Parking
Start at the North Shore Trailhead, reached from Two Medicine Road; the route returns from the South Shore by mapped campground roads.
Overview
About Two Medicine Lake Loop
Why go
- Open north-shore views look across the lake toward avalanche chutes.
- One circuit links both shores with a ridge view toward Sinopah Mountain.
Heads up
- The campground-road connection adds walking between the two shore-trail sections.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Glacier map
Full mapElevation5,167–5,482 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 Two Medicine Lake Loop, 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
Two Medicine North Shore and Twin Falls0:00 / 0:26
“You're nearing Two Medicine's North Shore Trailhead, where Twin Falls makes a gentle but fairly long waterfall walk. Allow about four hours for seven miles round trip to the two cascades below Pumpelly Pillar.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Glacier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Scenic Point and Appistoki Falls
- Two Medicine Lake and South Shore
- Running Eagle Falls
- Two Medicine on the Radio
- 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 Two Medicine Lake Loop
The full circuitThis is an 8-mile loop around both shores of Two Medicine Lake, joining the North Shore and…
This is an 8-mile loop around both shores of Two Medicine Lake, joining the North Shore and South Shore trailheads with a mapped campground-road connection. Allow about 4–5 hours for the full walk and time by the lake. A published estimate is 7.5 miles; the complete connected line mapped here measures 8.02 miles, so use the 8-mile figure for this version.
North-shore viewsThe north shore is relatively open, with views across the lake and up the avalanche chutes.
The north shore is relatively open, with views across the lake and up the avalanche chutes. A little over three miles past the head of the lake, several junctions branch toward Dawson Pass, Twin Falls and Upper Two Medicine Lake. Those are separate hikes; stay left to continue the shoreline loop.
The turn toward SinopahThe loop passes the boat-tour dock, crosses the ridge descending from Sinopah Mountain, then…
The loop passes the boat-tour dock, crosses the ridge descending from Sinopah Mountain, then turns onto the South Shore trail. The route returns along the other side of the lake before the campground-road link closes the circuit. Rockwell Falls is a separate spur of less than a mile from its junction; Aster Falls and Paradise Point are other side-trip options, not part of the 8-mile route.
RulesPets are not allowed on Glacier trails or along undeveloped lakeshores.
Pets are not allowed on Glacier trails or along undeveloped lakeshores. The pass, lake and falls routes are separate branches; keep left at the north-shore junctions to stay on this loop.
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.
