Trail Clear of snow 8-21-11
Mount Brown Lookout Trail is a tough trail, the best of the short tough trails.

Mount Brown Lookout Trail

by Bill Schneider

NPS Trail Crew Report
Sperry Trail - Mt. Brown L.O. ~ 3.7 mi.
Initial clearing scheduled for: 7/31/11

The actual Mount Brown Lookout Trail is 3.6 miles long, from were it branches off of the Sperry Chalet Trail, that point is 2 miles from the Trailhead for Sperry Chalet
Mount Brown Lookout Trail gains over three thousand feet in those 3.6 miles. If your up for a steep, dry, trail with spectacular views then this the trail for you. The shared part of the trail starts across The Going To The Sun Road from the Lake McDonald Lodge parking area.
July 13, 2008 the snowline was near the bottom of the last switchback before the lookout. As of July 2, 2011 the snowline on The Loop Trail to Granite Park was 6,000 feet. The snow depth at Granite Park Chalet on 7-2-2011 was 8 feet. Mount Brown Lookout elevation is around 7,425 feet. Which means that the Mount Brown Lookout will be covered in snow! The only reason you could get into the Chalet at Granite Park was that the Chalet staff had spent hundreds of hours shoveling snow. Temps for the last week and forecast for the next week are in the 80's to 90 degree temp range during the day in the low 40's at night. So snow will be melting fast, which means a very wet upper trail.

This is a hand tinted photograph taken from the Mount Brown Lookout in 1935
looking towards Edwards Mountain, 9072 feet.
Photographs courtesy of Glacier National Park archives

mount brown lookout, Glacier National Park

Mount Brown Lookout September 2008.
The trail is now through a thick stand of trees, which were not present in the photo taken in 1935.

Mount Brown Lookout Trail shares the first two miles of it's trail with Sperry Chalet Trail, Snyder Lake Trail and Fish Lake Trail. Mount Brown Trail, which is the first trail that branches off the Sperry Chalet Trail is the steepest of the day hikes in Glacier National Park! Once you start on the Mount Brown Lookout Trail from the junction with the shared Sperry Chalet Trail the trail starts to go UP! The steepest segments of this trail are the first five trail segments.
At the higher altitude bear grass was still blooming mid July. The rest of the wildflowers were past their peak. This trail dries out early.

The first overlook on the Mount Brown Trail provides a good resting spot with a view of Edwards Mountain. It also marks the end of the steepest part of the ascent. The ridge shown in this picture is the right hand ridge forming the cirque of Snyder Lake. Edwards Mountain is to the south of 'Little Materhorn' which is shown on the Snyder Lake page.

I hiked the Mount Brown Trail on Sunday July 13th, no snow on the trail. I didn't make it to the lookout this time but did hear that glacier lilies were blooming up on the plateau before Mount Brown lookout. This is a very steep trail, especially for the first five trail segments! On the downward journey these now, last five trail segments, can be treacherous!!! The downward journey on this trail is a real thigh burner. This is a good trail to bring hiking poles. I was very lucky to pick up a hiking stick at the start of the trail left by another hiker with a note to take me back to Sperry Chalet! Well I took it to Mount Brown Trail instead and was very grateful to have it! Bring extra water. Hiking in the mountains I figure one mile an hour up and two miles an hour down. For this trail on the first steep part it drops dramatically to one-half mile an hour up! Allow extra time for the ascent.
September 14, 2008 on my second attempt, reached Mount Brown Lookout, thanks to my youngest daughter carrying my camera gear up the trail. We made it to the lookout on a sunny, blue sky day. From the lookout you can see the entire length of Lake McDonald. At the last switchback there was a bald eagle circling above us, when we reached the lookout the bald eagle was now circling below us. There were only four other hikers on the trail, this is a tough hike but well worth the extra effort for the spectacular views.

Mount Brown Lookout Trail is one of those trails that I never expected to hike. Unlike the Sperry Chalet Trail there are peeks at Lake McDonald from various locations along the trail. There are also four major view points along the trail.

The second overlook on the Mount Brown Trail provides a great resting spot at 6,600 feet. Altitude wise you have just completed at this point the equivalent of hiking from Lake McDonald to Logan Pass. Similar view point looking towards Edwards Mountain which is 9072 feet in elevation. This view point is a thousand feet higher then the first view point. Edwards Mountain is the southern edge of the cirque forming Snyder Lake with Mount Brown forming the northern edge of that cirque. The Snyder Lake Trail is a pretty hike and a good conditioning hike for Mount Brown.

white-horse-sperry-trail glacier national park

Horses on the shared portion of trail are a regular occurrence.

A slow hikers guide™ to Mount Brown Lookout Trail Glacier National Park

Mount Brown Lookout Trail