Red Gap Pass Trail (24.3 mi, Challenging) – Glacier National Park

Overview

About Red Gap Pass Trail

Why go

The red argillite at the pass gives the high-country finish a distinct look.
Poia Lake makes a useful overnight break before the final climb.

Heads up

The pass is about 12 miles from the trailhead each way.
The approach climbs Swiftcurrent Ridge, drops into a valley, then climbs again.

Red Gap Pass Trail is a 24.3-mile out-and-back from the Apikuni parking area to the 7,520-foot pass and back. It climbs and drops over Swiftcurrent Ridge, reaches Poia Lake, then follows Kennedy Creek Valley to the red notch. Allow about 16 hours for a very long day, or make a permitted overnight at Poia Lake. If you want a shorter outing, Poia Lake is 6.4 miles one way (12.8 round trip) with 2,400 feet of climbing on the way in.

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Map & elevation

The route

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Full map

Elevation4,921–7,503 ft

TrailheadApikuni parking area (Red Gap Pass trailhead)48.80542, -113.63397

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Plan your hike

Before you go

Parking

Use the small roadside pullout on the north side of Many Glacier Road, east of Many Glacier Hotel (the Apikuni parking area). Follow the Red Gap Pass sign; the nearby Apikuni Falls route is an easy wrong turn.

Best time to go

This is high-country hiking. Glacier's trail reports warn that snow can linger on higher trails into early summer and return with autumn storms, sometimes hiding the tread. Check current trail status before setting out; the route does not have a confirmed current condition report. The pass climb and the long return make this a poor choice when snow or visibility is uncertain.

Safety

This is a 24.3-mile remote out-and-back to a 7,520-foot pass, with a final climb of about 1,534 feet in under 2.5 miles. High-country snow can cover the trail early in the season and return in fall storms; check current conditions. Pets are prohibited on Glacier trails.

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

Glacier alerts

A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone — Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Glacier Tour Guide

Your drive to Red Gap Pass 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 tour

Recorded for this trailhead

Apikuni Falls Trailhead

0:00 / 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.

Hiking Red Gap Pass Trail

The ridge before the lakeAt the start, follow the Red Gap Pass sign rather than the nearby Apikuni Falls path; hikers…

At the start, follow the Red Gap Pass sign rather than the nearby Apikuni Falls path; hikers have confused the two. The route climbs about 1,223 feet to Swiftcurrent Ridge by mile 3.6, then drops roughly 700 feet into Kennedy Creek Valley before climbing again to Poia Lake. A small marshy lake sits on the ridge, with views south toward Lake Sherburne and Mount Wynn. Yellow Mountain and Apikuni Mountain open up as you descend. At the Sherburne Cutoff junction around mile 3.3, stay left for Poia Lake.

From Poia Lake to Red GapPoia Lake is the main break on the approach.

Poia Lake is the main break on the approach. The trail heads west up Kennedy Creek Valley for about three miles, gradually at first; Apikuni Mountain stays to the south, Crowfeet Mountain rises ahead, and the red ridge of the pass is visible at the valley's end. Then the climb steepens: about 1,534 feet in less than 2.5 miles over two switchback groups. Bright red Grinnell argillite and a small glacial tarn announce the last stretch.

What you reach at the topRed Gap Pass sits at about 7,520 feet.

Red Gap Pass sits at about 7,520 feet. Look west to Old Sun Glacier, Mount Merritt, and the Belly River Valley with Elizabeth Lake below; turn around for Seward Mountain to the northeast and the Kennedy Lake, Mount Henkel, and Crowfeet group to the south. For a photo, keep some red rock in the foreground and the western valley behind it; the color is what makes this pass memorable.

Know which route you are takingThis record turns around at Red Gap Pass and returns the same way. A separate 29.

This record turns around at Red Gap Pass and returns the same way. A separate 29.4-mile circuit continues down to Elizabeth Lake, climbs back to the Ptarmigan Trail and Tunnel, then walks about three miles of road from Swiftcurrent Motor Inn to the original parking area. That is an overnight route, not the distance shown here. Poia Lake has a backcountry campground; overnight camping needs a wilderness permit. Pets are not allowed on Glacier's trails.

Wildlife

Wildlife in Glacier

All Glacier wildlife maps

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 map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Glacier. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Red Gap Pass Trail