May 5, 2010
By Lisa T. Bergren
Is your family thinking of a vacation in Glacier National Park? This is a super-easy, accessible hike for a family in Glacier National Park, and a great choice if you’re staying at Many Glacier Hotel. You can either do it by walking the whole trail (about 6.5 miles), which goes right beside the two small, alpine waterways (Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine), or taking two boat rides, with a total of about 1.8 miles of walking.
The historic boat rides are nice, especially if you have limited time or are traveling with kids/older generation who can’t handle longer hikes; guides point out animals along the shore (we saw a grizzly on Grizzly Flats; that morning, they’d seen moose), as well as interesting geological and historical information. Cost in 2009 was $22 for adults, $11 for kids, 4 and under were free.
The most difficult part is cresting the small saddle between the two lakes; if your group can all climb a steep hill (and down) you should be good to go. The rest is fairly flat, meandering through forest. Kids (and moms) will love the raised trails, keeping feet dry as you cross marshy areas and the small bridges over creeks.
The trail dumps out on the spectacular, glacier-fed Grinnell Lake (Grinnell was an early explorer and conservationist), with a massive waterfall on one end, coming off of Salamander Glacier. We would’ve loved to have a picnic there, but the mosquitoes were outrageous, and unbelievably, we’d forgotten bug spray…and storm clouds were gathering. So we took a quick look, promised ourselves we’d return some day (adequately coated with repellent) and fled back to the boat landing.
NOTE: Ready for more of a challenge? You can add the upper trail to this hike, which takes you up switchbacks and allows a fabulous view, down upon the emerald lake and Salamander Glacier, as well as a peek at Cracker Lake.
Posted on Wednesday, May 5, 2010
In Montana, Trip Reports, USA
Tags: East Glacier, family friendly hikes, family vacation, Glacier National Park, Grinnell Lake, hikes with kids, hiking, Many Glacier, Montana, Swiftcurrent
[...] is plenty of wonderful hiking on this side too, from easy, family-friendly trails (Grinnell Lake is a good one) to the more challenging (Iceberg Lake), both of which dump you out at some amazing locations. But [...]
[...] *** From Lisa Bergren via @TheWorldCalls on Twitter – Bigfork is a picturesque, historic lake town with a kid-friendly Summer playhouse, condos on the bay, water sports. #Montana Also just posted a family-friendly hike in Glacier Park: http://theworldiscalling.com/2010/05/family-hike-to-grinnell-lake [...]