Sight · Glacier National Park
A steep ridge spur above Grinnell's shrinking glacier.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Glacier Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Glacier National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Glacier audio tourRecorded for this place
Logan Pass and Hidden Lake“You’re approaching Logan Pass, the highest point on Going-to-the-Sun Road. Stop for the alpine meadows and mountain views even if you’re not planning a long hike.”
Plays as you drive up to Grinnell Glacier Overlook in the Parkwolf Glacier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Our first time to glacier and we used the audio portion for Going to the Sun Road. Wonderful information with perfect advice of what to see and do along the road.”
Guide
Grinnell Glacier Overlook is a high alpine viewpoint on the Garden Wall ridge, looking into the Grinnell glacier basin. It is an optional spur from the Highline Trail at Logan Pass, not a drive-up stop. From Logan Pass, the spur starts roughly 6.9 miles into the Highline; the overlook is nearly 7.75 miles out. Plan for about 15.5 miles round trip and roughly 2,800 feet of climbing on the full hike.
The Garden Wall spur climbs more than 900 feet in under 0.9 mile, on a narrow path with steep drop-offs. It is a strenuous finish to an already long day and suits hikers comfortable with heights and sustained climbing. If you are tired at the junction or uneasy with exposed trails, turn back; the Highline still gives you a memorable walk along the Continental Divide.
From the ridge, The Salamander fills the foreground, with Upper Grinnell Lake and Grinnell Glacier beyond it. Allen Mountain, Angel Wing and Mount Gould frame the basin. For a photo, keep some of The Salamander or the lake in the foreground and the glacier farther back; that layered view shows how the ice sits in the mountain bowl.
The Garden Wall is an arête, a narrow ridge left between valleys carved by glaciers. From this crest, the land falls toward the Granite Park valley on one side and the Grinnell drainage on the other. That split is what makes the overlook feel like a balcony between two different mountain landscapes.
Grinnell Glacier lost 113 acres between 1966 and 2015. The park's glaciers were largest around 1850, near the end of the Little Ice Age, and have retreated since. The ice below you is part of a landscape still changing, not a permanent patch of snow.
George Bird Grinnell first visited this region in 1885, explored the St. Mary and Swiftcurrent valleys, and became one of the strongest advocates for protecting the area. His writing and persistence helped build support for the national park established in 1910. The glacier and many surrounding features carry the name of the naturalist who helped bring attention to this landscape.
Wildlife
404 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
11 sightingsWolverineMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
1,173 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
1,000 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
395 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
506 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Glacier. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingNorthern Highline Trail11.9 mi · 9 hr · 1.4 mi awayA remote alpine traverse for a multi-day backcountry trip.ChallengingFlattop Mountain Trail12 mi · 9 hr · 2 mi awayA remote 12-mile crossing from Packer's Roost to Fifty Mountain.
ChallengingGranite Park Trail from The Loop8.4 mi · 6 hr · 2.6 mi awayA steep climb through the 2003 burn to a historic chalet.
EasyGrinnell Lake Trail2.2 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.9 mi awayTwo boat crossings lead to a short walk beneath Grinnell Falls.
EasyHidden Falls Trail1.9 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.9 mi awayA short, steep spur to a waterfall tucked in a creek gorge.
ChallengingSwiftcurrent Lookout Trail16.5 mi · 11 hr · 3.8 mi awayA big Many Glacier day ends at a historic summit lookout.
ChallengingSwiftcurrent Pass Trail13.6 mi · 8.5 hr · 3.8 mi awayThree lakes first, then a rugged climb to the Continental Divide.
EasyRedrock Falls Trail3.6 mi · 2.3 hr · 3.8 mi awayA gentle lake walk ending at red-rock cascades.
Sight · 0.7 mi awayGrinnell Glacier ViewpointA steep hike ends above turquoise water and a glacier.
Lodging · 1.4 mi awayGranite Park ChaletA rare 1914 chalet worth the hike if you're staying overnight.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayHaystack Creek FallsA waterfall slips beneath the road in a stone-faced culvert.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayBird Woman Falls OverlookA 492-foot waterfall framed by a hanging valley.
Sight · 1.9 mi awayGrinnell LakeTurquoise water in a mountain basin, with a boat shortcut.
Sight · 2.2 mi awayWest TunnelTwo windows frame Heavens Peak and McDonald Creek from the road.
Sight · 2.5 mi awayWeeping WallA snowmelt curtain turns the road into a waterfall pass.
Scenic pullout · 2.6 mi awayBig BendA sweeping bend with Mount Cannon, Oberlin, and Heaven's Peak in view.Parkwolf’s Glacier ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
