I visited Glacier National Park for my second time in August 2025. This is one of my favorite national parks ever! It is named for its 25+ glaciers. The park is nicknamed the “Crown of the Continent” and it is easy to see why. 

Logan Pass is the highest point accessible by car on the park’s popular Going-to-the-Sun Road, at an elevation of just over 6,600 feet. The views from the parking lot are stunning, and two amazing hikes also start here. We did both hikes on this trip and they were incredible! Note that since the elevation is high here, it is best to complete these hikes between July and September, when the trail is usually snow-free.

The Hidden Lake Overlook Trail is about 3.5 miles roundtrip. This was my favorite of the two and one of my all-time favorites! We completed this hike around sunset and saw lots of wildlife, which made it even more special. 

The Highline Trail is one of the park’s most popular trails. This is a much longer trail, which you can hike out and back, or go through to another trailhead. Since we had completed the Hidden Lake hike the previous night and got back really late, we decided not to complete this entire hike. Fortunately, the trail has stunning views the entire time, so you can just hike what you want and turn around when you’re ready.

Going-to-the-Sun Road Timed Entry Note: To help with heavy congestion along this popular road, the park service has a timed entry from mid-une through mid-September. Vehicles entering the park from the west side betweein 7am and 3pm must have a timed entry vehicle reservation. If you do not have a reservation, make sure to enter before 7am or after 3pm, which is doable for these hikes! You can learn more about vehicle reservations here.

Hidden Lake Overlook

3.5 miles round trip
600’ elevation gain
Easy to moderate difficulty

We started this hike at 6:15pm, about 2.5 hours before sunset. This ended up being the perfect amount of time to complete the hike and have plenty of time for viewing wildlife and taking all the pictures we wanted. It also wasn’t very crowded this time of day, which was a nice bonus! The parking lot was mostly full when we arrived, but we managed to snag one of the few remaining spots.

The trail starts behind the Visitor Center. You’ll see a wooden boardwalk climbing up the valley. The first section is mostly on this boardwalk and there is some climbing involved. You’ll get lots of beautiful views of wildflower meadows, flowing creeks, waterfalls, and Going-to-the-Sun Road. We saw tons of bighorn sheep up on the mountainside. Note that this section has almost no shade, so make sure to bring sun protection if you’re hiking mid-day.

About halfway through the hike, we came across our first mountain goat! It was so cute and looked so soft. We kept our distance but took about a hundred photos while watching it do its thing. Not even five minutes later, we came across several marmots, bighorn sheep, and another mountain goat! 

You’ll pass through some trees and arrive at an overlook of Hidden Lake. We noticed that several hikers turned around after this spot – I recommend to keep going for even better views! The trees open up and there are countless photo opportunities and views of Hidden Lake and the surrounding mountains. We came across a few more mountain goats and bighorn sheep in that area. The lighting and weather were just perfect. We could’ve stayed in this area for hours, but the sun was setting, so we made the hike back down to our car. 

As we were loading up, we saw another bighorn sheep in the parking lot. This was quite the hike for seeing wildlife!

Highline Trail

There are several route options for hiking the Highline Trail. Most hikers will start at Logan Pass (as opposed to the Loop trailhead), as the trail is more downhill in this direction. If you want to complete the full hike, you can hike from Logan Pass to the Loop and catch a park shuttle to bring you back to your car. Or you can hike to the Granite Park Chalet (which is most of the way, and the end of the good views) and then turn around and hike back to Logan Pass. 

We were originally planning to hike from Logan Pass to the Loop. However, we’d gotten back pretty late from our hike the night before and got up super early to get to Logan Pass before sunrise. We were tired, so we decided to just hike a few miles of the trail and then turn around. The good thing about this trail is that the views are incredible the entire way!

We arrived at the parking lot at 5:45 and there was still plenty of parking. Parking can be a nightmare here during the day, so I’d read to make sure to arrive by 6am. We ate breakfast and used the restroom at the Visitor Center while waiting for the sun to rise. We got on the trail a little after 6 when it was starting to get light out. The trailhead is across the street from the Visitor Center parking lot. 

Near the beginning of the hike, you’ll come to a rocky ledge that overlooks Going to the Sun Road. The pictures make it look a little scary, with cables to hold onto if you’re nervous. However, it didn’t seem scary to me at all in person, and was actually pretty wide. The first three miles are fairly flat. This is about what we hiked. When we got to the Bend, we all felt like we were happy with what we’d seen. We didn’t see any wildlife on this hike, which was a little disappointing after our previous night at Hidden Lake.

Out of the two hikes we did, Hidden Lake was definitely my favorite. However, the section of the Highline Trail we completed was still beautiful and I’d expect the full trail to be epic. I recommend doing both if you have the time!

Tips & notes for these hikes

• These hikes are best completed around sunrise or sunset. There will be fewer crowds, the lighting will be better for photos, and you’ll have better chances to see wildlife!
• Complete these hikes between July and September. These trails do not open until snow has melted and Going-to-the-Sun Road is fully open.
• Make sure to carry bear spray and know how to use it.
• Keep your distance from wildlife.
• Logan Pass Visitor Center has restrooms and water located outside, so you can still access when the Visitor Center is not open.
• Bring sun protection – there is little shade on these trails.
• No dogs are allowed on these trails.

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Avalanche Lake and Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park
Two-Day Yellowstone Itinerary: Must-See Stops In And Around the Park
How to Drive Yellowstone’s Grand Loop Road in One Day