Best day hikes - that are up to 15 miles

Hi!

We will be traveling to Glacier with my 22 months kid and my new born (will be around 3 months). Planning to hike with them on our backs. We are in good shape, like up hills and beautiful scenery but can%26#39;t do anything too long. We like the less touristy hikes. Which hikes would you recommend?

Best day hikes - that are up to 15 miles

I can definitely recommend a lot of hikes to you. But first, I have just a couple of questions. Did you mean to type up to 15 miles? To me, 15 miles is quite a long hike for an average person, and since you said ';but can%26#39;t do anything too long'; I just wanted to verify the case. Also, how many days will you be staying in the park %26amp; do you know where you%26#39;ll be staying?

Thanks,

Sean

Best day hikes - that are up to 15 miles

I am not sure yet where we will stay. I saw that ';Many Glacier'; is very recommended but we will decide based on where the nice hikes are.

You are right, 15 miles is very long day for us but I think it may be doable depending on the terrain. Probably with hills, a more realistic distance will be 7-10 miles but if something is worth it... we would consider I guess.

Thanks for checking and any tips are more than welcome!!

Weather can change quickly in Glacier so there are risks to getting out there, if you have young ones. I think many of the longer hikes might not be great options due to significant elevation changes. That said, hidden lake at logan pass is a nice introduction hike as is avalanche lake and trail of the cedars of the west side. East side is likely swiftcurrent pass trail as far as bullhead lake/red rock falls, maybe iceberg lake or grinnell glacier also. All out of the Many Glacier area.

From Many Glacier the Swiftcurrent Pass hike to Granite Park Chalet and back would be perfect. Most of it is easy and the last steep part (2,000%26#39; gain)is not too long (3 mi). Passes several really pretty lakes that sort of stairstep down the valley.

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Thank you for the tips!

Elevation gain is OK. We%26#39;ve done quite a few hikes with my son in the Canadian Rockies, Italy and Switzerland and we managed well. Didn%26#39;t try this with two yet though :-)

Hikes I saw recommended to others are:

Grinnell Glacier

Iceberg Lake

Highline Trail

Cracker Lake

Hidden Lake

Swiftcurrent Pass - which you recommended as well

Would you say these are the most recommended? Any others we should look into? Would any of these be challenging in terms of shuttles or extremely long to do with the kids?

Thanks again!

long is relative based on weather, kids attitude and your energy that day I assume. Swiftcurrent is the longest, highline next. Grinnel has turnarounds long before the glacier depending on your day. Iceberg is a definite final destination, nothing gained if you don%26#39;t go all the way.

Just in reference to the possibility of hiking Many Glacier to Granite Park Chalet and back...the hike would be 15 miles and gain a total of ~3,000 feet over its course. It gains about 2,300-2,400 feet up to Swiftcurrent Pass and then drops 600-700 feet to Granite Park Chalet (which will be regained on the way back). It would actually be a fairly strenuous day, but if hills aren%26#39;t too much of a problem, a very worthwhile hike. If you could arrange transportation (possibly a commercial shuttle) in order to hike Logan Pass to Granite Park Chalet to Many Glacier, that would be an ideal route. I did this hike last summer and it was incredible! It would be 15 miles but very little uphill.

All of the hikes you mentioned are great hikes. However, many of them are more popular and some may be considered the more ';touristy'; hikes in the park--especially Iceberg, Grinnell, and Hidden Lake Overlook. This does not mean I would not recommend them, as they are popular for good reason. However, since you did mention that you like the less touristy hikes, I thought I%26#39;d recommend to you some other options that allow you to see some beautiful scenery that are not as crowded and are more off the beaten path.

In the Two Medicine area, the hike to Two Medicine Pass is great, but it is long. It would be about 14.5 miles long but provides some beautiful views into the interior of the park. Triple Divide Pass in the Cutbank area is in one of the most seldomly main areas of the park. At about 13 miles long, this trail is rather long but not incredibly difficult. You get some great views along the way to the pass as well as from the pass. From near the Chief Mountain Customs Station (Canadian border) you could hike the Lee Ridge Trail to Gable Pass and back (around 12 miles) for some great views on a fairly moderate uphill trend. Also, on the south side of the park you can hike to Firebrand Pass and back (10 miles) for some interesting views of the Great Plains and interior part of the park without the crowds. Finally, off Going-to-the-Sun Road, I highly recommend the Siyeh (10.3 miles plus shuttle) or Piegan (9 miles) Passes. These are less crowded than most of the hikes you mentioned and provide great views...especially if you hike the Siyeh Pass loop.

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