Bring your family to find the best hiking in Glacier National Park. Being immersed in this amazing experience is unforgettable. You will love showing your kids the views, waterfalls, lakes and rocks of Glacier. These memories of being surrounded by the beauty and awe of nature will create shared experiences for a lifetime.
Be sure to check Glacier National Park Website for the current closures and conditions. that being said, I didn’t find the website to be very up-to-date or informative. When I went I was unaware that most of the park was still closed due to the pandemic and was left wondering what to do in Glacier National Park when only 1/4 was open!
When hiking in Glacier, the whole family is bound to find things they love. To make the hikes more enjoyable for the kids, follow these essential Hiking with Kids tips.
Going-to-the-Sun Road
The most magnificent feature in Glacier National Park is the incredible Going-to-the-Sun Road. This road takes you from the Massive Lake McDonald up to Logan Pass (highest point on the road) and back down to St. Mary’s Lake. The road offers stunning views of mountain peaks, U-shaped valleys, and steep waterfalls along the way.
The road is narrow and you will feel like you are driving on the edge of the earth (you are!). I honor and thank those who sacrificed to create this scenic drive!
Most years the park has a shuttle running, which would be an ideal way to take in all the views and get off at multiple stops. However, the summer of 2020 there were no shuttles so driving was a must. There are multiple pull-outs and stopping places so make sure to pay attention while driving and take in the amazing views when stopped.
The Going-to-the-Sun Road is the only road through the park. The rest of the roads are in the Many Glacier Area (closed in 2020) or on the outskirts of the park.
I did try driving Camus Road which connects Columbia Falls to Apgar Visitors Center through a narrow road with 10 miles of gravel road. It was more scenic than the main road to the park, but it is slow going. There are a few hikes in this area, but nothing kid-friendly that we found.
Hiking in Glacier National Park
Obviously the answer to the questions what to do in Glacier National Park is to hike! Get out into the forest and the hills to enjoy the beauty and unique features throughout the park.
There are so many trails in Glacier National Park…734 miles of trails to be exact. Lakes, Waterfalls and Overlooks are the main destination attractions. So pick a few and get out to explore them.
Leave No Trace
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|---|---|---|---|
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| Buy Boys Hiking Pants | Buy Girls Hiking Pants | Buy Hiking Shoes | Buy Water Backpack |
Be sure to treat our National Parks with extreme respect as you are hiking in Glacier so our families can enjoy them for generations to come.
Anything you pack into the park gets packed back out. Don’t disturb the rocks or plants. Keep to the trail to preserve and restore the areas where humans impact the park.
We love these National Parks and want to keep them nice for the person behind us on the trail and keep them amazing for hundreds of years to come.
Our Favorite Hikes
Here I list a few of the best and easiest to access sights when hiking in Glacier. All of these make these kid-friendly options. Florence Falls is the only hike that is longer (10 miles Round trip) and may not be possible for all kids.
St. Mary’s Falls (2 miles)
One of the most accessible waterfalls for hiking Glacier National Park is St. Mary’s Falls. There are so many waterfalls and cascades visible right from the Going-to-the-Sun road and driving tour, but St. Mary’s Falls is only a 2-mile hike round trip.
You start with St. Mary’s Lake in front of you. If you are lucky like we were, you will see a moose (and the baby!) walking through the water. There was a fire in this area of the park in 2015 so most of the trees are just dried sticks. but the underbrush is all growing back. At first, I didn’t think the hike would be great because it looked fairly dead. But believe me, it is worth it.
To view St. Mary’s Falls, walk right out on a bridge over the river and get a fantastic view of the rushing water fall on one side and a calm, clear pool on the other side.
If you choose to go out on the rocks to get a closer view, be aware that the rocks are slippery and wet from the waterfall spray. I almost went down several times walking around on the rock.
Virginia Falls (3.6 miles- included St. Mary’s Falls)
As much as I love St. Mary’s Falls, you must continue on to Virginia Falls (only another.8 mile from here). You follow the river and see waterfalls and cascades the entire way up.
From the Saint Mary Lake parking lot/shuttle stop, Virginia Falls are 1.8 miles one way. One mile into the hike you will cross a bridge and see St. Mary’s Falls (see above).
Once you are at St. Mary’s Falls, Virginia Falls are only a short.8 mile away. The trail follows the creek so around every turn you will view a cascade or water fall or clear, turquoise pool of beauty.
This hike will fly by as you enjoy the scenery along the way. There is very little to no elevation gain or loss so it is a nice flat hike. This makes the hike very kid friendly, with an amazing destination. It a must with the whole family
Barring Falls (2 miles)
Since we had hiked to St. Mary’s Falls and Virginia Falls, we thought the 1-mile hike to Barring Falls in the opposite direction would be very similar, but was surprised at the unique beauty we saw along this trail. I loved it.
If you start from the St. Mary’s Falls Trailhead, you will walk in the opposite direction (turn to the left) to go to Barring Falls. You will be hiking on the edge of St. Mary’s Lake. With crystal clear, blue waters and mountains in the distance, the views are stunning along here.
Barring Falls is a short waterfall, but with lots of power. I imagine in the spring it has even more intensity. You can view the falls from a distance on a small bridge or get up in the water for a closer look.
Sunrift Picnic Area
If the shuttle is running (or you have 2 cars to shuttle yourself), the best option to see all the previous mentioned waterfalls and lake would be to start hiking at the Sun Point picnic area parking lot. From here you will see Sunrift gorge, Barring Falls, then St. Mary’s falls and finally Virginia Falls. You will hike back 1.8 miles to the St. Mary’s Fall trailhead and can take the shuttle back to your car or to another destination in the park.
Hidden Lake Overlook (2.6 miles)
Hidden Lake Trailhead starts from the Logan Pass parking lot. This lot often fills up early due to the Highline hiking trail that is popular. We went at sunset and found plenty of parking and a great sunset as well.
This trail is a unique because it is above the tree line so you will hike for 1.3 miles through a wooden boardwalk on a barren plain. The soaring mountains all around make for great views. However, if you are looking for a walk in the woods, this isn’t it.
Besides the amazing views of the peaks all around, you’ll find several small waterfalls along the path.
Once you reach the overlook, you will see Bearhat Mountain in the distance behind a beautiful Hidden Lake. There is a large wooden platform for viewing and relaxing at the end of the hike.
Typically, you can hike down to the lake another 1.2 miles on a more difficult trail. However, when we were there it was closed for bear activity in the area.
Hidden Lake Overlook is a very kid-friendly trail, especially since it is a wide open space, with a wide and clearly defined trail. When hiking in Glacier this one is a must as the kids will love the visitors center there. Since there are many, many steps so use my Hiking With Kids tips for a successful climb.
Florence Falls (10 miles)
This is a lesser known and lightly traveled trail in Glacier National Park. It is a 5-mile out and back trail (10 miles round trip). The actual trail is a single-file dirt path with fairly thick foliage all around.
The destination and views of Florence Falls are spectacular. The most beautiful of all the waterfalls we found. The cascading water over the square rocks is mesmerizing and beautiful.
We hiked to multiple waterfalls on our journey through Glacier National Park and Florence Falls is by far the most spectacular (Also, the most difficult to get to).
We started hiking at 6:45 am. Since the trail begins at the Jackson Glacier overlook (same path as Gunsight Pass) you have to drive up to Logan Pass and beyond. This means from our hotel in Coram, the drive was 1 hour and 20 mins long. We were up early!
The hike descends sharply for 1.3 miles. Then you come upon a river with water flowing through a rounded gorge. Since the water is so clear you can see that it is 10 feet deep in places and then flows over waterfalls and cascades. The hanging suspension bridge sways and bounces as you cross.
Be Aware of Wildlife
Since this trail is a bit off the beaten path, my friend and I hiked all the way to the falls (5 miles) and back 2.5 miles before we ran into our first human. Our phones did not work and we felt very isolated. But instead of loving the secluded beauty, we were actually really scared of running into a bear. We had bear spray, we talked really loudly and we used our hiking sticks to make a ton of noise in the brush as we hiked.
When we ran into a tall moose with a huge rack on the trail, I was ready to turn around! But he just looked at us and wandered into the woods. My anxiety and fear of meeting a bear never was realized (thank goodness), but we did see a bear crossing the road from the safety of our car later on.
How long does it take to hike to Florence Falls?
It took us 4 hours to hike to Florence Falls and back. We keep a pretty quick pace so unless you are running (which I don’t recommend in bear country) it would be difficult to do faster. I guess you could cut out the 20 minutes we spent looking at Florence Falls, but I think stopping to enjoy the destination is part of the hike!
This trail has a lot of overgrown bushes, is a single-person walking path and is fairly long. Not to mention the last 1.3 miles is uphill -so save some energy. My kids would never have finished this 10-mile hike since they whine and complain about 1 mile. But, if you have good hiking kids who want to see the gorgeous destination, I bet they could make it.
Avalanche Lake (5.2 – 7.5 miles)
This is probably my favorite hike in all of Glacier National Park. In fact, I hiked it one both of my trips to the park in 2020.
The trail says it is only 2.3 miles one way. However, you have to add the section of the Trail of the Cedars (see below)that you walk to get to the Avalanche Lake Trailhead. This makes the trail 6 miles out and back.
However, once you get to the lake and see the gorgeous ‘other side’ of the lake, there is a chance you will want to continue along the trail to get closer to the mountains, waterfalls and snowbanks. This makes the hike more like 7.5 miles round trip depending on how far around the back of the lake you travel.
My children hiked to a rocky beach around the middle of the lake and played in the water and built rock fairy houses.
To get to the other side of the lake, there is a trail that goes just above the lake around to the other side or you can follow the edge of the lake. I suggest doing the edge of the lake going one way and use the trail the other way. Early in the season the lake is higher and the trail is fairly muddy. Later in the year, there is minimal run off the the lake is lower so you will have no trouble following the edge of the lake.
Kids on Avalanche Lake Trail
Piggy Back Rider in Action in Glacier NP Avalanche Lake Trail
This distance to Avalanche Lake was a bit long for my complaining children, but we took it really slow, took lots of breaks and stopped at the lake for over an hour. The interesting moss, river in a gorge, massive logs to climb and big boulders made this hike unique and fun for them.
My kids were able to hike the Trail of the Cedars loop (.9 mile), to Avalanche Lake and back (5 miles) plus halfway up the lake (1 mile) all before they had a decent lunch. So they hiked 7 miles, but it did take them 7 hours.
Without kids, my friend and I hiked all the way to the back of the lake and beyond and back in only 3 hours.
Trail of the Cedars (1 mile)
This is a beautiful .9 mile loop through tall and majestic cedar trees. Half of the loop is a board walk, the other half is a wide, flat dirt path. This makes the trail accessible for wheelchairs and strollers. There are several information boards to learn about the foliage, animals, insects and geology of the area.
If you are traveling with kids, don’t miss this easy loop trail when hiking in Glacier. And if you think there is a chance you might continue on to Avalanche Lake (2.3 miles one way) halfway through the loop, don’t forget the lunch!
There is a large bathroom (with flush toilets) here.
John’s Lake, McDonald Falls and Sacred Dancing Falls (1 -2 miles)
John’s Lake is a small lily-pad-covered pond. Its a short 1/2 mile walk from the road. If you aren’t careful you’ll miss the pond completely as it is mostly surrounded and shielded from the trail by trees.
If you’d like to continue along the trail, you will eventually be lead back to the main road and get up close and personal at Sacred Dancing falls. Here you can cross a bridge to the other side of the river to hike down to McDonald Falls. If the shuttle is running you can catch it back to your car. You can see all of these falls easily from pull outs in the road. so the hike isn’t necessary unless you just want to get up for a closer view.
John’s Lake may be worth a quick mile hike to see, but hiking more to see the other waterfalls didn’t seem work the legwork {if you get my pun}.
Hiking in Glacier National Park
Once you get to Glacier National Park and see all the incredible views from the Going-to-the-Sun Road, you might think you’ve seen it all. But hiking in Glacier will get you up close and personal with trees, animals, insects, and waterfalls. Hiking in Glacier is a must and there are many options for the whole family.
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2 Comments
Great List! Thank you! We’re planning our first trip and this is exactly what I was looking for.
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