After camping in Two Medicine, we drove north to visit the spectacular Many Glacier area of Glacier National Park. (See our Glacier NP post for an overview of our entire trip that also included Banff NP, Jasper NP (Icefields Parkway), and Kootenay NP.) Many Glacier has amazing views of mountains and lakes, an iconic lodge, flora, fauna, and hikes that are world-class.
To get to the Many Glacier area from Two Medicine, we drove about 1.5 hours (72 miles) north on Hwy 464 from Browning MT to Babb and then west on Highway 89. We took this route instead of Hwy 49 to 89 North since we were in an RV over 21 ft. The 49/89 route takes you north up through St. Mary then onto Babb, Montana, before turning west to Many Glacier.
Babb is a tiny town but has a decent grocery store, Thronson’s General Store, with adequate food and other supplies if you think creatively. We stocked up for the remainder of our Glacier camping experience. There is also a cafe and motel at Thronson’s.
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Many Glacier Hotel
Built in 1914 for the Great Northern Railway, this impressive hotel has 240 guest rooms. It is the largest lodging in Glacier National Park. The hotel is right on the shores of Swiftcurrent Lake, and the surrounding mountains provide a stunning backdrop.
To book a stay here, visit the Glacier National Park Lodges website. (As discussed in our About page, we rarely choose to stay in a national park lodge. We can enjoy the lobby and the grounds, and maybe even a meal, without spending exorbitant amounts to spend the night. On this trip, we chose to book a small RV, allowing us to stay in the parks we visited, but saving us tons of money on accommodations and dining.)
No matter your itinerary, a stop at the Many Glacier Hotel is a must.
Upon arrival, park in the large lot, which is uphill from the hotel. You almost can’t believe the splendid views of the hotel, the lake and the mountains, even from the parking lot.
Walk down the stairs to visit the lobby, noticing the profusion of flowers in window boxes and around the grounds. Check out the chalet-style architecture and trim.
Inside the lodge
The hotel stretches over five buildings, with the main building in the center. The lobby is a great place to relax after a hike or just to take in the ambience.
The massive stone fireplace is built into the center of the lobby at one end and features a large hearth open on all four sides. This makes a great spot for a photo and to warm yourself in cooler weather.
At the other end of the lobby, walk down the beautiful round staircase and out behind the hotel to see the back of the hotel and to view the beautiful Swiftcurrent Lake.
Heidi’s Snack Shop and Espresso Stand on the lower level is a great place to get a coffee, a snack, or even a light meal to enjoy by the lake.
Swiftcurrent Lake / Back of Many Glacier Hotel
This lakeshore is right outside the Many Glacier Hotel. The views of Grinnell Point and the other surrounding mountains are stupendous, especially as seen from the shores of Swiftcurrent Lake. The back-side views of the hotel are awesome too.
Many trails lead from the Many Glacier Hotel, including trails along the shoreline of Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine, which lies just beyond Swiftcurrent.
Even if you don’t have much time, or don’t like to hike, take a stroll on the Swiftcurrent Nature Trail. The entire loop is 2.6 miles and circles the lake on an easy path. We did not do this hike as we had other plans for the day and wanted to
Scenic Boat Rides / Hiker Shuttles
Scenic boat rides leave from the dock behind the hotel. Book your seats well in advance at Glacier Park Boat Tours. Your ticket actually gets you two fantastic, narrated boat rides. The first is on the Chief Two Guns and takes you across Swiftcurrent Lake.
From there, disembark and walk .2 miles over a somewhat steep trail to the boat dock for Lake Josephine. (Don’t be put off by descriptions of this trail being steep. It is short and do-able.)
The second boat, the Morning Eagle, takes you across Lake Josephine. On this second boat, you are treated to amazing views of Salamander Glacier and Gem Glacier.
Upon arrival at the southern end of Lake Josephine, you can disembark to do some hiking, or just enjoy the area around the shore.
Alternatively, if you don’t want to hike or have limited time, you can stay on the boat and return back over both lakes to the Many Glacier Hotel.
Hikes from the Southern End of Lake Josephine
Trails to Hidden Falls, Grinnell Lake, and Grinnell Glacier can be accessed from the Lake Josephine boat dock. While each of these hikes can be done from the Many Glacier Hotel area, taking the boats across the two lakes will save you more than two miles of hiking each way.
For a map of hiking trails in this area, click here. If you want to hike these or other trails in the area, your round-trip boat ticket ensures you a spot on a later return boat.
It is also possible to book a “One Way Return” ticket only. Using this ticket saves you 2+ miles of hiking back to the hotel (ie, you hike out from the Many Glacier Hotel and then return on the boats). We were unable to book a roundtrip ticket for the time that we wanted to do our Grinnell Glacier hike as there was no seat availability remaining. But we were able to get the One-Way Return tickets, and I can assure you that after ?? miles of hiking, we were ready to ride back to the Many Glacier Hotel on the boats!
Grinnell Glacier Hike
See our Grinnell Glacier hike page for details on the epic adventure we had hiking to the glacier.
Apikuni Falls
The trailhead for Apikuni Falls is accessed from Many Glacier Road and is located about 1.4 miles east of the Many Glacier Hotel. The out-and-back trail is around 1.7 miles roundtrip. The cascade plunges down the sheer cliff face. This is a relatively easy hike, with the first 0.2 miles being flat, followed by a steep uphill climb to the falls. Overall, the elevation gain is a little more than 600 feet, and you are rewarded for your efforts when you arrive at the base of the falls.
Many Glacier Campground
[On getting reservations: Book as early as possible! We had tried really hard to get a site at the Many Glacier campground. After checking daily for weeks before our trip, and always finding the campground fully booked, we left home without a reservation.
We knew that in addition to the advance reservable sites, the park releases some sites 4 days before the stay date. So we stopped at a fast food restaurant for Wi-Fi on September 4 to be in place to book a site for September 8. Although in place and ready at the exact moment the reservations opened, we were frustrated to find no availability. However, we kept trying, re-loading the page, and voila! – a site opened up.
While we don’t prefer this kind of last minute booking, we definitely wanted to stay in the park if at all possible, and so we took the time out to give it a try. And we were rewarded. We had researched campgrounds as backups if the Many Glacier campground had not worked out.]
The Many Glacier Campground has 101 campsites set in an evergreen and Aspen forest. Sites are small but shady. Our site, #108, barely had room to park our small RV. But the campground has a convenient location, being near hiking trails and the Many Glacier Hotel.
Swiftcurrent Motor Inn
Moreover, the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn is adjacent to the campground. This was nice for us, as we could easily walk over to the motel, which has a restaurant and gift shop. By this time, we had been camping for 10 nights; a restaurant and a little “civilization” were in order!
Nell’s at Swiftcurrent offers an adequate menu. While not fine dining, they have salads, pizza and other tasty options. You order food and drinks at the counter, then find a table. Servers bring your food out to you from the kitchen.
Fishercap Lake / Hike to Redrock Falls (almost!)
Once settled into the Many Glacier campground, we headed out on the trail toward the Redrock Falls. If we had made it, this would have been a 3.6 mile roundtrip hike. However, a dark storm blew up and we turned around right as we began to see Redrock Lake come into view.
But first… Fishercap Lake. It’s just a short stroll to this lake from the Many Glacier campground. We walked along the shoreline along the north side of the lake, and then headed up to rejoin the main trail. As we went into the woods on a connector trail, we heard movement and were astonished to see two moose stand up right in front of us. Moose are huge! We very quietly and unobtrusively walked past the moose, who were off the trail looking at us. Fred stopped to take pictures, but I felt safer putting a little distance between me and these majestic animals.
Back on the trail, we came to the shores of Redrock Lake. But with the storm brewing, we turned around and quickly made our way back to the campground.
Fishercap Lake Again
By evening, with the rain over, and having had dinner at Nell’s at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, Fred and I walked back over to Fishercap Lake to see if we could see the moose again. This time the bull moose was in the lake feeding. We watched for a good long while, also seeing deer on the lakeshore and ducks in the lake. Watching the sun go down behind the mountains was a peaceful experience.
Make sure to check out our Hiking the Grinnell Glacier Trail guide and Hiking the Highline Trail guide. Also, take a look at our guides for Going-to-the-Sun Road and the Two Medicine area. Each of these hikes and regions are in Glacier National Park.
As always, please leave a comment. Tells us what was useful or what’s missing. Also, add details from your experience (or corrections/updates).