Hiking the Trails

Sunset from Granite Park

Bill Hayden, NPS

 

Over half of the visitors to Glacier National Park report taking a hike. That's a lot of hikers, but over 700 miles of trail provide many outstanding opportunities for both short hikes and extended backpacking trips.

Hikers need to assume individual responsibility for planning their trips and hiking safely. Before setting out on your hike, stop by a park visitor center to obtain needed warnings and recommondations. You will increase your odds of a safe hike, decrease your disturbance to park wildlife, and lessen cumulative damage to resources.

Day Trip Plan
If you are taking a day hike, please consider completing the voluntary Day Trip Plan form and leaving it with the front desk of your hotel or a traveling companion that is not hiking with you. This voluntary form can help you plan your trip and could be a valuable tool for search and rescue efforts if needed.

Please understand that completion of this form does not mean a search will be initiated for you if you do not return. However, if you are reported overdue from a hike, this document would help search personnel concentrate search efforts along your intended route saving critical time and possibly reducing risks to those that go looking for you.

If you are staying inside the park, you are welcome to leave a copy of this form with your hotel's front desk. All forms will be destroyed 30 days after the date completed. Again, this form is not intended to imply that our hotel concessioner or the National Park Service will be monitoring your return and does not mean a search will be initiated. If a search is initiated because others reported you overdue, the National Park Service will check with the hotels to see if a Day Trip Plan was filed and use it to help focus their search efforts. Plan well and enjoy your hike!

Trail Status
Detailed reports on trail status are available on our Trail Status page. Trails, backcountry campgrounds, and other areas of the park that have closures are listed on our Trail and Area Closure page. The reports are updated each morning or anytime new information is obtained.

Trail Maps
We have interactive hiking maps to several areas of the park. These files are fairly large and may take several minutes to download on slower connections.

• Hiking Trails at Logan Pass and Many Glacier - 2.4Mb
• Hiking Trails at Two Medicine - 782kb
• Hiking Trails at Goat Haunt - 969kb
• Hiking Trails in the St. Mary Valley - 1.4Mb
• Hiking Trails in the Lake McDonald Valley - 1.7Mb

Additional Planning Resources
Visitor center bookstores carry a complete line of trail guides, topographic maps and field guides to aid the hiker. Publications are also available by mail. Visit the Glacier Natural History Association online bookstore.

 

Backcountry Camping

David Restivo, NPS

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Overnight Trips
Hikers planning to camp overnight in Glacier's backcountry must stop at the Agpar Backcountry Office, St. Mary Visitor Center, or ranger station to obtain a backcountry permit. Visit our Backcountry Camping page for more in-depth information about backcountry camping.