Day Hikes in the Saint Mary area of Glacier National Park

St. Mary Trails Trail Map

Baring Falls
   0.3 miles drops 250 feet
   wildflowers in early summer
   a series of smaller falls before reaching Baring Falls
   Easy hike
Otokomi Lake
5.2 miles gains 1,900 feet
This hike is on the top of my to do list for 2009.
Beaver Pond Trail
   1.2 miles gains 150 feet
   Parking area has trails signs for Red Eagle Trail but not for Beaver Pond
   Lots of wildflowers on the Red Eagle Trail in June

Easy hike

Siyeh Bend/Piegen Pass/Many Glacier       Topo
   12.8 miles to Many Glacier gains 1,750 feet, drops 2,640 feet
   Piegan Pass is at 7570 feet.
   The Siyeh Bend Trail splits from the Piegen Pass Trail
   at Preston Park.
   No crowds! Don't attempt Piegen Pass when trail has snow cover!
   Strenuous hike
Red Eagle Lake
Head of Red Eagle Lake 7.5 miles gains 300 feet.
Moderate hike
Siyeh Bend/Piegen Pass
4.5 miles to Piegen Pass gains 1750 feet
Moderate hike
Siyeh Bend/SunRift Gorge
   11.1 miles gains 2,250 feet drops 3,440 feet
   It's worth the effort!
   Supposed to be the highest day hike pass in the park.
   Views of two glaciers from this trail.
   Off trail access to the base of Sexton Glacier.
   Strenuous hike
St Mary Falls
0.8 miles drops 260 feet to St Mary Falls
Easy hike

Most maps are rectangles, many of the trails that you would think of as being in the Saint Mary area fall within the rectangle of the Logan Pass Trails map.

In Glacier National Park the non-winter season is VERY short. Wildflowers bloom as soon as the snow melts, sometimes within hours, others within days. The trick to enjoying wildflowers is to follow the melting snow.

Below wildflowers on the Red Eagle Trail June 17, 2008, bottom Saint Mary Lake frozen on May 11, 2008. The wildflower photo was taken directly across Saint Mary Lake in a meadow on the Red Eagle Trail surrounded by trees burnt during the Red Eagle Fire.

2008 was a very wet spring in Montana. Hiking on the east side didn't open up till late June for some trails and mid July for others. The photo below was taken May 11, 2008 from Going to the Sun Road across Saint Mary Lake.

Day Hikes in the Saint Mary area of Glacier National Park

St. Mary Trails Trail Map

Lake McDonald Trails

North Fork Trails

Logan Pass Trails

St. Mary Trails

Two Medicine Trails

Many Glacier Trails