Parking
Start at North Shore Trailhead at the north end of Two Medicine Campground. The South Shore boat dock is a separate approach and only shortens the walk when a concession boat connects to the lake head.
Overview
About Dawson Pass Trail
Why go
- A dramatic Continental Divide panorama over Nyack Valley
- No Name Lake sits beneath the striking cliffs of Pumpelly Pillar
Heads up
- A long, strenuous day with about 2,450 feet of climbing
- The pass is exposed, windy and edged by steep drop-offs
Dawson Pass is a 13-mile round-trip out-and-back from North Shore Trailhead in Two Medicine Campground to a saddle on the Continental Divide. The listed route is 6.5 miles one way with about 2,450 feet of climbing; allow roughly eight hours. It is a strenuous day, but the high basin, No Name Lake and the pass panorama make it worth the effort if you are ready for a long climb and exposed terrain. This itinerary turns around at Dawson Pass; the Dawson–Pitamakan loop continues beyond it and is a different, longer hike.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs the long climb worth it?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Glacier map
Full mapElevation5,167–7,566 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
1 active Glacier alert
- ClosureTwo Medicine Campground closed for 2026 constructionMentions Two Medicine Campground, referenced in this guideTwo 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 Dawson Pass Trail, 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
Two Medicine North Shore and Twin Falls0:00 / 0:26
“You're nearing Two Medicine's North Shore Trailhead, where Twin Falls makes a gentle but fairly long waterfall walk. Allow about four hours for seven miles round trip to the two cascades below Pumpelly Pillar.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Glacier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Scenic Point and Appistoki Falls
- Two Medicine Lake and South Shore
- Running Eagle Falls
- Two Medicine on the Radio
- 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 Dawson Pass Trail
Along the lakeCross the outlet bridge and take the left branch at the first Pitamakan junction.
Cross the outlet bridge and take the left branch at the first Pitamakan junction. The easier opening skirts Pray Lake and then the north shore of Two Medicine Lake, moving between conifers and open meadows below Rising Wolf Mountain. A waterfall cuts down the mountain's avalanche-shaped slope, and the lake head brings another good pause before the climb begins. At the next junction, go right for No Name Lake and Dawson Pass; the other branch leads toward Twin Lakes and Upper Two Medicine Lake.
No Name Lake and the upper climbThe trail climbs into Bighorn Basin through meadows and subalpine fir, crossing small creeks…
The trail climbs into Bighorn Basin through meadows and subalpine fir, crossing small creeks with Pumpelly Pillar rising above the trees. A short spur drops about 0.2 mile to No Name Lake beneath the pillar's steep rock wall; count on roughly 0.4 mile extra if you walk down and back. From there the main trail steepens, gaining nearly 1,600 feet in just under two miles. Trees give way to open slopes, and the views widen across the basin and back toward Two Medicine Lake.
At Dawson PassAt roughly 7,600 feet, the pass is a saddle between Flinsch Peak and Mount Helen.
At roughly 7,600 feet, the pass is a saddle between Flinsch Peak and Mount Helen. Look west toward Nyack Valley, far below, with Mount Phillips and the remains of Lupfer Glacier across the valley. The pass is exposed to strong winds and has steep drop-offs; stay well back from the edges, and expect snow to linger here into summer. This is a good place to frame the rocky rim with the valley below for a sense of the scale. Pets are not allowed on Glacier's trails.
A concession boat across Two Medicine Lake can shorten a different version of the hike by about 2.2 miles each way when it is operating; that boat-start route is not included in the 13-mile North Shore itinerary.
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.
