Parking
Start at the Apikuni parking area, 1.1 miles east of Many Glacier Hotel.
Overview
About Poia Lake Trail
Why go
- A second mountain lake and views toward Allen and Wynn Mountains break up the long climb.
- Poia Lake Falls viewpoints add a worthwhile lakeshore detour.
Heads up
- The 12.8-mile return takes most of a day.
- The steep descent to the lake is a climb again on the way out.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Glacier map
Full mapElevation4,921–6,194 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 Poia Lake 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
Apikuni Falls Trailhead0:00 / 0:22
“The Apikuni Falls trailhead is coming up, for a short but steep hike to a two-tier waterfall. Allow around an hour and a half for the one point seven mile round trip, with roughly six hundred and fifty feet of climbing.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Glacier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Swiftcurrent Falls
- Scratches Left by Moving Ice
- Many Glacier Hotel
- Grinnell Glacier Trailhead
- 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 Poia Lake Trail
A full day to Poia LakePoia Lake Trail is a 12.
Poia Lake Trail is a 12.8-mile out-and-back from Apikuni parking to the east end of Poia Lake, following the Red Gap Pass Trail through Many Glacier. The park's 6.4-mile figure is one way. Allow about six and a half to seven hours for the return; this is a full-day hike, not a quick walk to the water. Expect about 2,400 feet of climbing.
Over Swiftcurrent RidgeThe trail climbs steadily through forest and small meadows, with aspen giving way to pine.
The trail climbs steadily through forest and small meadows, with aspen giving way to pine. Around four miles in, Swiftcurrent Ridge Lake, also called Moran's Bathtub, opens up with a southward view toward Allen and Wynn Mountains. From there, switchbacks reach the ridge crest before the trail drops steeply into the Kennedy Creek drainage. A boulder field marks the final approach, with Poia Lake tucked beyond the ridge. You retrace the same route on the way out, so the climb back to the ridge comes after you've already hiked to the lake.
A shorter returnThe Sherburne Cutoff is an alternate way back that shortens the hike, but it's steep and loose…
The Sherburne Cutoff is an alternate way back that shortens the hike, but it's steep and loose underfoot. It is not part of the 12.8-mile out-and-back mapped here. Stick with the main trail if you want to avoid that rougher descent.
At the lakePoia Lake sits at roughly 5,800 feet in the Kennedy Creek drainage, in a basin of steep…
Poia Lake sits at roughly 5,800 feet in the Kennedy Creek drainage, in a basin of steep mountain walls. From the east end, frame the water with the evergreen shore to show the scale of the basin. The shoreline continues to an outlet bridge and viewpoints of Poia Lake Falls. Look on open rock for mountain goats and listen for pika calls around the talus; neither is guaranteed.
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.
