Glacier National Park: Day 2

We started day 2 much more rested than the day before, having actually slept in beds! For this day, we drove up to the East end of Going to the Sun Road and drove from there. Our adventures started with a beautiful rainbow over the mountains before we even reached Going to the Sun Road! We had another full day with lots of great stops, and plenty of photo ops! In addition to the trails listed below, we stopped at many other places along the road to take pictures and enjoy the view. From waterfalls to lookouts, and wildlife sitings, every single stop is worth it - take your time and enjoy the drive!

Hidden Lake Overlook

Our first stop of the day was the Logan Pass visitor's center. From here we hiked up to the Hidden Lake Overlook. Even in July, with the warm temperatures we were experiencing, this trail was covered in snow! I was amazed how many people were hiking it despite this fact - it was VERY busy!

This picture really doesn't capture the vast number of people who were on this trail, but it sure shows the snow!

These were some park workers who were digging out the real trail from under the snow.

Despite the snow and the people, this trail was well worth it! We saw lots of wildlife:

And not only was the view of the lake spectacular, but there were amazing views all along the way, as well.

One of the mountains we hiked around on the way there

The view from the hidden lake overlook

St. Mary Falls

This wasn't in our original plan, but we heard someone talking about it (actually, they were saying there had been bears sighted there in the morning), and we decided to give it a shot! It's an easy hike (1.6 mi round trip), and the falls are beautiful. Definitely a good trail for just about everyone!

Sunrift Gorge

This gorge is right off the road, but completely worth the stop. The photos are some of my favorite from the trip. There is a trail headed up from the gorge that is supposed to be great for wildlife and wildflowers, but it is pretty much straight up.  It is not an easy hike. We went up the first quarter to half mile and saw some great views from there, but after a full day, we weren't willing to go any farther.