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- ClosureTwo Medicine Campground closed for 2026 constructionTwo Medicine Campground is closed throughout 2026 because of construction in the Two Medicine developed area.Official details
Overview
About Iceberg Lake
Why stop
- Turquoise lake with lingering summer ice beneath sheer walls
Heads up
- A 9.6-mile round trip on foot; the popular trail can be busy
Iceberg Lake is an alpine lake in Glacier’s Many Glacier area, enclosed by a steep glacial cirque and known for ice floes that can drift on its turquoise water well into summer. Getting there means a 4.8-mile hike each way, so this is a destination hike rather than a quick stop. Choose it if you want a long walk to one of the park’s signature mountain lakes; skip it if you only have time for a roadside view.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs the hike worth it?Map
Where it is
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Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Glacier Tour Guide
Your drive to Iceberg Lake, narrated.
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
Iceberg Lake Trailhead0:00 / 0:26
“You’re nearing Iceberg-Ptarmigan Trailhead, where I’d choose Iceberg Lake for a full day on foot.”
Plays as you drive up to Iceberg Lake in the Parkwolf Glacier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Swiftcurrent and Redrock Falls
- Grinnell Glacier Trailhead
- Many Glacier Hotel
- Swiftcurrent Falls
- 204 audio storiesacross Glacier’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Wolverine, Mountain Goat, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 157 trails, 91 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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
More about Iceberg Lake
The trail to the lakeStart at the Iceberg-Ptarmigan Trailhead behind Swiftcurrent Motor Inn.
Start at the Iceberg-Ptarmigan Trailhead behind Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. The route climbs to Ptarmigan Falls, follows the base of Ptarmigan Wall, then crosses Iceberg Creek and rises to reveal the lake. The route is 4.8 miles one way, about 9.6 miles round trip. For a shorter outing, Ptarmigan Falls is 2.7 miles in from the same trailhead.
Plan for a full day on footThe trail is popular, and an early start can make the hike and parking easier.
The trail is popular, and an early start can make the hike and parking easier. A seasonal restroom is available at the trailhead. Carry food and water for the whole route; no food service or water source at the lake was confirmed. Snow may linger on the final approach into early summer, and the lake’s ice changes from year to year.
Why ice lingers hereThe lake sits in a glacially carved basin.
The lake sits in a glacially carved basin. Snowfields along its western shore feed ice floes into the water, and in some years they are still floating in September. Iceberg Peak rises west of the lake and Mount Wilbur stands to the south; the surrounding walls rise more than 3,000 feet above the water.
The view from the shoreThe lake opens into view after a rise near Iceberg Creek: turquoise water, scattered ice,…
The lake opens into view after a rise near Iceberg Creek: turquoise water, scattered ice, evergreen shore and a high ring of bare rock. Frame a floe against the cirque walls to show the scale of the basin instead of photographing open water alone. Moose and bears are sometimes reported along the route, so stay alert around wildlife, steep drops and water.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Glacier
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.
