Parking
Start behind Cut Bank Ranger Station. No trail-specific parking arrangement is documented; confirm permission to park and hike with Glacier National Park.
Overview
About Milk River Ridge Boundary Trail
Why go
- Open-meadow finish with a view up the Cut Bank Creek drainage and out to the plains.
- A chance to walk one of the old east-side boundary fragments.
Heads up
- Public access and current maintenance have not been confirmed.
- A steep climb with little reliable route detail.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Glacier map
Full mapElevation5,180–5,801 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
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 Milk River Ridge Boundary 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
Cut Bank Trailhead and Campground0:00 / 0:33
“You're approaching Cut Bank Trailhead and Campground, a small base for a long day in the creek valley.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Glacier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Turtle’s Shell Helps It Through Winter
- Spring Follows the Melting Snow
- The Mountains’ Dark Stripe
- Why Butterflies Gather on Mud
- 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 Milk River Ridge Boundary Trail
What it isMilk River Ridge Boundary Trail is a 1.
Milk River Ridge Boundary Trail is a 1.86-mile out-and-back from behind Cut Bank Ranger Station toward Milk River Ridge. The mapped footway runs 0.93 mile each way and climbs about 590 feet on the outward leg. At the upper end, it reaches open meadow with views toward the Cut Bank Creek drainage and the plains. Allow about 1 to 1.5 hours for the return. This is a niche hike for people interested in lesser-known routes and park history.
The climbMost of the elevation comes in a short distance.
Most of the elevation comes in a short distance. The mapped line and elevation profile show a sustained uphill approach; the tread and wayfinding details are not documented well enough to promise a developed path. The stored route ends at the mapped boundary segment; turn around there and retrace the way down.
Before setting outThis is a remnant of the former east-side boundary trail, starting directly behind the ranger…
This is a remnant of the former east-side boundary trail, starting directly behind the ranger station. Public visitor access and current maintenance have not been confirmed. Contact Glacier National Park before setting out. Pets are prohibited on park trails.
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.
