Glacier's Two Medicine area hikes

 

Glacier National Park

Established in May 1910 as the tenth U.S. National Park, Glacier covers 1,583 square miles of spectacular wilderness in northwestern Montana. It is often called the “Crown of the Continent.”

Straddling the Continental Divide, the park’s waters flow into both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Its defining feature is the massive glacial action that occurred millions of years ago, resulting in dramatic U-shaped valleys, sharp, narrow ridges, and over 700 pristine lakes, including the largest, Lake McDonald.

Wildlife calling Glacier home includes the “big five”: grizzly bears, black bears, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, and moose. Smaller, less visible mammals include pikas, marmots, squirrels, beavers, snowshoe hares, and red foxes. Lucky hikers looking high in the sky might also spot a bald or golden eagle.

The park is traversed by one of the most iconic highways in the United States: Going-to-the-Sun Road. This beautiful, 50-mile-long road isn’t for the faint of heart, featuring 1,000-foot drop-offs and reaching an altitude of 6,646 feet at Logan Pass. However, the spectacular mountain and lake views make the unforgettable journey worthwhile.

With over 700 miles of hiking trails, Glacier offers options for every visitor, from short, scenic nature walks to challenging multi-day backcountry excursions.

 

About the Hike

The morning’s activity located within the Two Medicine area of Glacier was recorded as a single outing, though it comprised three distinct trail segments separated by breaks and a short drive between the latter two.

The first trail offered a highlight of a beautiful, wildflower-filled meadow as we made our way toward Two Medicine Lake. On the second segment, we had a memorable encounter when we were briefly surrounded by a majestic herd of mountain goats. The final trail culminated in a truly stunning waterfall.

The outing also featured our first grizzly bear sighting, which felt unnervingly close at the time. Reflecting on the moment, however, it stands as a thrilling and unforgettable wildlife experience which will give us bragging rights for years.

The statistics detailed below represent the combined data from all three segments.

 

Hike Overview
  • • Location: Glacier National Park, Montana
    • Start/Finish: Paradise Point Trailhead, Appistoki Falls Trailhead, and Running Eagle Falls Trailhead
    • Course Type: Three out and backs
    • Course Surface: Packed dirt, gravel, rocks, and roots
    • Distance: 4.7 miles
    • Time: 1:49:44
    • Average Pace: 23:21 minute/mile
    • Elevation Gain: 566 feet
    • Elevation Range: 4,931 to 5,484 feet
    • Weather: 52° and partly cloudy, climbing to 66°
    • Date of Hike: July 6, 2025
    • Start time: 9:55 AM

 

Paradise Point Trail

Before setting out, our daughter-in-law—an expert hiker and skilled map navigator—and my husband planned our morning’s trek. We began at the South Shore Trailhead, opting for one of the first side trails that leads to Paradise Point.

This was a non-strenuous hike to Paradise Point on Two Medicine Lake. Starting near the visitors center, this easy trail had only a small amount of climbing and was popular with other hikers. The cool morning air, typical of a glacial lake setting, required long pants and jackets at the start, but we quickly warmed up once we were moving.

 

Seeing bear safety signs throughout the park reminded us to always be alert and aware of our surrounding. This trail was heavily enough used that, despite us carrying bear spray, we didn’t expect to see any grizzlies.

 

While the trail was mostly flat and open, sections containing roots and slight elevation changes forced me to focus on my footing rather than scanning the surroundings for suspicious-looking animals.

 

We crossed a small meadow just before reaching the lake that was exploding with blooming wildflowers, causing me to linger while taking pictures –  not a good idea when one of the top rules when hiking in bear country is to stay in a group.

 

Two Medicine Lake…

 

Appistoki Falls Trail

From Paradise Point, we walked the short distance past the visitor center and Ranger Station to the trailhead for Appistoki Falls. We chatted with another couple who advised us to take pictures early on the ascent, as they mentioned the waterfalls would be harder to photograph the higher we climbed.

The initial climb up was where the trail truly transformed; the surrounding forests and mountain views suddenly became magical. After leaving the other couple, our party of four hiked the peaceful trail without seeing anyone else until we were nearing the final viewing spot for the falls.

 

Signs consistently reminding us to use caution and be bear aware…

 

This trail had significantly more climbing than the other two – in fact most of the elevation came from this trail. We had to do a bit of scrambling on a few sections while others had rocks placed for stepping.

 

We stopped for pictures of the waterfalls as we climbed – this was the best view from our vantage point.

 

As we rounded a turn, we spotted a group of people ahead near the end of the trail, but our path was quickly blocked by a herd of mountain goats—at least ten strong—stopping to graze as they made their way toward us. We stepped well off the trail onto the hillside, admiring the beautiful animals as they approached, including a curious momma and her adorable baby. However, a solitary billy goat walked past us, effectively trapping us between the herd and the single male goat. We remained perched on the hill, waiting for them to move on. Eventually, the single male rejoined the main group, allowing us to safely turn around and walk back down the mountain, never having reached the trail’s end. It made us wonder how long the group ahead of us were held up behind the goats!

 

After our goat-watching break, we turned to hike back down the beautiful trail toward the trailhead, convinced we had just experienced the most magnificent wildlife encounter of our trip. Mother Nature, however, had other ideas…

 

Three Grizzlies

Once off the Appistoki Trail, we walked along the paved road toward the visitor center parking lot to retrieve our car for the drive to the next trailhead. Just as we rounded a bend, three grizzly bears came bounding toward us, loping happily in the grassy strip between the road and the forest.

My immediate reaction was to throw my arms into the air to appear as large as possible, while my husband, conversely, was already digging into his backpack to change camera lenses. As the bears darted into the woods, then quickly back out, and finally back in for good, we moved to the opposite side of the road, walking backward to maximize our distance from their last known location.

Almost immediately, two park ranger trucks drove by. We asked to jump in, but they declined! The rangers quickly turned their trucks around and used a noise deterrent—shooting off some sort of M80—to haze the bears back into the deep woods.

 

My husband, son, daughter-in-law, and I followed the park rangers as they drove back toward the ranger station, the rangers safely in their trucks while we looked toward where the grizzlies were last seen, hoping they weren’t planning another forest escape. If you zoom in on the following picture, you can see our son with his bear spray at the ready, but my husband’s bear spray is still in its holster so he can carry his camera.

 

The now-cleared scene of where we first saw the bears run out of the woods before running along the side of the road toward us…

 

Running Eagle Falls Trail

After the adrenaline rush from our grizzly encounter had settled, we drove the short distance to the Running Eagle Falls trailhead for our final hike. The trail itself was incredibly easy and highly popular, making it a great, non-strenuous option, especially since it’s only a short distance from the car and provides a good picnic spot. Along the way we admired the clear stream and the striking rocks under and around the narrow bridge along the dirt path.

 

The falls themselves were the high point. We waited patiently near the viewing platform to take pictures of the beautiful falls and enjoyed sticking our feet in the cool water while awaiting our turn.

 

The view looking downstream from the falls was just as spectacular…

 

Garmin Stats

Garmin map and elevation graph…

 

Final Thoughts on Three Trails and Three Grizzly Bears

As enjoyable as the three hikes were—with their wildflower meadows, mountain views, mountain goats, and beautiful waterfalls—they ultimately paled in comparison to the excitement (and fear) we experienced when the three grizzly bears came loping out of the forest. I would highly recommend all three of these hikes, but always remember to carry your bear spray!

 

Questions
  • • Have you visited Montana? ~ This was our second visit to Montana. Our first visit was in 2024.
  • • We had a heart-stopping grizzly encounter that overshadowed the beauty of the trails. What is the most unexpected or thrilling wildlife sighting you’ve ever had while hiking?
  • • On hikes which do you prefer, a waterfalls view or mountain views? ~ both

 

I’m linking up with Jenn from Runs with Pugs and Jenny of Runners Fly for Tuesday topics Link-Up. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!