Field notes · Glacier

Gowild

Glacier lives up to the hype. Start early, choose the right trail, and give the east side more time than you think.

50-mile road6,646-ft pass700+ trail miles

Glacier National Park

The first day: west to east.

Enter from West Glacier, follow Lake McDonald, cross the Continental Divide at Logan Pass, and continue toward Many Glacier if time and energy allow.

The essential drive

Going-to-the-Sun Road

The 50-mile route crosses Logan Pass and unfolds through glacier-carved valleys, waterfalls, and exposed alpine terrain. Give it at least half a day.

Best rhythmEarly departure · frequent pullouts · no rushed return

West side

Lake McDonald & Apgar

Boat tours make an easy introduction to the park; renting a motorboat at Apgar can turn a calm day into a genuine highlight.

Best forFamilies · first afternoon · gentler pace

East side

Many Glacier

Dramatic scenery, excellent wildlife viewing, and several of the park’s most rewarding hikes justify the longer day.

Do not skipMany Glacier Hotel · trailhead time · wildlife stops

Quieter alternative

Two Medicine

A beautiful lake and a more remote feel make this the counterpoint to the park’s busiest west-side stops.

Best forQuiet water · fewer crowds · a slower day

Watercolor of Lake McDonald from Apgar with a red canoe on the pebbled shore and a dock reaching into clear water — Lake McDonald from Apgar, where the colored stones sit under a few feet of very cold, very clear water.

Watercolor of Many Glacier Hotel on Swiftcurrent Lake with a tour boat and peaks behind — Many Glacier Hotel, and the reason the east side deserves more of your day than you planned.

Choose your trail

Six hikes, six very different days.

Strenuous

Highline Trail

11.8 mi · point-to-point

Alpine ridgeline, mountain goats, wildflowers, and the popular stop at Granite Park Chalet.

Easy–Moderate

Avalanche Lake

5.9 mi · roundtrip

Old-growth cedar forest leading to a turquoise glacial lake.

Strenuous

Grinnell Glacier

10.6 mi · roundtrip

Active glacier, turquoise lakes, and excellent bighorn-sheep country.

Easy–Moderate

Hidden Lake Overlook

2.6 mi · roundtrip

Starts at Logan Pass and is one of the best easier wildlife walks.

Moderate

Iceberg Lake

9.6 mi · roundtrip

A Many Glacier trail to a cirque lake with floating ice well into August.

Accessible

Trail of the Cedars

0.9 mi · boardwalk loop

Flat boardwalk and pavement through old-growth cedar, and one of only two wheelchair-accessible trails in the park. Works with a stroller.

Watercolor of Granite Park Chalet on an alpine bench with hikers approaching along the trail and beargrass in bloom — Granite Park Chalet, roughly seven and a half miles along the Highline and the reason many people walk it.

Watercolor of Avalanche Lake with waterfalls streaming down the headwall and driftwood on the pebbled shore — Avalanche Lake, with the whole headwall running with water in early summer.

Watercolor of Iceberg Lake with floating ice, sheer cirque walls, and beargrass along the trail — Iceberg Lake earns its name well into August, which is the point of walking there.

Watercolor of the Trail of the Cedars boardwalk winding between old-growth cedars with walkers on the path — Trail of the Cedars, flat the whole way, and the one that everybody in the group can do.

Wild country

Carry bear spray where you can reach it.

Hike in groups, make noise, and keep bear spray accessible—not buried in your pack. Early mornings and evenings are especially active wildlife times.