Glacier National Park, MT
A gradual creekside route into Glacier’s remote Park Creek valley.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Glacier Tour Guide
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 area
A Beak That Pries Cones Open“A red crossbill's beak overlaps at the tips, and that odd shape helps it open cones. The bird slips its slightly open bill between two scales, then closes it.”
Plays on the road 0.8 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Glacier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
Park Creek Trail is an 11.5-mile, one-way point-to-point route from a remote junction on the Boundary trail network to the Lake Isabel junction near Upper Park Creek Camp. It follows a meandering creek through low country, climbing gradually beneath the peaks of a long glacial valley. Allow about seven hours for this leg, before the approach or onward route; this is a backcountry connection, not a parking-lot day hike.
There is no road access at either end of the Park Creek segment. From Walton Ranger Station, the South Boundary Trail adds about 3.2 miles on foot to reach the western junction. The upper end meets the Lake Isabel trail and the Two Medicine Pass network, so plan a through-route or an appropriate return; do not expect a car waiting at the far end. A separate 26.3-mile Two Medicine-to-Walton itinerary includes Two Medicine Pass and other named trails, and is a longer multi-day route.
The route winds beside Park Creek through low country with a slow, steady climb. The deep glacial valley is lined by peaks, and Statuary Peak stands as a landmark toward the upper end. The walk is long and remote even though the grade is generally gradual.
Near Upper Park Creek Camp, the route crosses Park Creek and reaches the Lake Isabel junction. Lake Isabel is a separate 2.3-mile walk each way to a backcountry campground; that spur is not included in Park Creek’s 11.5 miles. Overnight camping in the park requires a wilderness permit, and pets are not allowed on park trails.
Wildlife
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.
Keep exploring
ChallengingLake Isabel Trail33.6 mi · 20 hr · 2.2 mi awayA 33.6-mile Walton backcountry trek to a trout-filled cirque lake.
ChallengingScalplock Lookout Trail9.4 mi · 6.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayA 1931 fire lookout crowns a steep, switchbacked climb.
EasyGoat Lick Overlook Trail0.2 mi · 20 min · 3.7 mi awayA short paved walk to mountain-goat country above the river.
ChallengingElk Mountain Trail6.8 mi · 6.5 hr · 8 mi awayA punishing climb to an old lookout site above Marias Pass.
ChallengingCoal Creek Trail15 mi · 12 hr · 8.8 mi awayA remote, ford-heavy route through Coal Creek's backcountry.
ChallengingCoal–Fielding Trail21.4 mi · 14 hr · 8.8 mi awayA remote traverse with long climbs and a serious river ford.
ChallengingContinental Divide National Scenic Trail (Glacier Section)114 mi · 3 days · 11.7 mi awayA 114-mile pass-to-border traverse over the Continental Divide.
ModerateAutumn Creek Trail8.6 mi · 4.5 hr · 11.7 mi awayA wooded traverse past Three Bears Lake to the Lubec access.Parkwolf’s Glacier ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
