Hidden lake and mountains
Hidden Lake
Wildflowers
Wildflowers, Logan Pass 2012

Logan Pass and Hidden Lake

Logan Pass Parking lot
Logan Pass Parking Lot
Trail to Hidden Lake
Trail to Hidden Lake, Logan Pass
Big horn sheep
Bighorn sheep
Squirel
Lunch time
Mountain Goats
Nap time for Mountain Goats
Ground hog

The hike to Hidden Lake from Logan Pass is one of the three must do things at Glacier National Park. The other two are the hike to Avalanche Gorge, and the boat ride and easy hike to Lake Grinnel. All three hikes are easy (the hike to Hidden Lake is the longest) and shouldn't be a problem for most people. The hike to Grinnel Glacier is a must do for people up to about an 8 mile round trip hike.

The first difficultly in getting to Hidden Lake is finding a parking place at the Logan Pass Parking lot. The parking lot is often full--even in September so it takes some luck to find a parking place. Because most people make a short visit to the visitor center then return to their car, a parking spot usually opens after a few pasaes through the parking lot.

The hike to Hidden Lake is the most difficult of the hikes because there is an elevation gain of 460 feet and the altitude is over 6,600 feet so there is not much air. But there are no really steep sections to the trail. If you need a rest you can stop and enjoy the wildflowers and the scenary. The round trip from the Logan Pass visitor center to the Hidden Lake overlook is 3 miles. You can hike down to the lake.

We were not able to make the hike when we visited in 2008 because the Going to the Sun Highway was closed due to road construction. There was still construction in 2013, but there were only a few spots were traffic was delayed.

The views along the hike a great. Plus you will likely get fairly close to big born sheep, mountain goats and smaller wildlife. When we were there in September 2012 the wild flowers were spectacular. The only downside was the constant haze from the many wild fires present in the western US. Serious wild fires seem to becoming the new normal out west.

Our trip was in early September 2012. The weather was great when we were at Logan Pass--warm sun and little wind. A change from earlier at Many Glacier when we had rain. The 6,600 feet elevation made it a little cool and most people had long sleeve shirts or light jackets. But after awhile hiking, many shed their jackets.

There were a few pockets of snow. There were still several small streams of run off from melting snow. The run off created some small waterfalls.

Little did we knw that the weather would change for the worse in just a few days.

Reynolds Mountain
Reynolds Mountain
Melting snow
Logan Pass
Small stream
Logan Pass
Water and small waterfall
Water and snow Logan Pass