GNP Part 2: Exploring the East Side of Glacier National Park

Travel to Glacier

Lower St. Mary Lake

This is the second post in our Glacier National Park - click here to view the first one, where we discuss planning our trip.

St. Mary, on the east side of Glacier was our target and we would split up the 18.5 hours of driving into three legs.  We stopped in Bismarck, ND and Glasgow, MT; both were six hour drives.  This amounts to two fuel stops and enough time once we set up the trailer to enjoy the area and fill up the tank once more for the morning leg.  In Bismarck, we visited Laughing Sun Brewing Co. and Gideon's Brewing and while in Glasgow we found Busted Knuckle.

The last leg, from Glasgow to St. Mary, ended up being 6.5 hours.  We set up camp at Johnson's of St. Mary, had a quick meal of taco salads, made easy with a stash of already-made taco meat and shredded lettuce (LOVE easy travel day meals!).  It was great to have a simple meal to prepare after our long travel days.  We then enjoyed our first sunset from our campsite, on the hills above St. Mary overlooking St. Mary Lake and Lower St. Mary Lake.  For a general idea of our itinerary here is our plan in Roadtrippers.

Site 30 at Johnson's of St. Mary, overlooking Saint Mary Lake

Day 1 - Iceberg Lake Trail

We knew that we would need to be getting on the road early for morning hikes.  This is partly due to the excitement of getting out on the trail, but realistically, it's to get a parking spot at the trailhead.  On our first day we set the alarm for 5:45, had a quick breakfast and left the campground at 6:20.  Not our most efficient morning.

After only a 15 minute drive to the turn off for the park entrance, it was another 35 minutes of driving inside the park.  The first 12 miles or so were under construction and at the gravel stage at the time.  We found the other drivers to be super aggressive, everyone going well above the posted speed and several actually passing, even though visibility was limited during the off and on rain and due to tons of dust from the gravel.  All in pursuit of the all mighty parking spot.  We ended up following cars basically out of panic into the Grinnell Trailhead lot - not our target for the day.  It was 7:10.  After finishing our coffee, we used the pit toilets (WHY ARE THEY SO STINKY) and walked the .5 miles to the Iceberg Trail/Swiftcurrent Motor Inn parking lot.  This lot had plenty of spots but by then we were committed - no sense in walking back to move the car. We were on the trail by 7:40.

Within the first 100 feet, I sighted a black bear on the trail about 75 feet in front of me.  I paused, backed away, and regrouped.   A year ago I would have turned back and skipped the hike, frustrating both Tim and myself.  But I knew that we had traveled all this way to explore, and that is exactly what I wanted to do. That adrenaline and the desire to stay within earshot of the group ahead of us, kept me going for a good hour.  The weather was decent - the rain we encountered on the drive into the park had quit, although the clouds kept hanging around for most of the morning. 

Aptly named, Iceberg Lake is a glacial remnant located in a “cirque” - a deep basin encompassed by steep mountain faces – with snowfields dotted around the slopes.  Normally there are indeed floating icebergs - however due to the warmer temps for the 2021 summer, we did not see any.  Approaching the Lake you are surrounded by B-7 Pillar, Iceberg Peak and South Iceberg Peak.  We saw a mountain goat high up on the ridge behind the lake and when the sun came out the water glowed aqua blue, due to sediments or rock flour found in glacial lakes.  When sunlight reflects on the rock flour that is suspended in the water, the infamous blue color can be seen.

Iceberg Lake Trail is listed at 10.4 miles out and back, but since we parked about 1/2 mile away, we ended up at 11.5 miles.  Other than the large group taking selfies and yoga poses for what seemed forever at the lake, we encountered some of the nicest people along the trail - best hiking etiquette we've ever experienced.  I was concerned about taking such a long hike, at altitude our first day, but we did well!  Long day, sore feet, but oh so amazing.

Our Iceberg Lake stats from AllTrails

Here is a short video of our hike.

Day 2 - Many Glacier Boat Rides and Grinnell Glacier Trail

On our second day on the east side of Glacier NP, I had booked a 9AM boat ride through the Glacier Park Boat Company.  We still had a somewhat early morning, although parking would be easier at the Many Glacier Hotel.  Grinnell Point is the peak across from the hotel, with Mt. Allyn to the left.  George Bird Grinnell was an American anthropologist, historian, naturalist, and writer who had a major impact on the area, naming many of the features in the Glacier region.  He was later influential in establishing Glacier National Park in 1910.

Many Glacier Hotel, Associated Press photo

On the first short boat ride, we learned more about the hotel itself.  In the early 1900's, The Great Northern Railway was establishing a series of hotels and backcountry chalets in the park and the Many Glacier Hotel was the "Gem of the West".  This was part of an effort by Louis W. Hill, president of the Great Northern Railway and son of James J. Hill, to establish Glacier National Park as a destination resort and to promote the area as the "American Alps".  Several railroads supported the "See America First" campaign to encourage tourism in the West in areas such as Glacier and Yellowstone.

On the second ride across Lake Josephine, we learned about the winters in Glacier, which can get anywhere from 500 to 700 inches of snow.  We also learned about importance of avalanches, which occur every year in the park.  These are important for survival of bears; avalanche chutes provide ideal foraging areas for bear and while bears are primarily herbivores, avalanches have been known to kill big horn sheep and mountain goats.  The carcasses essentially are frozen until spring when they melt and become a source of protein for bears.  We also learned  that the main source of protein for bears is the army cutworm moth, which has more fat and protein per pound than venison.  

We expected to participate in a guided hike near the head of Lake Josephine to Grinnell Lake.  Not seeing anyone that looked like a tour guide, and after both boat captains raved about the trail, we decided to head out to the Glacier, although it was not the original plan.  Good thing we had planned for the unexpected.  Mostly.  What we didn't do was download the hike in AllTrails, but with basic functionality and the phone's GPS, you can still navigate and track your progress. 

The hike is rated moderate to hard, and indeed most of the 12 miles (we cut out 4 miles by taking the boats) was moderate however there were some sections that were pretty demanding.  Our hard work paid off once we were above Grinnell Lake and could look down the valley to see three lakes: Grinnell, Josephine and Sherburne.  The skies were blue, the glacial water glowing in the sun, and it was simply breathtaking.

Grinnell, Josephine and Sherburne Lakes

As with several trails in Glacier, there can be water or streams across the trail.  At one particular area closer to the top, the water was just trickling on the way up, but by the time we hit the same spot on our descent, it was splashing across the trail, and you had to navigate across boulders since the water was now at least 6 inches deep.  Fun stuff.

We rested at the top, refueled, hydrated and started to make our way back down.  This was definitely tougher on the way down, with many steep steps that use completely different muscles going up than coming down.  My knees and toes were not happy - and we were glad we had our tickets for the return boat ride as there was a line of people waiting, with preference with already purchased tickets. 

Grinnell Glacier Trail is listed at 12.4 miles out and back, but since we had boat rides across both lakes, we cut out 4 miles, ended up at 8.4 miles.   We enjoyed a huckleberry lager and soaked our feet in the cool waters of Lake Josephine.

Our Grinnell Glacier Trail stats from AllTrails

Here is a short video of our hike.

Day 3 - St. Mary Falls, Virginia Falls and Baring Falls

After hiking 20 miles in two days, we decided to let ourselves sleep in on our third day of sightseeing.  We knew parking would still be a challenge.  Our target was St. Mary and Virginia Falls, adding Baring Falls if our legs could hold out.  This would take us into the East Entrance of the park, finally grabbing our National Park selfie (with the Many Glacier entrance under construction, the sign for that entrance was not accessible).  We ended up parking over half a mile from the trailhead and this time had to walk along the Going to the Sun Road to even start the hike.  There is no shoulder.  

East Entrance of Glacier National Park

This trail is fairly moderate, with only a few challenging sections mostly on the Baring Falls portion.  This trail was also a bit more crowded, especially near St. Mary and Virginia Falls.  It can be a challenge to get a photo without anyone in it, especially at the falls (seriously, how long can you stand and stare at a waterfall  - blocking my view?).

St. Mary Lake Trail is listed at 24.1 miles if you take the trail around the entire lake.  For the portion we took, adding in Baring Falls and the walk to/from our truck, we ended up at 5.4 miles.   We were still learning about pausing and restarting AllTrails - so we ended up with a gap in the route. This time we soaked our feet in the cool waters of Lake Saint Mary - sans cool beverage.

Our Triple Falls trail stats from AllTrails

Here is a short video of our hike. 

Our first few days at Glacier by far surpassed our high expectations - we saw such beautiful sights and pushed our bodies by hiking over 25 miles in three days.

Our takeaways:

1. Parking at trailheads can be cutthroat.  
2. Plan for and download maps before you are on the trail; have back up trails in mind and downloaded.
3. Have the right clothing for the weather - our raincoats kept us dry, but they are too warm for hiking and did not fold up/pack very well (I see a trip to Sierra in our future).
4. If you want to enjoy the Many Glacier area, we recommend staying on the east side.  There are limited RV parks, and not a ton of options for lodging.  Plan ahead.  Way ahead.
5. Not much for supplies or restaurants on the east side.  One grocery store with limited supplies (really for camping) and you can get wine and beer but no liquor stores.  
6. Purchase boat ride tickets ahead of time!
7. Be ready for anything; have your bear spray (and know how to use it!), bear bells, hiking poles, good hiking shoes/boots, plenty of water and high protein snacks.

Up next, we travel to to West Glacier!

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Have you been to the east side of Glacier National Park? Have you hiked the Grinnell Glacier or Iceberg Trails?  Leave your comments below!  Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us.