby woods so keep alert and actively listen because moose as well as bears feed during the day so don't wear ear buds and if you look closely somewhere back there there's a moose of course it's easier for them to use the trail so guess what they do the woods are pretty thick until you reach the west end of Fisher cap lake and then the views get even better one of the great things about play sure is all the color this Red Rock looks great under that blue sky you reach the second lake about a mile and a half from the trailhead this one is Red Rock Lake you may also get a sound of rushing water is about 3/10 of a mile later there's another spur trail and this one leads to Red Rock Falls this cascade is a nice little place to scramble around and kids love it it's another one point eight miles to bullhead Lake in the terminal valley that surrounds it and the geology well it's amazing just look at the folds in that cliff and I've seen mountain goats on there and up this Ridge I've even seen grizzly luckily they were heading up and not down to the valley this trail feels flat and the 420 foot rise is very gradual so it's really more like a stroll it's only about four miles out so it takes less than an hour and a half to get here and there's even a flat rock that makes a great bench to help you take it all in this trail is on my must do list so on your first day in the park especially if you're staying in mini clay sure consider doing this trail perhaps all the way to bullhead lake by the way the short stroll to see the moose and Fisher capped Lake is a great way to spend just an hour or so at the end of the day as long as you're back before the Sun gets too low [Music] another trailhead that leads to a few interesting places is located on the north edge of the Swift current parking lot this one goes to ptarmigan Falls which is a five mile round-trip iceberg lake which is about nine point four miles up and back ptarmigan tunnel is ten point four miles away and has about 1,900 feet of going up and from here you can also hike all the way up to the Canadian border past Elizabeth Lake through the belly river to Canada if you're going to go that far visit the enjoy your parks comm website for more info this is on the same Ridge as Alton Peak and it is frequently closed by bear activity so if this trail is open today well it may not be tomorrow if it's open you have to do it you may have to schedule around an availability of this hike only about a dozen cars can fit in the nearby parking area so you may have to park of the motor in and add a couple of blocks to your hike the trail starts with a short climb above most of the trees so there's nice views for the first mile and a half then you enter the trees this by the way that's bear scat and he's likely to be still around on one of my hikes iceberg lake there was a bear on the trail here's an excerpt from that video why were they heading this way so rapidly some were nervously smiling but nobody would stop their retreat to tell me soon I joined the retreat eventually I did learn that a mama bear and two Cubs were also using the trail one hiker took these pictures and some video with a little point-and-shoot camera usually bears will try to avoid humans these block the trail and headed towards them they got quite close this is potentially a very dangerous situation they were very lucky the mama was only interested in teaching her kids how to find and eat berries I and others had bear spray but none of us wanted to have to use it after several minutes of backtracking we saw another group coming the lady in orange is a trail tour guide leading a group from the Boston area we all felt that she knew best how to handle the situation then someone came up and said he saw the Bears leave the trail and go up the hill so we decided we could continue but we did so is one large group there is safety in numbers secretly I'm sure all of us were checking out the others in the group trying to determine who was the slowest while at the same time hoping that an old joke wouldn't come true fifteen minutes later in a clearing one hiker showed us her photos of the bear she was quite close to it I've seen what happens when a bear attacks on this very trail and it's not pretty the victim I saw in 1994 struggled down the trail covered in blood this witness explains what he saw I saw him deep laceration on the top of his head it would have taken the victim three or four hours to get to the nearest hospital by car and by then it might be too late so a helicopter was called in the next week he had to endure four operations but he did survive youthful enthusiasm can be nothing more than naivete this time we were lucky but the danger was real in the trail was again closed the next day so the bear danger is real and you need to learn basic bear safety and actually use it the turbine and Falls aren't really that much to look at but there's a clearing near them and it's a nice place to rest and maybe have a snack [Music] and that long F key across the bridge there's a junction for the ptarmigan tunnel trail and I'll talk about this trail after I finish talking about the iceberg lake trail from the junction it's about 2.1 miles to the lake a mile from the bridge you're out of the trees again in the view of the valley and the Continental Divide is awfully nice the trail gains a total of twelve hundred and fifty feet and except for the first climb above the trees it does so gradually this trail feels more like a stroll than work out well this is iceberg lake it's in a nice circle foot cliff face this was shot in September in the lake was free of ice it'll look differently every time you hike you this is another one of those hikes it's teeler on my must-do list or on my second tier because generally it's a pretty good one but now I'm going to talk about a much tougher hike up to the ptarmigan tunnel it starts out just like the other ones did climb up the little hill and go to ptarmigan Falls and the junction has just passed the Falls after you cross that little bridge it starts with a half mile slog up 400 feet through the trees and Huckleberry's which of course is a favorite bear so make noise then the trail climbs more gradually until a clearing with a lake and by the way see that little hole apparently a bear dug that from the lake there's also an intimidating view of the switchbacks up to the tunnel the trail goes up another 500 feet in about two-thirds of a mile because of the weather well my view wasn't that great here's what it looks like on a nicer day this is the door to the 250 foot tunnel this is the impressive view on the other side because of the weather I brought my cheap camera on this hike and boy I wish I didn't because the weather made this hike one of my most memorable by the way that's Elizabeth Lake below where there's a backcountry campground the trail continues past a lake all the way to Canada I was really glad that I was prepared for any type of weather because you got to remember that there's no cell coverage up here and the weather up here well it can change in minutes and that's what happened but before it did I took one of my favorite photos that I've ever taken in the park [Music] but a minute later the view was gone a cold front brought fog to this side on the other side of the tunnel the clouds were really impressive and then it started to sleet making the five plus mile hike down to my swift current cabin it was interesting and one of my favorite hikes that I've ever done what a great day the ptarmigan tunnel hike is ten point seven miles with 2,300 feet of up it's hard and you'll need to be in great shape to do it but the reward is a great experience [Music] just a bit east of the turn to the mini glacier hotel there's a short trail with a view of the valley it's called the a bikini Falls trail it's only 1.7 miles roundtrip and against just 625 to 700 feet depending on who you believe in all of it is in the last half mile or so so that's a bit of a workout I've only done this once and I think it was in 1999 or so so I don't really have any good footage and I remember that the view of the surrounding Valley was pretty interesting and as usual a couple of other trails do connect here and one of the kids who worked in the Swift Current Motor Inn told me about a way to get to the top of Alton Peak and it's amazing view it's a bit of a scramble and you kind of have to find your way up but this is the general route and keep in mind again that this is on the ridge where bears love to congregate so sometimes the entire Ridge is closed to hikers there's also a super secret way to climb Mount Grinnell I've talked to someone who's done it and said the views from the hotel are incredible I wish I had pictures to show you but like just don't and on the way to the top of Mount Grinnell there's also an old mine there's also a way to bushwhack your way up to the peak over the back of the mini lazer hotel the only way I know how to do these Peaks is with a guide or with one of the kids who work in the park they have lots of time off and many of them spend their time doing amazing hikes like these now I'm gonna talk about my favorite trailhead which is also the most crowded it's located on the road between the many glacier hotel and the Swift Current Motor Inn you can go to four to five places from here and as you can see there isn't much parking so it fills up quickly and if you have to walk here from the hotel or from the motor in you can add some distance to your day there are trails here for every fitness level first few hundred yards or so is even wheelchair accessible from here you can hike this with current nature trail the Grinnell Lake Trail which includes Hidden Falls and you can go on to Pike and Pass but you can also do my favorite hike in the park the Grinnell glacier trail the Swift Current Lake Nature Trail is a 2.7 mile loop around the lake if parking is an issue you can start this one at the mini glacier hotel just follow the shoreline until you see the trail which is just a few feet from the water but it's never a good idea to hike at night in bear country if you like flat trails from here you can take the 6.8 mile round-trip to Grinnell Lake if that's too far for you and you still want a secret Nell Lake you can buy a ticket for a boat tour then only about 2 miles of walking is involved and you can still take the short spur trail to Hidden Falls if you'd like to gain some altitude after the lake it's just a few more miles up to Piegan pass but this view comes with a price there's a 1750 foot elevation gain when you're in the mood for a hike that doesn't have a lot of climbing the Grinnell Lake Trail is a good choice for the first two miles or so this is also the trail to Grinnell glacier from the trailhead it's just under three and a half miles to the lake and there is little elevation gain so it's more of a walk than a hike if you take a boat tour from the hotel well then you'll only cover about two miles on foot but we're at the trailhead and the trail is mostly in trees and by now you know what that means make noise the first bit of the trail is paved to accommodate wheelchairs soon after the pavement stops you'll cross a bridge and head towards the shore of Swift Current Lake somewhere near this part of the lake there's a beaver dam the boat drivers always pointed out but frankly I've never seen it the trail winds around the lake to the opposite boat dock there's a point two mile strip of land between the Swift Current boat dock and the dock on Lake Josephine this little strip has a bit of upslope but it's really the only climb on the way to Grinnell Lake this is Lake Josephine it's one of my favorite photo ops in the park especially when the boat is at the dock in the morning mount Gould and the lake is sunlit and it's very pretty the trail continues down the right side of the lake with a great view of Mount Gould there are fewer trees so it's more open and the Sun well it might be down on you you'll see plenty of berries in this section and remember that where there's berries they will also be bears I've done this trail over 20 times and I've never seen a bear on it but I do follow bears safety procedures I make noise one day on the return leg from Grinnell glacier some fellow hikers asked me if I knew that I had just walked right under a bear and I said no I had no idea apparently because they are making noise and I did not surprise the bear well it left me alone I could have been lucky or maybe is because I knew the rules when you're a bit past halfway to the end of the lake there's a fork in the trail we want to go left to Grinnell Lake the right trail heads up to Grinnell glacier which I'm going to show you next from the great photo op it's about 1.3 miles to the end of Lake Josephine this is where the boat tour stops and a couple of trails connect here you can even walk back to the hotel on this side of the lake but no matter where you're going double check the signs once I was a bit cocky and I didn't do this and well I took the wrong trail and ended up adding a few miles to my hike that day but anyway when you get on the correct trail it's less than a treeline mile to another luxurious pit toilet in the short spur trail to Hidden Falls and another pretty good photo-op from here it's another short walk through the trees to you cross a bridge over a creek and then it's just a bit further to the lake it's quite a nice view and I cover as well they're really nice the waterfall the far end of the valley is meltwater from Grinnell glacier and I'll take you there in a bit this group of hikers on the far slope they're heading up there and if you're at the lake and you're feeling pretty good and maybe you want to hike a little bit more well based on the parks map it's about 2.8 miles further down the trail with another 500 feet of up to morning Eagle Falls and if you're still feeling good then you can go even further and gain another twelve hundred and fifty feet up to Piegan Pass now that's a full day by the way I got the pike and pass from the Sun Road which is a bit easier when heading back remember that you don't have to go the same way that you can't I always have but but you don't have to if you're staying at the mini glacier hotel well there is a trail that goes along the backside of the lake there's also a parallel horse trail which you might want to avoid because of their droppings so if I could just sum up the Grinnell Lake Trail it's a moderate hike mostly through the trees and it's not too hard because it's almost entirely flat so if you're in need of an easier hiking day this trail is a pretty good choice okay now I'm gonna talk about my favorite trail I've done it many times the Grinnell glacier trail you can head up here from this same trailhead to make it a ten point six mile hike that goes up 1,600 feet and that's if you're just going up to the Overlook if you want to go down to the foot of the glacier you'll have to add about a mile or so and there's some up-and-down involved there too but you can save yourself about three miles walking by booking a seat in advance on the boat tickets must be bought at least a day in advance and it is often sold out but I think it's worth it I tend to take this hike as early as possible in the morning and on this August morning there was frost on the dock this group was led by a ranger so I followed her to make sure I'd get on the right trail from the dock the trail heads back to the ridge I showed earlier at the junction follow the sign to the glacier trail after a short jog it goes up rather quickly providing a nice view of the bridge we just crossed and yes I did my best to avoid commenting on that jagged from here the trail is pretty straight and mostly exposed but there are a few groves of trees as you've constantly climb I suppose I should have mentioned this before but there are regular boat tours but once a day there's a boat specifically for the Ranger LED hike and that's what I took this time it has a quicker ride across the lake and the Ranger frequently stops to allow the group to rest as she provides info that is usually kind of interesting this little talk was on geology notice the bending rock and the unique color she explains how this formed as the trail Rises the view keeps getting better there's a few viewpoints with amazing views of Grinnell Lake now lighting and weather has a great deal to do with the quality of the photos you get from this spot but on this day it was pretty good I'm gonna let a few of these beautiful shots play on by as I talk a bit about the weather when hiking in Glacier just about any kind of weather is possible regardless of how the day started an hour after leaving the frost on the deck I had my jacket off and the Sun was almost too much and on the east side of the park it can be quite windy the air generally comes from the west and it hits the divide and then it just pours down the other side I've been on this trail when the wind was blowing well over 20 miles an hour and it gets a little blustery and often it's a cold wind - of course it's colder as you go up and it makes sense that it's cold near the glacier - so dressing in layers is a good idea when hiking in clay sure it can also rain unexpectedly so I'm almost always wearing Gortex hiking shoes or boots and I always bring one of those extremely portable little Poncho's that cost a few dollars that is of course unless I'm wearing Gortex pants and a jacket okay now back to the trail after an hour and a half or so there's a bit of a bend and then there's a little meadow I think it's about here that the trail dips a bit and you have to regain some of that harder and elevation then less than a half a mile from the top there's a clearing with benches and well even a pit toilet it's a sheltered spot so this is a good place to eat out of the wind it's also a good place to rest because the hardest and steepest part of the trail is yet to come the last quarter mile or so is quite steep but it has great views of the valley below finally after 2 to 3 hours of hiking you're at the Grinnell glacier overlook it's about two-thirds of a mile to the glacier and in places it's a bit of a scramble but it's well worth it keep in mind that it may not be safe to walk on the glacier when I first came here in the mid-90s you could explore ice caves and up to the early 2000s Rangers led groups out on the ice today that's not really possible the ice is too thin and it's quite likely that it won't hold your weight and you don't want to fall through a crevasse because that water is very cold like I said this is my favorite trail and I hope you can see why my 90 minute glacier travel guide includes an 11 minute segment just on this trail and it's well worth a look by the way if you want to stay here you might want to check out my glacier the hikers National Park video it has a detailed segment on lodging in many glacier in the last few years glacier come quite crowded many of the comments of my other glacier videos mention how the crowds traffic and lack of parking negatively impact the experience of visiting the park and crowds are why I rarely visit in mid summer so I get it the obvious solution is to go where the crowds ate and for now that means you might want to check out to medicine it's located in the southeast corner of the park with a base elevation of just under 5,200 feet ironically this remote corner was once the parks epicenter before the Sun Road was built well-heeled adventurous visitors came to the park by train at his Glacier and after a stay in Glacier Park Lodge they would ride a horse the 11 or so miles to to medicine and then beyond today to med is a bit away from the more popular areas so fewer people come here that makes this a great place to hike incredible trails away from massive crowds and congestion and many say it has the best high trails in the park most of the area's trails and activities are centered around to Medicine Lake which is not to be confused with upper or lower to Medicine Lakes there isn't a hotel here but there is a campground in a general store with basic meal options the trail heads are spread out but most are near the lake some are best accessed via boat as you can see from the trail information on the map there are several short flattish hikes as well as some hi long monsters on one of my first visits to the park I hiked to scenic point it's a 6.2 mile round-trip that rises over 2300 feet it follows the Mount Henry Trail which goes all the way to Glacier Park Lodge it's also part of the Continental Divide Trail most of the elevation is gained on sixteen steep switchbacks and boy I wish I had a good picture of it for some reason I was more interested in the strangely beautiful trees they were killed by some kind of light years ago there is little shade on this trail so on a hot sunny day you'll feel it when stopping to catch your breath and you will need to there's a nice view of to Medicine Lake but at the top there's a commanding view of the plains to the east there isn't a higher piece of ground from here all the way to New England and the view well it goes out for many many miles for me one of the most memorable parts of the trail was the hike down the switchbacks are so steep that I was almost running down them slowing down enough to take a turn at a switchback or two was quite difficult and I certainly didn't have time to take any pictures if I were to do this trail again I definitely use hiking poles sometimes after a few days of table hiking it's nice to take an easy one especially if it's cold and raining on such a day I decided to go to Twin Falls it's 3.8 miles from the campground but only about a mile when you take a boat across the lake no matter how you get there there's only about 75 feet of elevation game I bought my ticket on this 40 degree day and it was a pleasant ride across the calm Lake just about all of this trail is heavily in the trees there are a couple of trail junctions so follow the signs to make sure you go to the right place this is the Falls where the bees have the balls anyway there they are they're not spectacular but it's not a bad way to spend part of a rainy afternoon the more interesting thing was is one of the guys I recognize from the boat decided to take a dip in the near-freezing water while waiting in the shelter for the boat to return I asked him why he did it so you're the guy who jumps in all the lakes apart why do you do such a thing there's no showers in the park oh that's not true the bigger campgrounds like the ones that Swift Current may have showers from the boat drop-off point you can go to other places to no-name Lake is less than three miles away but there is about 800 feet of climbing involved and on the way if it's not too cloudy there's an interesting rock formation called compelling pillar no-name Lake feels remarkably remote for such a short hike it has a couple of backcountry campsites too which can be reserved at the to medicine ranger station another destination you can go to from the boat dock is the upper - Medicine Lake it's accessed from another connecting trail and it's just slightly farther away at 2.2 miles there's backcountry camping there - two of the most spectacular passes in the area can also be accessed from this boat dock dawson pass and - well I can't pronounce that's it you'll just have to read it can each be access from this trailhead if you don't use the boat it's just under seven miles to each pass or you can combine them in a 16.9 mile loop trail with a net elevation gain of twenty four hundred and fifty feet but the views up here are really nice most people take two days to do the 17 inch mile loop and I'm not an expert on overnight trips so if you want to do this go to the hiking glacier comm website for more info before you get to the main parking area there's a short trail that's good for the whole family running Eagle Falls the trailhead is on the main road just after you cross the bridge it's just a point three mile stroll - a nice little waterfall there's one more trail I think that's worth mentioning in it's called cobalt Lake this can be an over 11 mile round-trip but there's only 1400 feet of elevation game and on the way you might want to stop by Rockwell Falls it's one of the nicer Falls in the area so to sum up - medicine is a little out of the way and it has some great high country trails and several waterfalls it's less likely to be as crowded as some of the other areas but it's a good idea to check out a ranger station for the current road status and parking status in to Madison before you drive the 60 to 90 minutes to get here from many glacier st. mary' or West glacier by the way the drive on the east side of the park is quite nice it's twisty with a great view of the plains and in a couple of spots your cell phone may even work and that's pretty rare in glacier you okay now pull out your North Fork and go taunt map the North Fork area features many tree vine lakes Polebridge mercantile and remote trails to mountain peaks I haven't been to logging or quartz lakes because I've heard that the main reason to go there is because the Bowman and kipman lake parking lots are full there are two roads that get up this way one on either side of the Flathead River the komasan outside North Fork roads are paved all the way to Polebridge the inside North Fork Road is the shortest way to logging lake in quartz lake but it's unpaved you can also get to these legs from Polebridge by heading south if you like walking in trees near a creek then the logging Lake Trail might be for you it's a nine mile round-trip delay continues and there are several campgrounds and more for those multi-day hikers by the time you get to the lake you've gained about 450 feet from the 3300 or so foot pace okay now let's talk about quartz lake from the inside road the trail is about a 20 mile round-trip and that's too much for a day hike but you can also get to quartz lake from Bowman Lake you get to Bowman lake from Polebridge so you can take the North Fork Road that is paved after pawprints the road is unpaved narrow and rough you'll cover the six miles only at about 15 miles an hour and if a car comes the other way well you're gonna have to pull off to the side once you're at the Bowman lake parking lot which also by the way fills up often there are several trails to choose from including the twelve point eight mile loop two three hikes including the picturesque quartz lake around here the trail spend a lot of time in trees into quartz lake it goes up and down over 2500 feet so you'll need to be in shape to enjoy the remoteness of this trail from Bowman Lake there's another hike that's even higher you can hike up 3,000 feet to nuuma look out this trail is eleven point two miles out and back but it provides a great view of the area there's also a more moderate hike to ah coca a la Lake that's how you pronounce it it's only eleven point six very remote miles and it goes up just fifteen hundred feet so if you like the remoteness that one might be for you the last lake in this area is Kintla Lake the road from Polebridge to Kintla Lake is another rough one it'll take about 40 minutes to travel just fifteen point seven miles but this is another beautiful lake the trail follows the shoreline and it's basically flat I ran into a big pile of bear scat once I got here and well frankly I turned back took it as a bad omen others take it twenty nine miles all the way to go tot camping along the way goat hunt is at the southern end of Waterton Lake and most people don't hike there it's about a four-hour drive from Apgar there is a border crossing and by the way you're not allowed to bring most bear spray into Canada I learned this the hard way and there is a fee to enter Waterton Lakes National Park the best photo op in Waterton just might be this one this is the parks Prince of Wales hotel in a magnificent setting go tante is a remote outpost that may be unmanned due to budget cuts it's located back in the US on the other side of the lake so you'll have to take a boat to get there and it's not free this is where the Continental Divide Trail ends but there are also some shortest trails here and they don't have a lot of up but remember you need to finish them in time to get back to take the last boat back to Watertown so let's review the North Fork area it's pretty remote it's not very visited there's not a lot of parking here either to get to the lakes you're gonna have to go through narrow gravel roads that are a bit rough so campers and trailers are not recommended the trails here are generally pretty flat around the lake and it's the lowest altitude in the park but if you want to go up and see the lakes from above well the North Fork area can take care of that for you too [Music] now that I've shown you the primary hiking areas in Glacier it's time to talk about its companion park north of the border this park feels European the first thing you see when you drive in is the Swiss style Prince of Wales hotel and it's incredible upper Waterton lake back drop if you're ever in the mood for an afternoon high tea check out its lobby there are several trails in the area but the Parks Canada website makes it hard to find out where they are the first page has info about Banff and other parks but you have to click the things to do page and scroll down past locations of places to sit to the all activities list then with the help of reading glasses look under the dog-walking link to find the hiking link it's here that you'll finally only map and this is it it's useless there are a few more links further down there is a list of short hikes with descriptions but it's amazing how little information there is for such a great hiking area National Geographic recently named a day hike here one of the most thrilling lakes in the world and where do you find info about it it's under day hikes where it can easily be lost amongst all the others oh here it is crypt Lake come on Canada step it up a bit Canada's parks are profit centers and there's not much money in hiking luckily the large US glacier PDF map includes many trails in Waterton Lakes including the thrilling Royal crypt Lake Trail sadly I haven't done it because years ago I was told not to hike it alone so I kind of forgot about it but now it's so popular that's not a problem the crypt Lake Trail is not for everyone it's a bit rugged steep and potentially dangerous there's even a tiny tunnel in other words it's wonderful but since its recent designation it's also often crowded it's 10.8 miles long and it goes up 2300 feet the trailhead is at the midpoint upper Waterton lake you get there by boat the Waterton town site is quaint with plenty of places to spend your money and there's also a small Harbor where the Waterton shoreline cruise company is based I've taken one of their cruises and and I even saw a bear from the boat today a big part of their business is taking hikers to the crypt Lake trailhead obviously space is limited so you might want to get your tickets in advance and hope that you picked up good weather day if you're a fast hiker you might want to put some space between you and the crowd in the first four-and-a-half miles after that you'll be single-file a half mile pass an old campground the trail goes up a narrow ledge and ends at a sheer cliff on the way check out the 600 foot waterfall when it gets really tricky there's a welcome handrail at the clip face an eight-foot stepladder provides access to a 60 foot natural tunnel it's too small to stand up in this is a popular selfie spot so there might be a bit of a delay here then there's a stroll down to the lake and this is like it's a pleasant place to rest after this amazing crossing while thinking about how lucky you are to be able to hike back on this thrilling trail trail trail one more time so how do you get here well Waterton Lakes is about an hour's drive from st. Mary via the chief mountain highway that means it's three to four hours from Apgar on the west side the border crossing is not open 24 hours a day so late night crossings require an even longer drive and the road is closed in winter yes glaciers companion Park is a bit out of the way but if you have the time is well worth a trip even if you don't do one of the most glowing hikes in the world but if you do do the trail keep in mind that this level of activity is not for everyone you need to be in good shape before you get here medical services are quite limited and you're at least a couple of hours away from a major hospital and also remember that this park belongs to nature we are the intruding visit well I hope you enjoyed watching 50 hikes in Glacier as much as I enjoyed hiking and recording it along the way if you appreciate that couple of hundred hours of research writing and video editing that went into this travel guide please give it a like and subscribe to my channel I read every comment and I use them when I'm making updates and you subscribers will be kept up to date when I make more travel guides and that's certainly what I'm going to do because after all the West is big let's talk about trip planning the plan is important but keep in mind that Glacier is not a theme park nature's plans may not coincide with yours so first plan for flexibility bear activity can close trails and campgrounds weather is unpredictable and can change quickly in the mountains forest fires can utterly ruin your plans in recent years my annual trip has been canceled twice because much of the park was on fire and smoke from fires even if there are hundreds of miles away and make hiking and even breathing difficult and for some dangerous so when planning a week to ten day trip I plan for at least one bad weather day your plans will also depend on if you're staying on the east or west side remember it takes two to three hours to cross the park on the Sun row keep in mind that those were in really good shape at many more options when it comes to doing trails I prefer nine to ten day trips but most people stay for less than a week so if the itinerary I'm about to describe is for a seven days stay let's say you arrive in the afternoon go on day one get to know the area read over the park info they give you when you enter the park and ask a Ranger or hotel staff if any of the trails are closed ask where there have been wildlife sightings ask about this year's construction on the going-to-the-sun road and ask about this year's road construction it's almost always going on in the Sun row but in 2020 and 2021 there's gonna be significant road construction on the mini glacier road and it's expected to cause very long delays then explore your local area ask other visitors what they've done that they really enjoy and take a short walk or hike just to see how the altitude is affecting you remember the east side elevation is about five thousand feet and that's about two thousand feet higher than it is on the west side near Lake McDonald for dinner or perhaps after dinner visit one of the parks historic hotels even if you're not staying at many areas have Ranger Talks each night near a campground or in a hotel ballroom in many glacier ranger sets up a spotting scope in the swift current parking lot each evening you may not be lucky enough to see a bear but there's almost always something on one of the mountain ridges and of course you don't have to do all of these things on the first night you've got six more whatever you do don't just hang around in your room it's far too beautiful out here rooms are for sleeping and writing in your journal that's how I get the base material for these scripts unless I get to the park really early on day one I use my first full day in the park day two to get used to the altitude and maybe do a short hike but most importantly that's the day I take a bunch of pictures drive to going to the Sun Road or take a bus tour to another area of the park that you haven't seen it takes two to three hours to drive the 50 ish mile going to the Sun Road and if you're lucky enough to get a parking place at Logan Pass stop and look around you never know what you might see or photograph but please remember these are wild animals don't try to take a selfie with them if you feel up to it take an hour or so to hike out to my favorite lunch spot with it's great view of Heaven's peak in the valley below on the Sun Road when you come to Sun rift Gorge stop and take a look at the gorge and maybe walk down to bearing Falls it's not far and don't miss one of my favorite photo ops in the park wild goose island viewpoint it's just a few steps from the Sun Road play sure is a great place for photographers and instagramers and of course remember that the east side of the park is lit by the Sun in the morning and the west side of the park is lit in the afternoon and also remember there is no phone service in most of the park so instead of just taking a selfie why not take something that's suitable for framing by day three it's time to take a real hike one of my must do hikes for first-time visitors who are physically fit here's a list of my must do hikes number one and my favorite hike in Glacier National Park it's the Grinnell glacier trail this is one of the few trails where you can actually walk up to a glacier number two on my list is the Highline trail from Logan Pass and connecting with the Swift Current Pass trail all the way to many places now number three is a tie so I'm kind of cheating here the ptarmigan tunnel seiyya Pass or crypt lake or how very nice hikes and they're also a little bit more difficult but there's also an easy one on my list number four full head lake so on day three if it's open I suggest you do the Grinnell glacier trail first it's my favorite hike and it's not too difficult it takes me two and a half to three hours of hard hiking to get up there but I'm taking photos and videos at many of the beautiful spots along the way and remember this one is three miles shorter when you take the boat for many this is a tough day but it's one you will never forget day four if you're tired and sore maybe with a blister or two you may want a day that doesn't have quite as much up as the Grinnell glacier trail so the Highline trail which is up to fifteen point two miles long might be a good option for you because it has only about eight hundred feet of up when you go all the way down to Swift Current the fifteen point two mile version from Logan Pass too many glacier well it takes me about eight hours now that's too much for you consider just going down to the loop that's only twelve miles long and it has only three hundred and thirty feet of up but you'll need the hiker shuttle to get back to Logan pass both routes go down about 2300 feet and remember that hiking poles make descending much easier on the knees if either of those routes are just too long for you consider just taking the two to three hours to go out to my lunch spot and back it's a great hike and because it doesn't take that much time you can do another trail like Hidden Lake ok now we're at day five after two relatively hard days I plan for an easy one and bullhead Lake is perfect it's an eight mile round-trip that feels relatively flat they say it goes up and down about 400 feet but really you can't tell day six well since yesterday was a pretty easy day it's time for another tough hike so this would be one of my number three's the ptarmigan tunnel seiyya pass or crypt Lake any of these trails will make for a very memorable last but these hikes should only be done by people who are in really pretty darn good shape because these are pretty tough if that doesn't include you will consider doing one of my second tier hikes like iceberg lake on day 7 getaway day get up before the Sun to see glacier at daybreak I do this nearly every day to capture images and get time-lapse sunrises glacier looks incredible at dawn and everyone should experience this at least once when they come to clay sure if I don't have to leave until midday I'll also try to do a short hike before I leave the Falls hike from the Sun Road the trail of the Cedars on the west side or maybe even a jaunt out to my lunch spot if I have to cross through the park basically take in as much as possible you may have noticed that I haven't said too much about nighttime activities well as I said nights are for sleeping and for taking notes but I know that that's not for everyone most of the parks hotels have entertainment at night and I mentioned the Ranger clocks hotels also offer fine dining and a bar in the bars unlike your room have a TV regrettably kids can play online video games in a lobby at night while the rest of us take in the incredible ambience of the place if you are a young couple remember that the walls in these old hotels are very thin even in the dark glacier is amazing this is a great place for stargazing especially when there's a new moon the altitude and clear sky means a city dweller will see more stars than they've ever seen before you can't do all the great trails in the park on one trip in any trail may be closed for any number of reasons so here's a list of my top tier hikes first of course is the Grinnell glacier trail the trail of the Cedars is number 2 followed by the Highline trail and that means just about any version of it including my lunch spot the ptarmigan tunnel seiyya pass bullhead Lake Lake and st. Mary's fall are all hikes that you should do at least once but if any of those trails are closed or if some of them are just too hard for you these trails are on my second tier of great hikes iceberg Lake Grinnell Lake I can pass swift current paths Dawson pass Virginia Falls Hidden Lake avalanche lake a bikuni Falls Fisher cap lake to see the moose and Sperry Chalet they are likely plenty of other nice trails out there that I haven't done and I hope that you'll tell me about them in the comments so what do you do if the weather is bad well first come prepared bring gore-tex versions of everything from shoes to hat and gloves and hike anyway I'm one of my first trips to the park I spent several hours on one rainy day just hanging out in the mini glacier hotel the ever-changing view of the large-scale windows in the warmth and smells of the fireplace made for a remarkably pleasant day well for several hours anyway and remember the weather can be quite different on either side of the park if it's raining on the side you're on check with a ranger or hotel staff to see where it might not be raining on more than one occasion I've just driven to another area and done hikes over there forest fires are a bigger problem I cancelled a couple of my recent annual trips because of large fires late in the season fire smoke even from distant fires can make hiking difficult and even dangerous bear activity can also cause trails and campgrounds to be closed remember this is not a theme park mother nature is not your mom and like your mom she has no favorites but nature isn't the only thing that can hurt your trip glacier has become a victim of its own success crowds have made travel and especially parking a big problem and you can see the parking lot status on the website and remember you can also find Road status information on the website too many cars can cause Rangers to close road access to popular areas of the park including many glacier I think the best way to combat overcrowding is to start early but not in the dark by the way bears and other animals like to drink in the lakes and streams early in the morning so be alert and be careful for many glacier is a once-in-a-lifetime trip but for me in countless others we keep coming back because you just can't do all these trails in one week I hope this video helps you plan your trip if you enjoyed it please give it a like and maybe write a comment I read every single one of them and they're quite helpful when the time comes to update the video to see future updates and dozens of other travel videos subscribe to this channel and for the more philanthropic of you why not contribute to this channel even if you watch the ads we only get about a half a penny for each view and that won't even cover the cost of travel let alone the cost of equipment and writing an editing time if you're looking for more information on glacier don't forget I have another 90-minute documentary called glacier the hikers National Park it's also available on my youtube channel thanks for watching and come on out to Glacier my favorite National Park and I think you'll agree this place is special you

Channel: The West is Big! Explore It

Views: 65,372

Keywords: glacier national park, waterton lakes national park, crypt lake, many glacier, st. mary, overcrowding, dealing with crowds, grinnell glacier trail, highline trail, iceberg lake, sperry chalet, virginia falls, thewestisbig, the west is big!, 1 week plan, hiking plan, best glacier trails, favorite glacier trails, red bus, hiker shuttle, bear safety, Best 50 hikes in Glacier national park, itinerary, trip plan, motel, hotel, camping, day hikes in glacier, travel, day hikes

Id: EuFub5mFgfA

Length: 81min 23sec (4883 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 31 2020