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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 Oberlin Bend
Why stop
- Mountain goats and other subalpine wildlife give the slopes a reason to watch.
Heads up
- Tight pullout parking can make a stop depend on an open space.
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 Oberlin Bend, 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
Oberlin Bend0:00 / 0:20
“Up ahead is Oberlin Bend, a quick viewpoint across Lake McDonald Valley. A four-hundred-foot metal-grated boardwalk takes you out to the view, where you can trace Going-to-the-Sun Road across the mountainside below.”
Plays as you drive up to Oberlin Bend in the Parkwolf Glacier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Logan Pass and Hidden Lake
- Lunch Creek
- Triple Arches
- East Tunnel
- 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 Oberlin Bend
A quick stop above the valleyOberlin Bend is a roadside viewpoint on Going-to-the-Sun Road, the final bend before Logan Pass…
Oberlin Bend is a roadside viewpoint on Going-to-the-Sun Road, the final bend before Logan Pass when you approach from the west. A 400-foot metal-grated boardwalk leads to a wide view across Lake McDonald Valley, with the road tracing through the landscape below. It makes a worthwhile pause while crossing the pass if a parking space is open; the pullout can feel tight, so this is not a stop to count on.
Take the short boardwalkThis is a brief roadside walk, not a hike.
This is a brief roadside walk, not a hike. The metal-grated route is marked partially wheelchair-accessible; that is a qualified designation, and the accessible portion is not described in more detail. Use the parking area serving the viewpoint rather than stopping along the busy road.
Watch the slopesMountain goats are a standout reason to linger here, and other subalpine wildlife may appear as…
Mountain goats are a standout reason to linger here, and other subalpine wildlife may appear as well. Scan the slopes when you arrive; sightings are never guaranteed, but a goat can turn a quick valley view into a memorable stop.
The road is part of the storyThe view includes the road itself, winding across the mountainside above the valley.
The view includes the road itself, winding across the mountainside above the valley. Its basic infrastructure was built between 1921 and 1932, and the full length opened to visitors in 1932. Improvements continued through 1955, when the final section was paved.
Plan around the passOberlin Bend is most useful as a quick pullout on a crossing of Logan Pass.
Oberlin Bend is most useful as a quick pullout on a crossing of Logan Pass. Access depends on Going-to-the-Sun Road being open through the high country; that section closes seasonally in winter, so check road status before making this a must-do stop.
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.
