“George Bird Grinnell, the father of the Glacier National Park called it the crown of the continent. The crown means jewel, right? And some of these Jewels from the park are – the Moose, the Glacial and Alpine lakes, the Glaciers, the Grizzlies, the Old Forests with Lichens, the Waterfalls etc. There are two Ranger led hikes from Many Glacier to the Grinnell Valley – The Grinnell Glacier Boat Tour and Hike (8.5 hours, strenuous 8 mile) & Grinnell Valley Boat Tour and Hike (4 hours, easy 2.5 mile). The hike to the Grinnell Lake and forward to Grinnell Glacier is a plethora of spectacular scenery of Valleys and Mountains and old forests that makes it all worthwhile. I love treading in the icy cold water of Grinnell Lake.”


                                The view of the Grinnell Lake from Grinnell Glacier Trail

Grinnell Lake Hike - Easy

To shorten the hiking effort, one can also take Boat tours by Glacier Park Boat Company from Many Glacier Hotel that is a 2-lake cruise with a 0.25 mile walk over moderate hills between the Swiftcurrent and Josephine Lakes.

We took the reservation of the boat ($28 – 8:30 am, 9:00am, 11:00, 1:00,2:00,3:00,4:30) a day before. The ranger led valley boat tour and hike requires you to take tickets.

                                View of Swiftcurrent Lake from Many Glacier Hotel


                                                   0.25 mile hike between the lakes 




You can also start hiking from the Many Glacier hotel itself, however since cruises are more convenient plus those are active bear habitat we chose not to add onto extra on our hike. But there are many people who were seen hiking from the Many Glacier hotel.

Also, keep in mind that the last boat is at 5:15 especially if you plan to hike further onto the trail to Grinnell Glacier post the lake. We luckily could catch the last cruise, but we could have had been easily late should the trail was open till the Grinnell Glacier Overlook.

“Saint Mary Lake is the second-largest lake in Glacier National Park. The Wildlife conservations would say that GNP is a wildlife park. The Geologists would say it is a Geology Park. But it is neither a Wildlife park nor a Geology park, Glacier National Park in Montana is mainly a water park. Without water, this park would not be what it is today. Today we were hiking to the St. Mary’s Falls, where when on reaching there, we paused for a moment closing our eyes, and assimilating and finding meaning in all the sounds that we heard. I have had never felt a waterfall like that before with my eyes closed. It sounded like a thunderstorm sound with heavy downpour of rain with sounds of water gushing in like how water gushes in floods everywhere. It was intense”



St. Mary Lake is located on the east side of Glacier National Park. It was a walk away from the Rising Sun Campground. We took the 3.5-hour ranger led guided hike “Boat Tour and Hike to St. Mary Falls". We cruised St. Mary Lake and heard stories about how Glacial forces sculpted the landscape. We also did the optional 3-mile hike to St. Mary Fall. You have to get into a boat by Glacier Park Boat Company from the boat dock at Rising Sun (10:00,12:00,2:00,4:00,6:30).

Other Posts I really liked on St. Mary Falls:
HikinginGlacier

My Previous Posts on Glacier National Park:
Iceberg Lake Trail
Logan Pass and Hidden Lake Trail
Glacier National Park First Come First Serve Camping
A week in Glacier National Park: 20 Tips to get you started!

“Just as I was staring at the handful of clouds above that created beautiful time lapse over floating icebergs on an aquamarine lake, I felt the deep air of fresh crisp air and nostalgia combined. Iceberg Lake trail is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful & pleasant hikes in the park and as our ranger said, no two days are the same here. Few folks were so excited that they jumped into the icy cold water right away! We however thoroughly enjoyed the soundscape and the smell-scape and the visual retreat the trail to Iceberg lake awakened in us”.



Date Visited: 4th July 2018

The whole hike is astoundingly stunning – I may run out of words to describe how pristine I felt there. The hike takes you through plenty of Spring Flowers and Shrubs and Bear Grass in early July, through Wild Thimbleberry shrubs, through Wildfire areas, through views of Mountain Goats on the cliffs, through Colorful rocks, through several trickles beneath your feet, through Pink Snow due to growth of Pink Algae in the Snow that smells like Watermelon, through several views of Valleys and Mountains, through insights on Snowfields and receding Glaciers, through vegetation that needs no trampling on, through waterfalls. If any hike has a final and an all-embracing motive it surely would be to hike here with an intent to soak on all the senses (visual and the smell and the feel of it) and let wild be!