Parking
Park at Rising Sun Picnic Area; start from the picnic-area access and follow the path to the boat launch.
Overview
About Rising Sun Trail
Why go
- An easy way to reach the St. Mary Lake shore without a long hike.
Heads up
- A short shoreline stroll, not a substantial hiking outing.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Glacier map
Full mapElevation4,501–4,518 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 Rising Sun 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
Rising Sun: Food and Lakeshore0:00 / 0:31
“You're nearing Rising Sun, a useful place for a meal and a short walk by St. Mary Lake. Two Dog Flats Grill at the motor inn serves American comfort food, including build-your-own burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Glacier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Wild Goose Island Overlook
- A Homeland Across the Park Boundary
- How the Peace Park Began
- Sun Point's View and Vanished Chalets
- 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 Rising Sun Trail
The short versionRising Sun Trail is a level out-and-back from Rising Sun Picnic Area to the St.
Rising Sun Trail is a level out-and-back from Rising Sun Picnic Area to the St. Mary Lake boat launch: 0.4 mile each way, 0.8 mile round-trip. Allow about 30 minutes, longer if you want time by the water. It is a quick shoreline walk rather than a substantial hike; the boat launch is the turnaround.
Along the lakeThe path passes through aspens, crosses Rose Creek and follows the shore, with frequent places…
The path passes through aspens, crosses Rose Creek and follows the shore, with frequent places to reach the water. At the launch, the view opens across St. Mary Lake toward the mountains on the far shore. Return the same way.
Start and accessStart at Rising Sun Picnic Area and use its parking.
Start at Rising Sun Picnic Area and use its parking. The wider developed area has a restroom and restaurant service, and the nearby Rising Sun Motor Inn has groceries and gifts; those amenities are outside the shoreline route. Pets are allowed in developed picnic areas but aren't permitted on park trails, so this walk is a no-pets route.
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.
