Avalanche Lake Trail is our FAVORITE trail on the West Side of Glacier National Park! It’s one of the most scenic places we’ve ever been and the lake is simply gorgeous (not to mention all the waterfalls!).

This trail is our #1 choice if you’re looking for a moderate hike on the park’s west side.

It may take some planning to get there (more on that below), but it’s well worth the physical and mental effort.

We hope this guide will help you be more prepared for planning and hiking the Avalanche Lake Trail. And if you’re on the fence about choosing this trail, we hope it will convince you to make the effort to see this incredible place.

Getting There

Avalanche Lake Trail is located on the West Side of Glacier National Park. The trailhead is on Going to the Sun Road (abbreviated as GTTSR), which is the main roadway that winds across the park.

It’s about 35 minutes (16 miles) from the West Entrance of Glacier National Park to the Avalanche Lake Trailhead.

Two aspects make this hike difficult to reach 1) GTTSR reservations and 2) limited parking.

1) First, you’ll need a reservation for Going to the Sun Road (find them here at Recreation.gov). The trailhead is past the Apgar Checkpoint, so you can only drive here with a reservation.

These reservations sell out months in advance, but luckily more are released the night before at 7pm. Plan on being somewhere with great cell service around this time.

If you are in the park, the best spot is at the Apgar Visitor Center – there’s free Wi-fi that has saved us a lot of anxiety (read more about connectivity in the park).

If you can’t get a reservation, see below for some alternatives.

2) The parking lot for Avalanche Lake Trail is remarkably small for the popularity of this hike. Plan on arriving super early in the morning (before 7am) to get a spot. Or you can go in the early afternoon and snag a spot from someone leaving.

Either way, give yourself plenty of time to find parking and keep your patience in check. Everyone is there to see this incredible place too!

If you don’t want to worry about parking, see below for some alternatives.

Alternative Hacks For Making Getting to the Trailhead

Here are a few hacks to avoid fighting for road reservations or battling it out for a parking spot.

1) GTTSR Shuttle: From 8am-7pm (7 days a week from July 1 to Labor Day) there’s a shuttle that runs from Apgar Visitor Center to Avalanche Creek every 15 to 30 minutes. Park at the Apgar Visitor Center and ride the shuttle for free. No reservations or tickets required.

2) Avalanche Creek Campground Reservations: This is our favorite hack if you’re a camper who’s interested in hiking this trail. If you can snag a spot at Avalanche Creek Campground, you can depart for this hike right from your campsite.

PLUS, you won’t need GTTSR reservations for the entirety of your stay. This lets you explore some of the best parts of the park without worrying about access.

Like GTTSR reservations, these sites can sell about months in advance. But there are also lots of last-minute cancellations if you can snag a spot (we LOVE using CampFlare for this).

3) Visit in the off-season: Going to the Sun Road reservations run approximately May 24th through September 8th. If you visit outside of these dates, you don’t need a reservation and the park is inherently less busy.

We hiked this trail for the second time on May 30. This may seem like late season for most of the continental U.S., but it’s still very early season for Glacier National Park.

At that point, Avalanche Creek Campground was not open for camping yet, but it was open temporarily for day-use parking. This meant there were hundreds of parking spots available for this trail and we had no issues finding a spot. Plus, there were lots of reservations available for GTTSR.

HOWEVER, going in May means most of the popular high-alpine hikes won’t be open (e.g., GTTSR won’t be open all the way), so we recommend visiting in September. Not only will all the alpine hikes be open unlike springtime, but you will also experience cooler temperatures and fewer people.

The Trail

Here’s a trail breakdown so you can know what to expect during your hike.

Trail of the Cedars

Trail of the Cedars is a beautiful 0.9-mile loop that shares a parking area with Avalanche Lake. This trail is an excellent choice for a super easy loop for the non-hikers in your group. The first half mile of the trail will be on this loop.

The official start to the Avalanche Lake Trail is at the opposite end of the loop from the parking area. The right portion of the loop is 0.45 miles and the left portion is 0.44 miles so it doesn’t matter which direction you go.

See the map above. The parking area is marked with a “P” and then I circled the Avalanche Lake Trailhead.

A large sign marks the official trailhead. You can’t miss it. And it’s right near the boardwalk over Avalanche Creek. You may have seen something similar to this image (below) before because it’s one of the most photographed places in the park.

You HAVE to stop here and check out the creek – IT’S STUNNING.

Avalanche Lake Trail

Now it’s time to start the hike since you’ve officially made it to the real trailhead!

The trail is a gradual incline that initially follows Avalanche Creek, which flows in stunning colors of blue and turquoise. This was one of our favorite portions of the hike!

After about 0.8 miles, the trail will float away from the creek and wind through a beautiful cedar forest. Moss carpets almost every surface and there’s a quiet tranquility that settles over you.

This scenery will take up a majority of the hike – soak it all in.

Avalanche Lake

It’s about 2.3 miles to the northern end (the closest shoreline) of the lake. We were greeted by quite the view once we made it!

Not many lakes can compare to the grandness of Avalanche Lake and its waterfalls (especially Monument Falls). The color of the water and the huge glacier basin left us in awe of our surroundings.

The lake is fed almost entirely by melting snow and ice from Sperry Glacier, which is in the right basin above the waterfalls. The maximum measured depth is about 63 feet, and it’s known to have a thriving trout population.

During our May visit, it was peak snow melt so the waterfalls were flowing like crazy. During our August visit, the waterfalls were more subdued but still spectacular.

Shoreline Trek

We highly recommend that you continue to follow the trail around the right side (southeastern shore) of the lake.

Not only are there significantly fewer people, but it allows you to soak in more views of the lake and its waterfalls.

Even if you just go halfway down the shoreline, you will be rewarded. It’s a full 0.7 miles to the far shore, but it’s not necessary to go that far.

The panorama picture from below is about halfway down the shoreline. There was a rocky beach where we enjoyed some snacks and snapped lots of photos.

Know that the views of the waterfalls don’t get better at the far end of the lake – you start to lose them through the trees. We tried to get up below the falls, but there’s no trail and you can’t see them as well anyway.

Enjoy them from a distance and save your energy for the way back down.

Once you’ve reached your desired stopping point, you’ll simply retrace your steps back to the trailhead.

Pro Tips

Bring bear spray (AND wear it properly): Like most of Glacier National Park, you should carry and know how to use bear spray.

There was a warning posted for a grizzly frequenting the area, and several hikers that day saw a grizzly up close. Someone even said that the bear had been sprayed earlier in the week.

Your bear spray should be easily accessible on the front of your body (NOT in your backpack) and each hiker should carry their own spray. Bear spray saves lives – take it seriously.

Do your research. This hike can be difficult to get to with lots of hoops to jump through. The more prepared you are, the less trouble you’ll have.

Have a backup plan. Trails in Glacier National Park are subject to closure for a variety of reasons, and it’s practically impossible to predict. Do yourself a favor and have a Plan B activity just in case you can’t hike Avalanche Lake.

Wear layers. Glacier National Park weather can change in a heartbeat. Even though Avalanche Lake isn’t necessarily considered “high alpine”, it can still play host to extreme weather changes. Always bring a rain jacket, wear bug spray, and have layers in case the temperature drops.

Plan for a hard hike. We saw WAY TOO MANY people who were under-prepared and under-dressed for this hike. We would rather you be over-prepared and carry too much water rather than the other way around. 

More Pictures

 Here are some shots from our hikes to Avalanche Lake. One time it was sunny and dry in late August. You can tell the waterfalls were flowing low. Most of the pictures in this post are from our second visit, which was during peak snowmelt in late May.

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