Iceberg Lake Trail

Iceberg Lake Trail is a 9.6-mile (15.4 km) out-and-back from Iceberg-Ptarmigan Trailhead, 4.8 miles each way. Allow about six hours, or longer if you want a proper stop at the lake. The dedicated trailhead page lists 1,765 feet of climbing and 624 feet of descent; you feel the uphill in the first half, and the walk back still has rolling climbs. The footing is moderate, but the distance makes this a full day. The payoff is a turquoise lake in a steep cirque below Iceberg Peak and Mount Wilbur. If nine-plus miles is too much, Ptarmigan Falls is a good shorter turnaround about 2.7 miles from the trailhead each way, though it leaves the lake for another hike.

Start behind Swiftcurrent Motor Inn and follow the shared approach. The route climbs steadily through conifers, with open patches giving quick looks across the valley. Several signed junctions make it worth checking that you are still on the Iceberg Lake route rather than continuing toward Ptarmigan Tunnel. The first major landmark is Ptarmigan Falls, about 2.7 miles in. It is a natural place to turn back if you want a substantial walk without committing to the full lake distance.

Past the falls, the grade eases into rolling travel along the base of Ptarmigan Wall. The path leaves much of the forest behind, and meadow openings make the surrounding walls and valley easier to read. In wildflower season, the lower slopes can bloom; this is where the route begins to feel like a high valley walk rather than a climb from the lodge area. Ptarmigan Wall is a ridgeline separating the Iceberg Lake and Wilbur Creek drainage from the Belly River Valley. Keep following the Iceberg Lake branch; the Ptarmigan route continues beyond this junction toward Ptarmigan Lake and the tunnel.

Near the head of the valley the trail crosses Iceberg Creek and climbs a small rise. That is where Iceberg Lake opens below the cliffs: turquoise water, Iceberg Peak behind it, and Mount Wilbur to the south and east. The lake sits in a glacially carved bowl, and snowfields above the western shore can send ice floes into the water. Some years those floes linger into September; in others the lake is clear earlier, so do not plan on seeing ice on a particular date. For a photo, stop on the rise just after the creek and keep a little trail or shore in the foreground with the walls. It gives the lake scale on a phone.

The shared trailhead lot behind Swiftcurrent Motor Inn serves several hikes and can feel tight on busy summer mornings, so arrive early. A restroom is seasonal. Dogs are not allowed on Glacier trails. This is bear country, including both black and grizzly bears; carry bear spray where you can reach it and know how to use it. The Iceberg Creek crossing can run high and cold during snowmelt, when the rocks are also wet and loose. Many Glacier Road usually closes for winter in November, weather permitting, so check access before a late-season hike.