Avalanche Lake Hike - Glacier, Montana

Glacier National Park Road Trip (Fall 2022)

September 12, 2022

Avalanche Lake Hike

After breakfast, we headed out to the Apgar Visitors Center. It's a short drive from our campground, with plenty of RV parking, but the Center isn't very large. After checking out a couple of maps, I decided to take one of the free shuttles to Avalanche Lake Trailhead. The hike begins at the Trail of the Cedars Trailhead, which is a one-mile loop near Lake McDonald. The Trail of the Cedars is more of a walk than a hike, but it's a good warm-up before starting on the Avalanche Trail. 

Trail of the Cedars Boardwalk

Avalanche Creek

Avalanche Trail is very popular, but there is plenty of space to spread out and not feel like you're in a huge crowd.

Avalanche Lake is situated at the base of Bearhat Mountain (8694 ft.) to the northeast. Little Matterhorn is in view to the south. The waterfalls originate from Sperry Glacier, which is out of view beyond Little Matterhorn. 

Avalanche Lake

When I arrived at the lake, several people were looking through binoculars at something across the water. When I learned that they had spotted a bear, I was eager to get some photos, but he was very shy, hiding behind the shrubs as he feasted on berries. I finally got a couple of pictures, but had to zoom in tightly, so they're not very sharp. Still, I was thrilled to finally see a bear in the wild. And from a safe distance!

I would definitely do this hike again!