Avalanche Lake

It has been at least 24 years since we took this Glacier Park hike so we were excited to walk the trail again.

This hike is one of the more popular hikes in the park, according to the hiking guide.  It is easy and there is a lake at the end of it, making it worth the 3-mile trek in.  As a result, the trail is like navigating the Renton S curves during rush hour traffic where, as one couple from Alabama put it as they sat along the trail and observed the people, there is absolutely no trail etiquette. Even with that, we managed to navigate the trail in one piece and see the sights. 

No surprise, the creek flows from the lake down to McDonald Creek, which is where the trail begins.  The trail follows the creek most of the way offering plenty of waterfall views, big and small.

Before we got too far into the trail, however, a warning was posted that the trail from the end to the lake to the head of the lake was closed due to Grizzly bear activity.  Even with bear spray hanging from our packs, there is no desire to run into a Grizzly.  No worries, there is still plenty to see. 

The prize at the end of this hike is the large lake surrounded by canyon walls with water falls running down the side.  The beauty of the area is awesome and hard to capture in a picture on a clear day.  The fire haze made it that more difficult to really appreciate the view. 

The unexpected delight was the “beach” at the lake. Its existence was evidently no surprise to many that hiked the trail with their bathing suits under their shorts and t-shirts.  It was like sitting at the beach watching the kids have a ball, only this was a glacier lake with a ton of submerged logs to navigate.  We waded in and enjoyed the cold water!