Glacier National Park is known for its stunning views, but as any hiker knows, some of the best views come after strenuous physical exercise!
One of the park’s most popular hikes is the Iceberg Lake trail, a 4.8 mile out and back hike to the stunning Iceberg Lake.
I knew I wanted to do this hike, but I was nervous to do such a long hike and especially nervous to do it on my own. Luckily, the National Park Service arranges for Ranger-led hikes of several of their most popular trails.
This particular hike met out front of the Swiftcurrent Motor Lodge (so back down that unpaved stretch of road we went).
There is no fee to join this hike, so we had a relatively large group of about 20 people, and invited more hikers to join us along the way.
Our Ranger gave us a quick little safety briefing about trail etiquette and bear spray and we were on our way- the trailhead was only a short walk away from our meeting point.
As you may expect, our guide was super knowledgeable and entertaining. He made sure to stop regularly so that no one would get uncomfortably out of breath, but was engaging enough with stories and fun facts during these breaks that I never resented having to stop so often.
The trail starts with a pretty steep hill right off of the trailhead, but this was really the steepest incline of the whole hike so don’t let it dissuade you. If you’re lucky, you may even see a tiny hummingbird perched atop a tree just past that first hill. Our guide had to point it out to us, but it was still there on my way back six hours later so you may get lucky as well!
The wildlife on the trail can obviously vary wildly, but we were lucky enough to spot that hummingbird, some mountain goats, and even a deer! No bears, but our guide pointed out claw marks on the trees where they had climbed and marked their territory. There’s actually a fair amount of these markings, so keep your eyes peeled throughout the hike!
You’ll also notice some very curious marmots, especially near the waterfall where many people (including our group) took a snack break! Make sure not to feed these animals because that brave curiosity can become aggression if they get too comfortable with humans!
I was particularly pleased by the variety of wildflowers along the path- my guide helped identify my favorite of these flowers as ‘lupins’.
As we got closer to the lake, the fields filled with Glacier lilys. There’s a little ‘decoy’ lake in one of these fields, but don’t be fooled! Walk just a few minutes further and the actual Iceberg Lake will appear, surrounded by towering rock walls.
My timing on this hike was super lucky- our ranger mentioned that the lake was completely frozen over on last week’s hike, and he anticipated it being totally melted by the next week! As it was, in early July, the lake had huge chunks of ice floating around the lake, making for some really stunning photos.
I saw some people swimming, but after briefly sticking my hand into the icy water, I decidedly continued to admire it from dry land.
This hike can be a little crowded since it’s so popular, but the length of it dissuades most casual visitors to the park.
It does, however, mean that you’re never really alone on the hike.
Our Ranger-guide left after about half an hour at the lake. We were invited to hike back with him, but I decided to spend a little more time admiring the view and ended up hiking back on my own and really taking my time.
I was on a mission to take a photo of as many wildflowers as I could manage. This sparked a ton of very brief conversations with passing hikers; people would pause to ask me my favorite flower and tell me their own, help me identify the flowers, and talk about how lovely the flowers were- wildflowers were the great unifier on the trail.
Despite ostensibly hiking alone, I would never really be out of eyeshot of another person for more than five or ten minutes- which to be clear, is a pro for me. I know that some people are looking for isolation on their hikes, but as a solo hiker, I was more so looking for the relative safety of other people.
While the Park Service lists this hike as ‘difficult’, its challenge is mostly in its length- the elevation gain is spread throughout the length of the trail so its not particularly steep (barring that one stretch at the start of the trail), and the path itself is well traveled and well maintained.
It’s still not a hike to come unprepared for- much of it is exposed to the elements so make sure to come appropriately outfitted with enough water to last the whole 10 miles.
DISTANCE: 4.8 miles one way
ELEVATION GAIN: 1,200 ft
APPROXIMATE TIME NEEDED: 6 hr
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