Parking
Use the Bowman Lake Campground (Foot) trailhead at the south end of the lake. From Polebridge, access follows a slow, dusty, bumpy unpaved road.
Overview
About Brown Pass Trail via Bowman Lake
Why go
- Bowman Lake shore scenery followed by a high-country pass
- Views of Hole in the Wall Falls and mountain ranges from Brown Pass
Heads up
- A 27.6-mile return makes this an exceptionally long day
- Most of the climb is concentrated near the end of the outbound leg
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Glacier map
Full mapElevation4,091–6,270 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Glacier Tour Guide
Your drive to Brown Pass Trail via Bowman 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 trailhead
Bowman Lake0:00 / 0:30
“You’re nearing Bowman Lake, an eight-mile stretch of water framed by forest and mountain ridges. You don’t need a long hike here: head to the shore for the view, then settle in for a picnic or a little lakeside walking.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Glacier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- From Beaver Pond to Meadow
- Why a Loon Needs a Runway
- Why Bull Trout Need Streams
- Polebridge Ranger Station and Covey Meadow
- 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.”
Trail guide
Hiking Brown Pass Trail via Bowman Lake
The commitmentBrown Pass Trail via Bowman Lake is a remote out-and-back from Bowman Lake Campground (Foot) to…
Brown Pass Trail via Bowman Lake is a remote out-and-back from Bowman Lake Campground (Foot) to Brown Pass, about 13.8 miles each way and 27.6 miles for the return. The first 7.1 miles trace Bowman Lake’s north shore; from Bowman Lake Head, another 6.7 miles climbs to the 6,255-foot pass. Allow about 13 hours for the full return if you move steadily and keep long stops short. This is a demanding, remote day trip. If that pace does not sound comfortable, plan an overnight at a backcountry campground instead of turning the walk into a race.
Along Bowman LakeThe first leg is rolling rather than a steady climb.
The first leg is rolling rather than a steady climb. You spend a long time beside the lake before reaching Bowman Lake Head; across the water, Square Peak, Rainbow Peak and Mount Carter rise above the shore. At the lake’s head, the route leaves the shore and begins the bigger climb. The lakeside stretch is gentler than what comes next, but it still takes time, so save some energy and food for the ascent and the return.
Climbing to Brown PassFrom Bowman Lake Head, the trail follows Bowman Creek for 6.7 miles, gaining about 2,200 feet.
From Bowman Lake Head, the trail follows Bowman Creek for 6.7 miles, gaining about 2,200 feet. Most of that climb comes in the final two miles. As you gain height, Bowman Lake drops below, and Hole in the Wall Falls appears beneath its headwall. The falls’ flow changes with the season. Brown Pass itself sits at 6,255 feet. Brown Pass Campground is about 0.3 mile before the pass, so continue past the camp if the pass is your goal. The open high point looks west toward Boulder Peak and Mount Peabody, east toward the Citadel Peaks and Mount Cleveland, and north toward Mount Chapman.
Make a backcountry planThis route is about 28 miles round trip, with the long climb late in the outbound leg.
This route is about 28 miles round trip, with the long climb late in the outbound leg. Plan food and water for a full backcountry day; a dependable drinking-water source on the upper route was not verified, so do not count on a refill at the pass. Overnight camping requires a wilderness permit and reservation. The trail connections continue beyond Brown Pass toward Goat Haunt and Boulder Pass, but those longer through-hikes are different routes from this out-and-back.
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.
