North Shore/Upper Two Medicine Lake Trail

The Trail

This moderate trail does not have a lot of elevation change for its 5 mile length one-way, with only a 450 foot difference from its high and low points. There is some up and down to its path though. It gradually descends the 450 feet during the first three miles, then climbs just a bit more steeply up around 250 feet over the last mile to the upper lake.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

This trail starts at the far northwest corner of Two Medicine Lake by a campground area. It shares a trailhead with the trail to Old Man Lake. 

Trailhead

The trail then heads southeast, skirting the north shore of Two Medicine Lake.

 

 

After about 2.5 miles along, the trail reaches the opposite end of the lake and moves past it. After about another half mile or so, the turn off to Dawson Pass is on the right, and shortly after that is the turn off for the South Shore Trail. This latter trail also heads to the ferry stop that crosses Two Medicine Lake to the west side. If you are looking for a shorter option for hiking to Upper Two Medicine Lake and have the money to spend on tickets, the boat tour is a nice way to do this. It leaves from the boat dock at the east side of the lake and crosses to the far west side.

 

Trail crossing for Dawson Pass

South Shore Trail Crossing

After another tenth a mile past the South Shore Trail, there is a trail that breaks off to Twin Falls is on the right. This is about 3.4 miles from the trailhead. This side trip will add less than a fifth a mile total to your trip. The falls are difficult to get a clear view of together through the brush and other obstacles, but they are easy to see individually.

 

 

Twin Falls

Left Falls

Right Falls

 

From the falls, it is another 1.3 miles to Upper Two Medicine Lake. Some of the views along the way are just as stunning if not more so than the lake itself.

 

 

Looking towards Rising Blue Ridge over the small lake just
before Upper Two Medicine Lake

The upper lake is set up well with campsites and bear-proof storage bins for those wishing to backpack in and spend the night. A vault toilet is also available. It is possible to walk a good ways along the shore of the lake, taking in the views.

 

Path to vault toilet

Rising Bull Ridge behind Upper Two Medicine Lake
with Sinopah Mountain in background

Upper Two Medicine Lake with Lone Walker Mountain in
the background 

After enjoying time at the lake, head back the way you came or take an alternative route.

 

Directions
From MT-49, turn west onto Two Medicine Rd. After reaching Two Medicine Campground, turn right and heading past the ranger station to Loop A Road. Turn left upon reaching Loop B Road. There is a small parking area at the trailhead, but parking does fill up quickly. Be careful to park in a valid spot or you will be ticketed. Rangers are often happy to help you find a valid spot. GPS coordinates: N48° 29.497' W113° 21.936'

St. Mary and Virgina Falls Trail

The Trail

This moderate trail is about 1.9 miles one way to reach both St. Mary and Virginia Falls with about a 300 foot elevation change. There will be more climbing than that during the course of this trail though if you return the way you came, since the trail first descends to St. Mary and then climbs to Virginia Falls. For a shorter hike, stop at St. Mary Falls after just 1.1 miles (one way).

Topographical Map

 

Graph of Elevation

 

Trail in Google Earth

There are actually two trailheads for this trail: one where the shuttle stops and one at the parking lot for private vehicles. Since we were driving ourselves, we started at the parking lot.
 

Trailhead

The trail starts out at a downhill drop toward the river, winding around the hills as it goes.

St. Mary Falls

If you have time and energy to continue for another 0.8 miles and climb about 300 feet, you can continue along the trail to reach Virginia Falls.

After enjoying the falls, return back the way you came.

Directions

This trail is located in Glacier National Park in Montana. To get there, follow Going to the Sun Road within the park and park at the St. Mary Falls Trailhead. Alternatively, ride a shuttle to the stop for this trail. The trail starts directly from the parking area. GPS Coordinates: N48° 40.508' W113° 36.260'

Hidden Lake Trail

The Trail

This moderate trail is about 2.8 miles long one way, with about a 710 ft elevation change. However, keep in mind that the trail is uphill to the overlooking point, then the trail descends to the lake. The majority of the uphill climb will fall on the way back up from the lake, and there will be over 1000 ft of climbing if hiking the entire trail to the lake and back.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

The first part of this trail is done mostly on wide boardwalks with fantastic views of the surrounding peaks in the area. It climbs fairly steadily with a couple intermittent pauses in the elevation gain.

 

Trailhead

Little waterfall along the way

The trail reaches its crest, levels out a bit, then descends slightly to the overlook of Hidden Lake about 1.5 miles up the trail.

If you plan to head down to the lake, continue along the trail skirting the mountainside past the overlook.  Look for marmots along the way; we saw a number of them along here. The views of the lake and surrounding mountains remain spectacular along the way.

 

The switchbacks down to the lake are the steepest section of the trail to descend (and then climb back up on your way back). After reaching the bottom there is a vault toilet available and lots of close up views of the lake along its shore with the majestic surrounding mountains.

Vault toilet at the lake

 

On the shore of Hidden Lake with
Reynolds Mountain in background

After enjoying some time relaxing at the lake, head back up the switchbacks the way you came. You can continue to enjoy the breathtaking views all the way back to the visitor center. Be sure to keep your eye out for big horned sheep, mountain goats, and bears along the way, all of which we spotted in this area.

Hidden Lake with both Reynolds and
Bearhat Mountains surrounding

Bighorn Sheep near the trail

There are restrooms available at the Visitor's Center here. This trail is not open to dogs. National Park fees apply to access the trail and area.

Directions

This trail is located in Glacier National Park in Montana. To get there, follow Going to the Sun Road within the park and park in the Logan Pass Visitor Center parking. The trail starts behind the visitor's center. GPS Coordinates: N48° 41.722' W113° 43.131'


 

 

Cohab Canyon Trail

The Trail

This moderate trail is about 2.8 miles long with approximately a 530 ft elevation change when hiking both the canyon and the lookout points. If you do not go to the lookout points and only hike the canyon, the trail is about 1.1 miles shorter with roughly a couple hundred feet less of a climb. This trail could be started at either end of the canyon, but we started from the trailhead for Hickman Bridge, and that is reflected in the information here.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

From the Hickman Bridge parking lot, hikers must cross the street to access this trail. A sign clearly marks the trail and various distances to different places from this trailhead. The trail heads up from hear fairly steeply as it ascends into this high canyon. In fact, because this canyon is so high up, it can safely be hiked even when flash flood danger makes hiking other trails in the area unwise.

About 0.6 miles up the trail, there is an option to turn off to North and South Fruita Overlooks. Doing these overlooks adds just over a mile to your hike, but they do offer some nice views for hikers with the time and energy.

When we did this trail, we headed to the south overlook first, so that is what is reflected in the graph's information. As it turned out, we accidentally made a wrong turn along the way (shown in red on the topographical map) when we lost the trail for a moment, and we found a couple interesting rocks, including this one that had a hole in it reminding us of a birdhouse.

The actual trail continues along a trail marked off with stones just past where we turned and arrives at the viewpoint soon thereafter.

Path to south overlook

View from south overlook

View looking west from south overlook; the lines on the hill
are old walls created for fencing livestock by early settlers

The trail to the north overlook is shorter than the south one. 

View from north overlook

View of Fruita from north overlook

After hiking back down to Cohab Canyon, hikers will find many other interesting points along the trail from side slot canyons to walls of wind pocketed rocks.

 

As hikers exit the canyon on the west side, they can enjoy some nice views of the valley below and the canyon they just left.

 

Looking back at Cohab Canyon

View of Fruita and surrounding canyon
area upon exiting Cohab Canyon

 After transversing the switchbacks down, hikers will end up in the Fruita area. This is a great hike to do with others when you can have a car parked at each end of the trail, but if not, hiking back the way you came is a good option too.

 

There are bathrooms available at both ends of the trail, near the main parking areas. 

 

Directions

This trail is located in Capitol Reef National Park in Wayne County, Utah. The trail is right off UT-24. To get there from I-15, take Exit 188 to get onto US-50. Get off US-50 at UT-260. From there get onto UT-24 and continue to Capitol Reef and the trail head on your left. This trail shares a trailhead with the Hickman Bridge and Hickman Bridge/Navajo Knobs Overlook trails, but this trail starts across the street from the parking area. Note that a fee is required for this trail due to its location in a National Park. GPS Coordinates: N38° 17.319' W111° 13.680'