1 active Glacier alert
- 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 Ptarmigan Tunnel
Why stop
- A rare horse-route tunnel with a view into Belly River country.
Heads up
- The tunnel is 5.3 miles uphill from the trailhead.
Ptarmigan Tunnel is a roughly 250-foot passage through Ptarmigan Wall above Many Glacier. It connects Many Glacier with Belly River country, but the approach is no quick detour: 5.3 miles one way from Iceberg–Ptarmigan Trailhead, with 2,300 feet of climbing. Go for a serious mountain hike and a real crossing; skip it if you only want a short stop.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe tunnel is the payoffMap
Where it is
Loading the Glacier map
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 Ptarmigan Tunnel, 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 Ptarmigan Tunnel in the Parkwolf Glacier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Swiftcurrent and Redrock Falls
- Grinnell Glacier Trailhead
- Swiftcurrent Falls
- Many Glacier Hotel
- 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 Ptarmigan Tunnel
The climb and the tunnelPtarmigan Lake sits about a mile before the tunnel, so it makes a natural pause before the…
Ptarmigan Lake sits about a mile before the tunnel, so it makes a natural pause before the final push. Hikers describe the last switchbacks as steep. The tunnel itself is a short, rough rock passage; the long climb is what makes reaching it a full outing.
Step through to the other sideThe north portal opens toward Belly River country, with Elizabeth Lake framed below the…
The north portal opens toward Belly River country, with Elizabeth Lake framed below the mountains. The views on either side feel like two different stops, and the tunnel is the literal line between them. The far-side view is the reward for crossing the wall.
Built for horse travelThe tunnel was completed in 1930 so guides and tourist horses could travel between Many Glacier…
The tunnel was completed in 1930 so guides and tourist horses could travel between Many Glacier and Belly River. That old route is still the point of the visit: you get to walk through a passage cut for the park's early horse trips, not just look at an opening in the rock.
Time the crossingThe doors generally open from mid-July through late September.
The doors generally open from mid-July through late September. If you want to cross through to Belly River, check current trail and door conditions first; that seasonal window is a general pattern, not a promise for a particular day.
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.
