Montana Meandering: West Glacier National Park offers unique views of Lake Mcdonald, Avalanche

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Katrina Heikkinen
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  It is a place where wildflowers can be seen budding after a seemingly arbitrary snowstorm in July; a place where more than 1,000 species thrive - all stretched across 1 million acres, covering Montana, Alberta and British Columbia.

Named for the glaciers that carved, sculpted and formed its landscape millions of years ago, Glacier National Park is the adventurer oasis - and only a 3-hour drive from Malmstrom Air Force Base.

With more than 740 miles of hiking trails, nearly 1,000 campsites, over 20 miles of bike trails to choose from, and various activities including kayaking and horseback riding, Glacier is a paradise for any outdoor lover. While the Going-to-the-Sun Road is the ideal spot for most vacationists to overlook Logan Pass, West Glacier offers many hidden treasures to explore.

At 10 miles long miles and 500 feet deep as a result of glacial carving, Lake McDonald is the largest lake in the park and a central location for West Glacier and includes biking and hike trails ranging in easy to strenuous difficulty. Trails include:

· Apgar Lookout Trail - With a 7.1-mile roundtrip hike, this scenic hike is strenuous in difficulty
· Avalanche Lake hike - Featuring waterfalls, Avalanche Creek and Avalanche Lake, this moderate-difficulty hike is a 4.5-mile roundtrip hike with a highest elevation of 4,031 feet
· Fish lake - Offering views of Lake McDonald, this 5.8-mile roundtrip is moderately difficult
· Forest and Fire Nature Trail - Located at the Camas Creek entrance, this easy 1-mile hike offers scenic views surrounded by wildflowers
· Johns Lake Loop - Offers views of waterfalls with a roundtrip length of 1.8 miles
· Mt. Brown Lookout - This 10-mile hike offers outstanding views and is strenuous in difficulty
· Rocky Point Nature Trail - This scenic, nearly 2-mile trail around Lake McDonald is an easy hike
· Snyder Lake - This trail features views of Subalpine Lake and is nearly 9 miles long and is very strenuous
· Sperry Chalet - This trail is 12.3 miles long and is extremely strenuous
· Trail of the Cedars - This forest trail is an easy 1-mile hike

Glacier National Park is open every day of the year; however winter weather may prohibit portions Going-to-the-Sun Road as well as other facilities. Most facilities are open from late May to early September.

For more information, go to www.glacier.nationalparks.org.

Information from this article was taken from the following websites:
http://www.nps.gov/glac/parknews/presskit.htm
http://www.hikinginglacier.com/glacier-national-park-trails.htm