Today we are leaving early to continue on the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. Yesterday we explored most of the western side with our daughter and Becky’s mom, Gigi. You can read about it in our separate post: Jumping into Lake McDonald and More in West Glacier. And today we are continuing where we left off on the Going-to-the-Sun Road to the top. We’re hoping to see Hidden Lake and more in Glacier!
If you want to jump right to the Hidden Lake Trailhead, click here. Otherwise, continue reading about our planning and drive on Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Planning
Since we stayed in the park at the Village Inn at Apgar, we plan to start early today. Since Apgar is on the far west of the park, our plan is to drive the whole Going-to-the-Sun Road today. And we’re lucky it just opened the day before yesterday on July 13. But we heard the Logan Pass Visitor Center up top gets full by 9:30AM. And it will take 1.5 hours to get there and we plan to make stops along the way. So we’ll have to leave early to get to Logan Pass before then.
Once at the visitor center, we will check out the hike to Hidden Lake to see if we want to do it. Afterwards, we’ll continue on the Going-to-the-Sun Road through the east side of the park. We’ve packed a lunch since there’s really nowhere to eat on the drive past Lake McDonald Lodge. And at the end of the road is the St Mary Visitor Center which will be our final stop. We hope to end early afternoon since we have to drive back to our resort in Big Sky 6 hours away. It’s always good to check to see if the road is open before you go: Going-to-the-Sun Road – Glacier National Park (nps.gov).
Sunrise over Lake McDonald
Becky gets up before 6:00AM to see the sunrise over Lake McDonald behind our room at the Village Inn. Since we are on the western side of the lake, it’s a great place to take pictures of the sunrise.
I roll out of bed before 6:30 to enjoy the view before getting ready. And about an hour later we are ready to leave. So, we pack our car and head back on Going-to-the-Sun Road with our daughter still asleep in the back seat. We also plug GyPSy Guide Glacier – Going to the Sun Road in to point out the must-see stops along the way. We pass Lake McDonald and the Avalanche area we stopped at yesterday to hike the Trail of the Cedars. And 45 minutes later we stop at our first new stop, the West Tunnel.
West Tunnel and the Loop
Tunnels are cool, but GyPSy Guide points out there are windows in the tunnel which sounds really cool. So, we pull-off before it and walk to the tunnel. There’s not a lot of space for parking, but inside the tunnel there’s plenty of room for us to walk. And the tunnel is not very long with plenty of light from the sides and windows. And soon we are at the first window carved through the mountainside. In this arched window we get a great view of Heaven’s Peak beyond. However, the 2nd window which is bigger has an even better view. Walking back through the tunnel we see a person stopped his car in the tunnel and got out to take pictures. Definitely advise stopping before you get to the tunnel.
Once we get through the tunnel, the road starts to ascend slightly to the Loop. This is where the road has a sharp bend or switchback resembling a loop back up the mountain. And here there are parking spaces to take in the views. We park at a spot before the bend, just down from some restrooms. Here you get a closer view of Heaven’s Peak. You can get an elevated view by walking up some steps to another parking lot on the other side of the bend. But we walk to the restrooms. Though the road just opened 2 days ago, these vault toilets are nasty. The smell is awful from outside but we do what we got to do. If we didn’t have to go to the restrooms, we could’ve bypassed this stop.
Bird Woman Falls to Oberlin Bend
Once past the Loop, this is where the Going-to-the-Sun Road gets interesting. We see water dripping down from the mountains above onto the road and lush landscapes around every turn. And then we see a sign for the 492 feet high Bird Woman Falls. When we look ahead we see multiple cascades down Haystack Creek that actually go under the road to the valley below. This is not Bird Woman Falls, however.
The falls are actually the opposite direction between Mount Oberlin and Mount Cannon. However, they are pretty far in the distance to see without binoculars. But what’s cool is they drain out of a hanging valley of snow and ice between the mountains.
About 5 minutes past Haystack Creek is Weeping Wall. It’s exactly what it sounds like. We drive past a wall where water is constantly pouring onto the street. Apparently, the water will eventually slow in late summer to more of a trickle. But today, it is gushing onto the street.
Just past Weeping Wall, we go past Big Bend toward Triple Arches. GypsyGuide points out this engineering marvel of these three arches built to span a gap in the road. It’s a very recognizable spot on the Going-to-the Sun Road, but easy to miss.
There is a lot of snow still below Triple Arches, and around the bend we see why this road just opened. On our left we see a large snow bridge, or area of snow many feet high coming down the mountain. We can see why it takes a long time to plow this road.
Oberlin Bend and Logan Pass Visitor Center
It’s already after 9:00AM when we pull in the Oberlin Bend parking lot. But we find a spot and get out to see people looking at the mountainside. GyPSy Guide said this was a good stop and we can see why. Everyone is looking up at the symbol of Glacier National Park, a shaggy white mountain goat. And Oberlin Bend is known as the best place to see them.
This stop also has an accessible viewing platform with one of the best views of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Our daughter who has been asleep in the car since we left, finally wakes up. So after seeing the mountain goat, we take her for a walk out to the platform. Apparently you can see all the way to Canada from here sometimes. But we need to get to Logan Pass which is only a few minutes down the road.
We get to the Logan Pass Visitor Center parking lot before 9:20, but it is already full! But luckily we see someone leaving after a couple minutes and get a parking spot. So, we walk to the visitor center stopping at the restrooms before walking up the stairs. The visitor center itself is fairly small but has some exhibits about wildlife in the area and a small store. There’s also some park rangers who advise us the Hidden Lake Trail starts right behind the building.
Hidden Lake Trailhead
Logan Pass is at the apex of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, and we’re not surprised to see some snow. Though the weather is nice and we’re dressed in shorts and leggings with just light jackets. Once outside the visitor center Gigi and our daughter decide they don’t want to hike. But Becky insists we check it out, so we leave them behind and the two of us walk to the trailhead.
This trail goes 1.3 miles to the Hidden Lake Overlook. And from there you can descend another 1.2 miles to the lake. However, we just want to go to the overlook and back. The trail is described as mostly boardwalk trail through a subalpine meadow with rewarding views. However, today on July 15th, it looks like a winter wonderland. Instead of walking through a meadow of wildflowers, we had heard there was still some snow on the trail. But we were not expecting so much. However, before we start we see some people looking and pointing.
Up to this point Becky thought that bighorn sheep did not exist. We have been to multiple parks where they are known to be, but have never spotted one. Until now that is. Just to the right of the trail is a herd of bighorn sheep! They are pretty far away but we have our binoculars. We haven’t even started the trail and can’t believe we see the elusive bighorn sheep. We also heard we may see bears on the trail, so we have our bear spray just in case.
Starting the Hidden Lake Trail
The start of the trail indeed starts on a boardwalk, however, it shortly disappears. We can see the continuation of the boardwalk in the distance, but first we have to climb through snow. And we are not prepared without spikes or hiking poles. We had no idea we’d need them in the middle of July.
It’s just after 10:00AM when we start and should have plenty of time for this hike. But even with our hiking boots on, the snow is slippery and hard to get good traction. And we are climbing up the mountainside making it more difficult. But after about 5 minutes of walking slowly up the trail in the snow, we make it back to a section of boardwalk.
Here there are a few large rocks next to the trail that we sit on to take a rest. We are winded already, and there is a lot more snow ahead. But Becky says let’s keep going, so we jump back on the trail.
Hiking to Hidden Lake Overlook
Even though this trail is mostly a snow-covered hill, there are a lot of people on it. And following the trail is not easy. We continue taking it slow trying not to slip while going the direction we think we should be going.
The first part of the trail is walking up the slippery hill, then we head left crossing the slope. It’s very easy to slip and we each fall on our butts a couple times. But, we help each other up and keep going.
At one point we have to ask someone if we’re headed in the right direction and if it’s worth it. Because It takes us over an hour to get out of the snow to a a rocky pathway. But once we get to a clearing, we look to the right to see more bighorn sheep on a mountain pass.
The sheep are easily spotted crossing the snow but become hard to spot once on the rocks. We use our binoculars to get a good view of them crossing the pass before spotting something behind them. We see a smaller animal following the same path darting across. It’s so hard to see, but we think it may be a wolverine which is known to be in this area.
Looking back we see a lone mountain goat above the ridge. Getting through the snow was hard, but it’s been totally worth it so far.
More Wildlife on Hidden Lake Trail
We get to a point where there is more boardwalk over a stream near a small lake. This is a grassy area near the lake and we see a Columbian ground squirrel next to the boardwalk. And just a little bit further we see a hoary marmot very similar to the yellow-bellied marmot we’ve seen previously. This larger rodent is foraging in the grass before disappearing into some brush. We continue walking another 5 minutes until we get to Hidden Lake Overlook. But just before it to the left, is an area I check out first.
It appears to have a great view and another marmot must agree with me. I notice this marmot splooting or lying flat with its hind legs stretched out behind it on the edge. And looking down I see the herd of bighorn sheep below us! The herd must be following us and Becky is so excited. And from here, we can get a much better look of them below.
Hidden Lake Overlook
A boardwalk leads us to the overlook. There is a railing overlooking the partially frozen lake. It’s a beautiful spot and nice area to take a break after taking more than 1.5 hours to get here.
On the far side is Bearhat Mountain which rises above the lake. We can only imagine what this area would look like in a few weeks after the snow melts. A few volunteer park rangers here tell us the trail from here to the lake is closed due to bear activity. We weren’t planning to go any further especially since we have to go back through the snow.
On the other side of the boardwalk is some shrub trees and rocks, and another marmot. This marmot is rummaging around the rocks and doesn’t seem to care we are here. In fact, there is a man sleeping on the rocks when we get here, and the marmot almost climbs on him.
This marmot has more white on him then the others we saw. And he climbs down from the rocks onto the boardwalk. He stops to take a look right by our feet. He then heads back on the rocks and we start to head back. We also see a golden-mantled ground squirrel before we leave.
Heading Back Down Hidden Lake Trail
After about 1.5 hours to get to the overlook and another 15 minutes there, we are ready to head back. Normally we could walk this distance in less than 30 minutes, but not through snow. We start walking on the rocky path for only a few minutes before we spot another mountain goat. This one is much much closer and kind of freaks Becky out. Because we start walking down the path and the goat walks beside the trail as if he’s following us.
We keep our safe distance but glad we got to see him up close. And then he disappears as we continue on. And soon enough we are back in the snow. Continuing to slip and slide we walk along the ridge carefully. A couple people decide to just slide on their bottoms down the hill, but we walk.
We make it past the steep part a little ways and look back to see the sky is clouding up. We make it to a portion of the boardwalk and rest. Someone offers to take our picture as proof we survived this hike.
As we walk the last portion of the boardwalk to the visitor center, it starts lightly raining. It takes us almost 2 hours and 45 minutes to do this hike we measured at 2.8 miles. The snow really slowed us down, but now we need to look for Gigi and our daughter. Since it’s started to rain, we find them back at our car. So, we sit in the car to tell them all about our hike and rest.
Lunch and East Side of Glacier
Not only are we worn out, but hungry. Once we leave, the first stop after Logan Pass is aptly named Lunch Creek. Here is a nice sized parking lot with views of Lunch Creek coming down a natural rock staircase. We grab our sandwiches out of our cooler and enjoy our lunch from inside the car. After the viewpoint at Lunch Creek, we continue on Going-to-the-Sun Road through the East Tunnel. This tunnel is impressive but doesn’t have windows like the West Tunnel, so we don’t stop. We still need to finish the road before exiting the park, and then drive 6 hours back to our resort. So, we try to hit a few highlights before we leave.
The first stop we make after the tunnel is Jackson Glacier Overlook. Though it’s cloudy and rainy, it’s still the easiest spot in the park to see a glacier. And once the road comes down from the mountain, it follows St. Mary Lake the rest of the way.
One of the most popular sights on the lake is the Wild Goose Island viewpoint. The viewpoint offers nice views of the lake with the island in the middle and the mountains surrounding them. It’s also in the opening scene of the movie, The Shining. The view isn’t bad today, but could only imagine on a clear sunny day. We drive by the Rising Sun Boat Dock and it’s so windy it’s hard to open our car door. So we continue to the end and the St. Mary Visitor Center to get our last passport stamps before we leave. We exit the park about 2:30PM and get back to our resort in Big Sky before dark.
Summary
Today we got up early and hit Going-to-the-Sun Road making stops along the way to Logan Pass. We enjoyed our stop at the West Tunnel and just the amazing scenery driving this road. But the highlight of our day was hiking Hidden Lake Trail to the overlook and back. We got to see so much wildlife, including a lot up-close. And Becky go to see a lot of bighorn sheep! Though the trail was mostly covered in snow, we could only imagine how nice it would be when it melts. We also got to complete the whole Going-to-the-Sun Road today accomplishing our goal we set for this trip. After today, we plan to rest tomorrow before we head home.
This is basically the end of our trip out West, or is it? Stay tuned for more…