Sight · Glacier National Park
A quick roadside stop for Baring Creek’s 80-foot-deep gorge.
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
Sunrift Gorge and Baring Falls“Sunrift Gorge is coming up, a narrow rock cleft with Baring Creek running between its walls. The overlook is about two hundred feet from the pullout, with steps, so this works as a five-to-ten-minute stop.”
Plays as you drive up to Sunrift Gorge 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
Sunrift Gorge is an 800-foot-long, 80-foot-deep cut where Baring Creek runs through bedrock beside Going-to-the-Sun Road near St. Mary Lake. The overlook is about 200 feet from the roadside pullout, with roughly 65 feet of climbing and a few stairs. It's a good choice when you want a dramatic creek view without committing to a hike.
Baring Creek follows an old fracture in the bedrock; flowing water widened that weak line into the gorge. From the overlook, look upstream and trace how straight the channel stays between its walls.
From the overlook, point upstream and keep both rock walls in the frame. The narrow creek between them is what makes the channel read as a gorge, rather than just a small cascade.
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
EasyBaring Falls Trail0.7 mi · 36 min · At the trailheadA short creekside walk to a 25-foot waterfall.
EasySunrift Gorge Trail0.1 mi · 9 min · At the trailheadA quick walk to Baring Creek’s narrow, sudden gorge.
ModerateSt. Mary Falls Trail1.6 mi · 1.3 hr · 0.7 mi awayA short descent to a bridge beneath a three-tier waterfall
ModerateVirginia Falls Trail3.2 mi · 2 hr · 0.7 mi awayTwo falls, views through the burn, and a harder climb back.
EasySun Point Nature Trail0.9 mi · 30 min · 0.7 mi awayWalk from a historic lakeside overlook toward Sunrift Gorge.
ChallengingGunsight Pass Trail to Lake McDonald Lodge19.5 mi · 14 hr · 2.6 mi awayA demanding east-to-west traverse over two high alpine passes.
ChallengingGunsight Lake Trail12.9 mi · 8.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayA long valley walk to Gunsight Lake’s rocky shore
ChallengingFlorence Falls Trail9.8 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayA long out-and-back to Florence Falls through creek and pond countrySight · 0.2 mi awayBaring FallsA short waterfall walk, with a chance to spot dippersSight · 0.9 mi awaySun PointA big lake view with a long-gone railway chalet story.
Sight · 1.2 mi awaySt. Mary FallsTwo foaming drops and blue-green pools reward this short hike.Sight · 1.5 mi awayVirginia FallsKeep going past St. Mary Falls for the bigger cascade.
Sight · 2.7 mi awayJackson Glacier OverlookA glacier view worth the quick stop on Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Sight · 3.1 mi awayWild Goose Island OverlookA tiny island anchors a huge mountain-lake view.
Campground · 3.5 mi awayRising Sun CampgroundAn east-side base beneath a cliff, with a trailhead next door.
Lodging · 3.7 mi awayRising Sun Motor Inn and CabinsA rustic base near St. Mary Lake and the east-side road.Parkwolf’s Glacier ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
