Hiking to grinnell Glacier
There are countless beautiful hikes to pick from in the Many Glacier area of Glacier National Park. We only had one day in that section of the park, so we chose the Grinnell Glacier hike wanting a longer distance trail that would offer a multitude of different views, and it delivered!
We initially attempted to begin this hike at the Grinnell Glacier trailhead parking lot. We arrived early in hopes of scoring a parking spot, but quickly realized the trailhead was closed for maintenance. Luckily, we knew this trail could also be started from the Many Glacier Hotel. It only added about a tenth of a mile to the overall hike, and it ended up being a really great starting point. We were able to grab breakfast from the café inside and use the bathroom before setting out on our hike. In the future, we would choose to park here even if the main trailhead is available.
Our start to the hike was extremely rainy. We were skeptical of beginning, since we didn’t know if the clouds would obstruct the view. This was indeed the case for a majority of our hike up, but even the cloudy views of the mountains while we ascended were great!
If you plan early enough, you can purchase tickets for the boat across Swiftcurrent Lake which shaves off 3.4 miles of the total hike (we did not get to take advantage of this). The boat ride is worth doing if you want to save time or steps, but overall, the hike was not bad without it because most of the mileage you shave off with the boat is flat. Considering the hike is 10.6 miles and labeled as “strenuous” with 1600 feet of elevation gain, I was surprised at the quantity of people on the trail. Perhaps the boat ride allows more people to attempt this hike than they otherwise would.
There is a section of the hike where you must cross a small stream of water cascading down the rocks. Due to the rain, there was a decent amount of water, which didn’t look as scary in the photos as it felt, but it made for an exhilarating part of the hike.
Something I noticed on our ascent (and a number of times throughout Glacier NP) was how stunning and vibrant the colors in all the rocks were.
At one point on our hike it started raining pretty hard, so we took shelter under a large rock to wait until it lightened up. By the time we reached the glacier, the rain had stopped. Although the clouds were still blocking our views some, the scenery was breathtaking!
We underestimated how cold it would be at the higher elevation of the glacier while also being wet from the rain. Even though we were freezing, we spent a decent amount of time taking pictures, eating lunch, and walking around the shoreline of the lake. There weren’t that many people at the top yet, so we were able to enjoy the peacefulness of the scenery without any crowds.
The sun finally came out by the time we started our descent clearing away all of the clouds that had blocked the mountain views on our way up. We were rewarded with views that we couldn’t quite see on our ascent, and it was incredible. I can only imagine how stunning this hike is on a sunny day!
The Many Glacier Hotel also made for a great ending point for the long hike because we were able to get yet another snack from the café, and enjoy sitting in the lobby and relaxing.
If you are visiting Glacier National Park and want a hike that has excellent views and a little bit of everything, be sure to add Grinnell Glacier to your list!