Hiking the Highline Trail - Glacier National Park

The highline trail is frequently ranked the #1 trail in Glacier National Park for its 11.8 miles of breathtaking alpine views. The majority of the hike skirts the Garden Wall at heights of over 6,000 feet and ascends to the Granite Park Chalet.

Hiking the Highline trail was one of my all-time favorite hikes. The trail is also one of the most unique trails I have hiked. The Highline is different from other trails in that the majority of the trail boasts dramatic mountain views instead of requiring hikers to climb through a forest to a higher elevation for a viewpoint.

I was nervous before we started our trek, due to its length. I have completed a lot of 6-7 mile hikes, but never 12 miles in a day. My worries were quickly dissipated after we started the trail and I discovered that the trail was mostly flat or downhill, with only a few sections ascending in elevation. Anyone in decent physical condition will be able to complete and thoroughly enjoy the entirety of the Highline trail.

Trail Overview:

Trailhead: Logan Pass Visitor Center
Distance 11.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 200+ feet
Elevation Loss: 2200 feet
Trail Type: Loop or Out-and-back
Difficulty: Moderately Strenuous
Our Hiking Pace: Averaged 2 mph (allowing for photo stops)

In order to make the trail a loop (as opposed to an out-and-back), you will complete 7.8 miles to the Granite Park Chalet and then take the 4 mile Loop Trail back to the Going to the Sun Road.

Trailhead:

The Highline trail begins across the street from the Logan Pass Visitor Center – which offers water and bathrooms. Parking is available at the visitor center but spaces fill up early in the A.M. It is recommended to arrive before 8am to secure a spot. Or consider taking the shuttle if you plan to arrive late morning.

If you are more of a leisure hiker, I highly recommend hiking the Highline trail as early as possible to avoid being cooked in the hot afternoon sun at the end of the trail.

After a few hundred feet of alpine meadows and pine trees, the side of the trail quickly drops off and hugs the side of the mountain for the next quarter mile. Most of this area provides hikers with a wire to clench on to if the fear of heights becomes too much. Although, the trail is wide enough that hikers shouldn’t need it (but that didn’t stop me from hanging on tight).

Haystack Pass

After almost 3.5 miles of alternating alpine meadows and forests, the trail begins to ascend to Haystack Pass. Here you will find the greatest elevation gains of the trail. But the views on the other side are so worth it! Make sure you take a quick break at Haystack Pass for a snack and look around for wildlife. We were able to see a few mountain goats and deer here. Some hikers choose to turn around at this point to make it a shorter 7-mile day.

Grinnell Glacier Overlook

After seven miles, you will come to a fork in the road. At this point, you can choose to ascend 970 feet in 0.8 miles for a spectacular view of Grinnell Glacier. The glacier is located on the other side of the ridge from the Highline trail. This will likely add an hour to an hour and a half to your trip. We chose not to hike up to the lookout this time due to the steepness of the trail, but we will attempt to do it next time we are in Glacier National Park!

The Chalet

Eight miles into hiking the Highline Trail, you will come to the Granite Park Chalet. The chalet was built in 1914 by the Great Northern Railway to provide backcountry hikers with accommodations in the park. The chalet still offers hikers a dorm-style accommodation if you’re looking to extend your hike or just take your time. Accommodations are available late-June to early-September each year.

Regardless of whether or not you choose to stay the night, the chalet makes a wonderful picnic spot for lunch, complete with pit toilets and concession-type snacks and water available for purchase during peak season.

The Infamous Descent (The Loop Trail)

After enjoying a few pb&js and one too many handfuls of trailmix (you know the handfuls that are mostly M&Ms and raisins with maybe one or two peanuts), we started our descent.

As we set out from the chalet, spirits were high. We had just enjoyed lunch at one of the most spectacular spots in all of Glacier, and with only a few miles left and all of them downhill, the rest of the trail should be easy, right? Could not have been more wrong. Don’t underestimate losing 2,200 feet in elevation in only 4 short miles.

After the first mile downhill, the pain set in. I don’t know what hurt more: my feet, ankles, knees, or back. And by this time the hot afternoon sun started baking us to a crisp (still have the sunburn to prove it).

And I have to be honest, the last three miles of the trail are just not spectacular at all compared to the previous 9 miles. With the recent wildfire in 2003, most of trees and foliage are only beginning to grow back. This leaves most of the backside of the trail looking burnt and barren.

Getting Back to the Car

The hike ends at the Loop Trailhead. If you parked at Logan Pass, there is a shuttle stop located in the parking lot at Loop which you can take back to your car. The shuttles run fairly consistently in busy season (mid-June-Labor Day).

But if you happen to be unlucky, like us, and hike the Highline Trail the day after Labor Day, the park has already moved into “off-season” and offers fewer shuttle times but still has just as many visitors. This causes shuttles to fill up before reaching the Loop trailhead and can make it difficult to get a spot on the shuttle. Park rangers know this, and that is why many of them recommend hikers hitchhike back to Logan Pass.

When we arrived at the Loop shuttle stop, there were probably 30+ people in line in front of us. The shuttle arrived 20 minutes later and was only able to take 3 passengers. At this point, thumbs started going up all around us and we quickly joined in. About 5 minutes later, my husband was able to hitch a ride to Logan Pass from a couple off-duty park employees with a few other hikers. He returned 45 minutes later to pick me up from the shuttle stop where I was sitting with a large group of hikers waiting for their hitchhiking friends to return to pick them up as well.

Day Hiking in Bear Country

Glacier National Park is right in the heart of bear country. The East side of the park is one of the only places you will find grizzly bears in the lower 48, while the West side of the park is known for its large population of black bears. As one of our tour guides put it, the bears in Glacier are unlike bears found in Canada and Alaska in that they are “opportunist omnivores”, meaning that they will only eat meat when it is already dead. Otherwise, they prefer to eat only berries. Bear attacks are extremely rare in Glacier, but because of the high concentration of bears in the park, it is important to be alert and prepared should you encounter one. Here are a couple tips to stay safe in bear county:

Bring bear spray (bear spray can be bought for $45 at the visitor center or 2/$40 at Costco in Kalispell).
Talk loudly and make plenty of noise to avoid startling a bear. This especially applies when hiking through an area with heavy brush or low visibility.
Hike in groups – bears are much less likely to attack a large group of hikers.