Pets allowed
Not Allowed
Elevation Gain
370.00 ft (112.78 m)
Trail type
There-and-back
Distance
4.90 mi (7.89 km)
Please respect the outdoors by practicing Leave No Trace. Learn more about how to apply the principles of Leave No Trace on your next outdoor adventure here.

The hike up to Upper Two Medicine Lake is one of the most popular in Glacier National Park's Two Medicine area. Using the boat shuttle to the west end dock cuts 5- to 7-miles of round-trip hiking off the trip and makes Upper Two Medicine an easy hike for most abilities. The boat ride is an adventure in itself.

From the west dock, the trail starts out through lush forest and fern groves, crossing Two Medicine Creek on the way. There is a short spur trail to Twin Falls, which is as far as many on the boat tour get. There are free ranger-led hikes to Twin Falls on many of the boat trips. After the falls, the trail climbs up with views of the rocky spike of Pumpelly Pillar and Lone Walker Mountain to the distant west. The small ponds just before Upper Two Medicine are a great place to see moose, especially early or late in the day.

Upper Two Medicine Lake has a huge log jam at the outlet, but past this there are gravel beaches, places to fish and a nice little backcountry campground with four developed sites. There is no good trail around the lake, but the views from the outlet are great.

Logistics + Planning

Preferable season(s)

Summer
Fall

Congestion

High

Parking Pass

National Park Pass

Pros

Excellent views. Boat shuttle available.

Cons

Fairly popular.

Trailhead Elevation

5,140.00 ft (1,566.67 m)

Features

Backcountry camping
Waterfalls
Big Game Watching
Wildlife
Big vistas
Wildflowers
Fishing
Big Game Watching

Location

Comments

Have updates, photos, alerts, or just want to leave a comment?
Sign In and share them.