Best trails in Glacier National Park

Avalanche Trail in Glacier National Park. Nice trail, even the kids enjoyed it!

We started the hike from the Many Glaciers Hotel parking lot (because of construction, you won't be able to park at the AllTrails trailhead). So instead, you start on the Swiftcurrent Lake Trail and then cross a bridge, which connects you with the trail that ultimately takes you to the Grinnell Glacier. We saw a moose lounging on the far shore of Swiftcurrent Lake as we started! The first two miles of the trail are super chill. Once you pass Lake Josephine, you start climbing in elevation in earnest. Also, two downed trees are blocking the trail around mile 2. It took some shimmying, but you should be able to scramble under and over them. Then begins your climb! Look to the rock faces on the right (north side of the trail) where mountain goats tend to roam. The first 3 miles of the trail have quite a few snowy and icy spots. We did not have crampons, and did not ever feel we needed them. But the higher you go, the snowier it gets. We did not experience waist-high snow, as one previous reviewer noted. The highest the snow ever got was knee-high, and my partner is 5'2". The snow does become pretty annoying around mile 4. But I had poles and had no problems. My partner did not have poles and was slipping and sliding! We saw bear paw prints on the trail at around mile 4, and then spotted a mama grizzly and her two cubs around mile 4.4! They pretty much ignored us as we cautiously passed. When you get to the pit toilets at a wooded area, it feels as if you have made it. But the bad news is that you still have 0.4 miles left to get to the glaciated lake! That last 0.4 miles is through some knee-deep snow, though mostly hard-packed. And it seemed like an eternity to finally get to the ridge overlooking Grinnell and Salamander Glaciers. We stayed and ate our lunches but not too long because the winds here were fierce and frigid! The hike back was uneventful. Though the grizzlies were still in the same place, just thankfully a bit farther away! This is a Glacier National Park must-hike trail. Currently, there is just enough snow to make it gorgeous, but not enough to make it impassable!

One of the top trails of Glacier National Park. Given it is fall, not as crowded.

I went in August and unfortunately it was pretty rainy and cloudy so visibility of the glacier was pretty much nonexistent. But, there were so many beautiful views along the way of the lakes and wildlife while on the trail. Don’t regret hiking the trail in the rain one bit!

Beautiful! Glacier is the most beautiful national park there is, 5 stars!

The first hike we did on our trip to glacier, it was phenomenal- lots of waterfalls and lots to see, and you are literally surrounded by Mountain Views the whole way. Incredible!!