Parking
Use the Highline Trailhead north of Going-to-the-Sun Road at Logan Pass. Parking at the pass is limited and often fills; check current park access and shuttle arrangements.
Overview
About Highline Trail to Grinnell Glacier Overlook
Why go
- A bird’s-eye view of Grinnell Glacier, Upper Grinnell Lake and The Salamander
- Haystack Pass and the Highline traverse make the long approach scenic
Heads up
- Long exposed day with a steep, narrow final climb
The Highline Trail to Grinnell Glacier Overlook is a 15.1-mile out-and-back from Logan Pass. Follow the Highline north to the Garden Wall junction, climb the spur to the notch, then retrace your steps. Allow about nine hours and roughly 2,800 feet of total climbing. The first six-plus miles roll along the mountainside; the final spur packs nearly 1,000 feet of climbing into less than a mile. This is a hard, high, exposed day for hikers who are comfortable with heights. The overlook spur is optional if you want a shorter Highline outing.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the full-day hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Glacier map
Full mapElevation6,339–7,464 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 Highline Trail to Grinnell Glacier Overlook, 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
Logan Pass and Hidden Lake0:00 / 0:31
“You’re approaching Logan Pass, the highest point on Going-to-the-Sun Road. Stop for the alpine meadows and mountain views even if you’re not planning a long hike.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Glacier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Oberlin Bend
- Lunch Creek
- East Tunnel
- Triple Arches
- 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 Highline Trail to Grinnell Glacier Overlook
The narrow ledge comes earlyAbout a quarter-mile from Logan Pass, the Highline crosses a shelf cut into the Garden Wall.
About a quarter-mile from Logan Pass, the Highline crosses a shelf cut into the Garden Wall. For roughly a third of a mile the tread is only six to eight feet wide, with a steep drop toward the road below; a fixed cable gives you a handhold. It is well maintained, but the exposure is real. If narrow ledges make you freeze, this section is a good reason to choose another hike.
Haystack Pass is the first big payoffAfter the ledge, the route stays high on open slopes beneath the Garden Wall.
After the ledge, the route stays high on open slopes beneath the Garden Wall. The views open west toward Mount Cannon, Mount Oberlin and Heavens Peak. Around 3.6 miles in, a switchback climb of about 275 feet brings you to Haystack Pass, a broad saddle with a look down the upper McDonald Creek Valley. The trail rises again beyond the pass, reaches its high point, then descends toward Granite Park. The Garden Wall turnoff is about seven miles from Logan Pass; the Granite Park Chalet sits another short way along the Highline.
Save your legs for the Garden Wall spurThe spur climbs more than 900 feet in less than a mile.
The spur climbs more than 900 feet in less than a mile. It is steep, narrow and exposed, with loose footing in places, so take your time on the way up and especially on the descent. Hikers repeatedly single out this final climb as the toughest part. Trekking poles can help on the way back down, but they do not make the exposed sections feel any wider.
At the notchThe trail ends on the narrow crest of the Garden Wall.
The trail ends on the narrow crest of the Garden Wall. The Salamander lies below in the foreground, with Upper Grinnell Lake and Grinnell Glacier beyond it; Mount Gould, Allen Mountain and Angel Wing frame the basin. For a photo, keep a bit of the near ridge or The Salamander in the frame so the lake and glacier do not turn into a generic mountain view. Mountain goats and bighorn sheep are sometimes seen on the slopes; give wildlife plenty of room.
The wall between two valleysThe Garden Wall is an arête, a sharp ridge left between valleys carved by glaciers.
The Garden Wall is an arête, a sharp ridge left between valleys carved by glaciers. This one separates Granite Park from the Grinnell Glacier drainage, so you get a rare view into both sides of the divide. George Bird Grinnell visited the area in 1885 and spent the following years campaigning for its protection; the glacier and overlook carry his name.
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.
