Glacier Lake, Beartooth Mountains, MT

 • NEVER STOP EXPLORING •

Today I hiked a moderately strenuous, but short hike to Glacier Lake! Total roundtrip was about 5 miles. The trailhead elevation is 8,680ft & the lake is at 9,702ft, but the hiking trail actually climbs more then the difference (1,022ft) in the 2ish miles to Glacier Lake. There's a ridge in the middle thats about 800ft higher then the lake. So at the peak of the hike the elevation is about 10,500ft, then you descend to the lake from that point.

Hiking was a breeze, & the landscape was beautiful. You could almost always hear the sound of Moon Creek gushing in the drainage to your left as you hike up to the lake. There is also a nice bridge about 1/2 mile into the trail where you cross over the creek. Once at Glacier Lake, you inevitably will cross over the state line of Montana into Wyoming. This sorta "no man's land" I (& other locals) like to call Wymont.  

The hardest part of this hike & getting to this lake, is actually getting to the trailhead. A high-clearance vehicle (truck or jeep) is needed. The 7.6 mile dirt road is very rough. I wasn't keeping track of time, but I'm guessing it took us about 50min to drive it. A long, slow, bumpy drive, but totally worth it.

 

Even though the lake sits at 9,702ft (above the timberline), there are some large trees along the shoreline, & around the trials near & below the lake. There were large wind-blown dead trees, & some very hardy pines. When we hiked, we veered off the trail & explored quite a bit of the surrounding areas just before reaching the lake. There are amazing views & vista points along the way. It's totally worth it to hike off trail once you are at the high point & boulder field. 

The mosquitoes were not bad, but be sure to take bug repellent just in case!
There were many pools of still water along the trail closer to the lake.  

Ok, now that you've read & looked at the pictures, take another look at the top picture. On the island, there is a human! My friend SWAM out to the island. This would not be recommended for everyone to do. The tempature of the water is around 43ºf. I took of my shoes & dipped my feet in the lake & nearly froze. I can't imagine making the long (55 yards) swim out to the island. Go look at the pic! Small human standing on the right side, atop a rock. ^^ 

This would be a fairly easy trail for kids. We passed a couple hiking with kiddos in backpacks. My 11 year old brother had a blast hiking up to the lake. He is not an experienced hiker, & did have to take a few little "breather" breaks along the way, but overall did great. 

Allllllrighty! Summer is gonna be over soon. In the past 2ish weeks, I've hiked 40+ miles in the Beartooth Mountains - The Beaten Path, Mystic Lake, & Glacier Lake. It's been super fun & I'm hoping to pack in the miles before school starts later this month.  Mountains are awesome & summer is going by too fast!!!!!! Wanna go hiking with me?! 

-GB