1 Week Hiking Glacier National Park, USA

Glacier National Park is one of the most beautiful and iconic National Parks in the United States. As the very first International Peace Park (with Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park) Glacier holds a special place as the crown of our continent. Clearly, Glacier National Park is one of the most wonderful destinations in this world. Let’s find out how to spend 1 Week Hiking Glacier National Park.

In 1 week, you’ll have the adventure of a lifetime hiking in all of the unique and stunning locations throughout Glacier National Park, in addition to driving the most beautiful road in the US. You’ll see 3 beautiful sections of the park: West Glacier, Two Medicine, and the best natural place in the entire country: Many Glacier. Without further ado, let’s get to the adventure. Glacier National Park has some of the best hikes in each area of the park.

1 Week Hiking Glacier National Park, USA

West Glacier – Days 1-2

When you come into Glacier, you’ll typically be coming from Kalispell, Montana, which makes West Glacier your entrance into the park. Here, Apgar Village welcomes you and acts as your home base for exploring this section of the park. Also in Apgar, you can rent gear (for camping, kayaking, biking, etc), buy provisions, or enjoy an ice cream cone with a beautiful view of Lake McDonald, the largest lake in Glacier.

The best hike in West Glacier is Avalanche Lake. This is a relatively short hike, however, the views throughout the trail and at the end are stupendous. You’ll be hiking alongside a glacier-fed river that glows bright blue with glacial sediment. At the end of the trail is Avalanche Lake, a stunningly clear and reflective lake that shows off the mountains behind it. If you take a photo here, you might not know which way is up, that’s how reflective this lake can be!

Along the return hike from Avalanche Lake, take a walk through Trail of the Cedars. This wooden walkway takes you through an enormous grove of Cedar trees and also teaches you about the local Montana flora and fauna that you’ll see around the park. This is an easy walk, but it is absolutely something worthwhile to do.

Also in West Glacier, spend some time driving and/or walking around Lake McDonald. This lake is equal parts enormous and gorgeous, and each morning is so still that it reflects the surrounding landscape, much lake Avalanche Lake does. The best place to walk along the western shore, since the main road through the park is on the eastern shore.

Two Medicine – Days 3-4

To get to Two Medicine, you’ll have to drive the most beautiful road in the United States. Excuse me, I meant to say you GET to drive the most beautiful road in the US! The Going-to-the-Sun road takes you on a hilly and winding journey through the most amazing landscape around. You’ll get views of Lake McDonald from shore and above, in addition to real-life glacier views, stunning mountain peaks, and St Mary’s Lake near the end of the road.

At the end of the Going-to-the-Sun road, if you’re ready for the next adventure, take a right on Hwy 89 ad head towards the Two Medicine area of the park. Here you’ll find the second-best hike in the park: the Dawson Pass to Pitamakan Pass loop. This hike is long, at over 15 miles total, so make sure to get an early start and bring enough food and water. However, the long hike is SO worth it, as the alpine views and valleys you’ll see along this trail are insane. You’ll pass 6 lakes, each of which is glacier-fed and have colors varying from deep navy blue to bright sky blue.

For a second day hiking in the Two Medicine Area, you’ll do a shorter hike to Upper Two Medicine Lake. This hike stays along a beautiful creek for much of the hike and has an awesome quick detour to Twin Falls. You’ve heard of double rainbows. Twin Falls is a unique double waterfall! The river splits in two and drops over a cliff in perfect harmony, making for an awesome place to have a picnic or snap a photograph.

Upper Two Medicine Lake, at the end of the trail, is a gorgeous alpine lake that is backed by huge cliffs, making for a beautiful view from the shore of the lake. Keep your eyes open here, and along every trail in Glacier in fact, as you may be treated to the site of a moose or a herd of elk in the park. Also, best to bring along bear spray in the unlikely event that you may see one of Glacier’s bears! Once you’ve had your adventure in Two Medicine, it is time to head to the most beautiful place in the entire United States.

Many Glacier – Days 5-7

It is time to check out the jewel of Glacier National Park, the Many Glacier areas. This is the furthest north that you’ll be in Glacier, and from parts, you may even get a glimpse a sight of Canada! We recommend spending at least 3 days in this section of the park since there are 3 incredible hikes to take in Many Glacier.

First off, hike Cracker Lake. At 12 miles round trip, this is this longest hike you’ll do in Many Glacier and is in some ways the best. The hike itself takes you through a beautiful valley and along some of the awesome trails that make Glacier National Park so wonderful. However, of course, the real treat is at the end of the trail.

Cracker Lake is an incredible milky blue color that is unique from other lakes in the park. The glacial sediment seems to glow and is made even more stunning considering the lush greenery around the lake, the enormous silver cliffs, and the bright blue sky. You had better bring along a camera, as this is a photograph you will want to keep. Cracker Lake itself is very large, and you can choose to walk alongside the entirety of the lake if you wish.

From each perspective, you’ll have a unique view of the lake, and at a few places, there are perfect stops for a mid-day picnic. In addition, keep your eyes open as this is a great place for spotting wildlife. While we were here, we spotted a mother moose with her calf and 2 mountain goats!

On the second day exploring Many Glacier, head to Iceberg Lake. Why is this called Iceberg Lake? Well, put simply, because the lake is full of icebergs! The extremely steep cliffs around Iceberg Lake lead to HUGE chunks of ice falling from the tops of the mountains into the lake. These gigantic blocks of ice take months to melt, and most years don’t melt completely until the August heat gets a hold of them.

The beautiful blue water dotted with huge chunks of ice make Iceberg lake a must-see place on your Glacier National Park hiking trip. In addition to the awesome destination, you’ll have a hike full of awesome sites as well. On the cliffs along the hike, you can usually spot mountain goats in the distance, and you may even spot a herd of elk or a bear!

The final stop in Many Glacier is a beautiful place with the chance to see a real-life Glacier: Grinnell Glacier! This 11 miles out and the back trail can be shortened by 3.4 miles if you choose to take a ferry across Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine, two beautiful lakes in their own right. Along the Grinnell Glacier hiking trail, you will get those beautiful views you’ve gotten all around Glacier National Park, with the big silver cliffs dotted with lush greenery, and that big Montana sky.

Before you get to Grinnell Glacier, you’ll come across a beautiful bird’s eye view of Grinnell Lake, the lake that gets its water from the glacier that shares its name. This lake is a bright blue color, similar to Cracker Lake but just a shade or two darker. The unique part of seeing Grinnell Lake is the fact that you get to view it from above!

At the conclusion of this trail is Grinnell Glacier, a real-life Glacier that you can get up-close-and-personal with. It is truly astonishing to see this enormous (we say again ENORMOUS) chunk of ice that is resting in these mountains in the middle of Summer. However, each year the glacier is shrinking a bit, so it is best to plan your trip to see Grinnell Glacier soon before you miss it altogether!

Camping & Lodging in Glacier National Park

The best place to stay in Glacier National Park while you visit is, of course, Glacier National Park! There are tons of camping options throughout the park itself, complete with everything you’ll need to have a true nature experience during your week hiking the park. If you are an experienced camper, you can also get back-country permits and camp deep along one of Glacier’s awesome trails.

If you’d prefer to stay with a roof over your head that isn’t made of canvas, then there are a multitude of options for hotels and cabins as well.

In West Glacier, stay in Apgar Village Lodge so that you’ll be close to Lake McDonald and can have your coffee with a beautiful view each morning.

While you visit Two Medicine, stay in St Mary, as this is the best place to be that is still within a short drive from these awesome hikes.

For your Many Glacier Experience, the Many Glacier Hotel is one of the most beautiful hotels in the entire world. However, it may cost a pretty penny to stay there, or close-by at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. Therefore, to save some money you can stay in St Mary for this period of time as well since Many Glacier is a relatively short drive from there.

You can book your stay through TripAdvisor or Cleartrip or Agoda or Makemytrip or Priceline and save money.

Activities available in Glacier National Park – Things To Do In Glacier National Park

You can now book activities in Glacier National Park and enjoy your time at Glacier National Park.

Your 7 days hike in Glacier National Park will be unforgettable, as you’ll see some of the most beautiful sites the United States has to offer. The wonderful glaciers and alpine lakes make for a beautiful destination on any hike you so, and the rivers and valleys will treat your eye to an awesome view on each and every one of the trails throughout the park. Glacier National Park is not called the ‘Crown of the Continent’ for nothing, it is an incredibly beautiful place and will give you the adventure of a lifetime.

We hope you found this 1 Week Hiking Glacier National Park post useful and will help you plan your hike. Plan your perfect itinerary with the help of this 1 Week Hiking Glacier National Park post! Enjoy!

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