Alt Text

Map of Glacier National Park in Montana. Shown in sage green as a roughly trapezoidal area, the park stretches diagonally from the northwest to the southeast through the center of the map region, with a small and craggy appendage of green extending even further north to encompass Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada. Hundreds of beige glaciers and mountain ridges, powder blue waterways, color-coded campgrounds, brown roads, and other sites are labeled across the landscape.

Extended Description

This description will navigate major points of interest within Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks, then notable locations in the surrounding area, before ending with a transcription of the legend.

Glacier National Park

A thick red line outlined in black marks Going-to-the-Sun Road, which spans the midsection of the park, snaking below the Livingston Range running vertically to the north and above the Lewis Range running vertically to the south. Beginning along the western perimeter, the road enters the park at a yellow dot indicating West Glacier, which has a Railroad Depot, food service, and lodging.

Sites along the route as it curves northeast past Lake McDonald are shown from west to east as follows: Park Headquarters, with ranger station; West Entrance; Glacier Institute Field Camp; guided horseback riding; Apgar Visitor Center, labeled in a green callout just before Lake McDonald; Sprague Creek, with a picnic area and campground; Lake McDonald, with lodging, boat tours and rentals, food service, guided horseback riding, and a trail down to Sperry Chalet; Lake McDonald infrequently staffed ranger station at the northern tip of the lake just west of the road; McDonald Falls; Johns Lake; Avalanche Creek, with a picnic area, campground, and a trail down to Avalanche Lake; self-guiding Trail of the Cedars Nature Trail with wheelchair access; Packers Roost; The Loop, with a trail leading to the wilderness campground at Granite Park Chalet near a sharp bend in the road where it juts north; Weeping Wall; Triple Arches; location with wheelchair access where the road turns back east; Logan Pass Visitor Center, labeled with a dark green callout box and which has wheelchair access; the self-guiding Hidden Lake Nature Trail; Siyeh Bend; Jackson Glacier Overlook; Baring Falls where the road passes along the northern edge of Saint Mary Lake’s western end; Sunrift Gorge; self-guiding Sun Point Nature Trail, with a picnic area; Rising Sun, with lodging, campground, food service, amphitheater, a picnic area, boat tours, and boat rentals; Saint Mary, with a campground, at the eastern tip of Saint Mary Lake; St. Mary Visitor Center, labeled with a dark green callout box, at the St. Mary Entrance; and a yellow dot marking Saint Mary, with lodging and food service, at the eastern terminus of the road.

Southeast of Going-to-the-Sun Road, within the Glacier National Park Boundary, is a vast area dominated by the Lewis Range, which contains a network of hiking trails leading to glaciers, alpine lakes, mountain passes, and about two dozen wilderness campgrounds. Starting at the Logan Pass Visitor Center, the Continental Divide follows a continuous ridgeline south to Gunsight Mountain; east to Mount Logan; further east to Triple Divide Peak; south to Mount Rockwell; south to Summit Mountain in a backwards-C curve; and finally south again out to a black point at the southern park boundary labeled Summit, a US Forest Service site with a ranger station (infrequently staffed). The Continental Divide then continues southeast out of the park before trailing off the map. Another dotted line, labeled Hudson Bay Divide, heads northeast from Triple Divide Peak heading to the eastern park boundary, Duck Lake, and then northeast off the map.

Near the eastern border of the park, Cut Bank lies south of St. Mary and east of Triple Divide Peak and has a ranger station (infrequently staffed) and primitive campground. A road leads from here further east out to US Route 89. Heading south-southeast from Cut Bank is Two Medicine near the southeast corner of the park. The Two Medicine area has three oblong lakes, Upper Two Medicine Lake, Two Medicine Lake, and Lower Two Medicine Lake. Amenities include a ranger station, camping, picnic area, boat tour / rentals, food service, and an amphitheater. A park road runs from Two Medicine Lake to Two Medicine Entrance at the park border, passing through Running Eagle Falls Nature Trail, with a wheelchair accessible trail and a self-guiding trail. The road then connects to State Route 49 at Two Medicine Junction outside of the park boundary. Heading south, State Route 49 connects with US Route 2 at East Glacier Park Railroad Depot, which has a ranger station, food service, and lodging. From here, US Route 2 heads southwest following the southwest park boundary, passing through Summit (US Forest Service), which has camping; and Devil Creek (US Forest Service), also with camping. Continuing to follow the park boundary, US Route 2 reaches the park’s southernmost tip and then curves northwest, passing through Goat Lick Overlook, with a wheelchair accessible trail, and out to a yellow point labeled Essex Railroad Depot, which has lodging and food service. Walton is near Essex and has a picnic area and ranger station (infrequently staffed). US Route 2 continues northwest outside the park boundary to meet back with West Glacier and Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Back within the Glacier National Park Boundary, to the northwest of Going-to-the-Sun Road is an even larger area with little more than hiking trails and wilderness campgrounds interspersed among its many mountains, valleys, and lakes. Again at Logan Pass Visitor Center, the Continental Divide heads due north into this area, passing atop the Garden Wall and through Swiftcurrent Pass; then bending west across Flattop Mountain; then northwest along the Livingston Range to Thunderbird Mountain; then north to Mount Custer; and finally over the Canadian border to Akamina Pass, with a ranger station nearby.

Back at the center of the map, just north of Logan Pass Visitor Center is Many Glacier, which has a road leading east to the Many Glacier Entrance, near the park border along Lake Sherburne. Many Glacier’s amenities include information, food service, camping, a ranger station, lodging, and an amphitheater. Just east of Many Glacier, the Swiftcurrent Nature Trail has a wheelchair-accessible trail, a picnic area, and a self-guiding trail; and nearby Swiftcurrent Lake has boat tours / rentals, horseback riding, and lodging. Granite Park Chalet is west of Many Glacier and can only be accessed by trails. Northwest of Many Glacier are dozens of wilderness camps, waterfalls, and lakes. Belly River, which is north of Many Glacier, has a ranger station (infrequently staffed). North-northwest of Belly River, Goat Haunt is at the southern end of Upper Waterton Lake and has boat tours / rentals, a ranger station, and wilderness camping.

Upper Waterton Lake extends north past the Canadian border into Waterton Lakes National Park. West of Goat Haunt is the Livingston Range with a network of trails connecting to the Continental Divide at Brown Pass and out along long lakes stretching through the valleys towards the western park boundary. Lakes from north to south include Kintla Lake, with a ranger station (infrequently staffed) and primitive camping; Bowman Lake, with a ranger station (infrequently staffed), primitive camping, and picnic area; Quartz Lake, with wilderness camping; and Logging Lake, with wilderness camping. Inside North Fork Road connects from Kintla Lake to Fish Creek, passing through Polebridge, which has an entrance station and ranger station; Quartz Creek, with primitive camping; and Logging Creek, with primitive camping. A note for Inside North Fork Road reads, “Road closed from Logging Creek to Camas Creek.” A road connects from Polebridge Entrance Station out to a yellow point labeled Polebridge and Outside North Fork Road that follows the western park boundary outside of the park to connect back with West Glacier Railroad Depot. Camas Road travels through a western portion of the park from a junction with outside North Fork Road just north of Big Creek Outdoor Center, through the Camas Entrance, and Apgar to intersect with the Going-to-the-Sun Road at Apgar Visitor Center.

Waterton Lakes National Park

Upper Waterton Lake is a long lake that stretches from Goat Haunt at the southern end in the US to a yellow point labeled Waterton and Middle Waterton Lake at the northern end in Canada. Waterton has a Visitor Information Centre, ranger station, lodging, food service, camping, boat tour / rentals, and a picnic area. The Akamina Parkway begins in Waterton, connecting to Route 5 just north of the yellow dot and to Akamina Lake, which is on the opposite side of Akamina Pass to the nearby ranger station, in the southwest. The Akamina Parkway also passes through a point labeled First Oil Well in Western Canada Historic Site along Cameron Creek.

Now back in Waterton, Route 5 passes through points labeled Linnet Lake and Prince of Wales National Historic Site along Middle Waterton Lake, as well as a point with horseback riding and a golf course along Lonesome Lake. Near the golf course, Red Rock Parkway curves northwest off Route 5 and travels along Blakiston Creek, going past Crandall Mountain, with camping, to end at Red Rock Canyon, with a self-guiding trail. From the junction, Route 5 continues northeast to the Park Entrance near Lower Waterton Lake, connecting out to Chief Mountain International Highway, along the northwest park boundary. This highway, also designated as Route 6, passes through Kanai Nation (Blood Tribe); another site named Belly River, which has camping; and to a point on the US border labeled Customs (summer only). From here, it continues southwest, now as State Route 17, to a junction with US Route 89 outside the Glacier National Park Boundary.

The Continental Divide forms the western park boundary of Waterton Lakes National Park passing through Akamina Pass and South Kootenay Pass. The divide then heads west, forming the border of Alberta and British Columbia as it goes over numerous mountains and ridges.

Surrounding Area

Starting at the top of the map, Castle Wildland Provincial Park is north of Waterton Lakes National Park. In the United States, the Blackfeet Indian Reservation comprises almost all the land east of Glacier National Park. Lewis and Clark National Forest and Flathead National Forest are southeast of Glacier National Park. Great Bear Wilderness Area; Flathead National Forest; Hungry Horse (US Forest Service), with a ranger station; Glacier Park International Airport; and Whitefish Lake State Park, with a picnic area and camping are all southwest of Glacier National Park. Flathead National Forest is again labeled near the international boundary, and in Canada Flathead Provincial Forest and Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park are both found northwest of Glacier National Park and west of Waterton Lakes National Park.

Legend

A scale at the bottom left of the map measures distances of 5 and 10 kilometers and 5 and 10 miles.

The legend continues as follows:

Gray line for Unpaved road,

Green dashed line for Trail,

Gray dotted line for Continental Divide,

White outlined with dashed blue line for Glacier, and

Thin red triangle with numbers for Distance indicator.

Sixteen symbols represent Ranger station, Ranger station (infrequently staffed), Food service, Lodging, Self-guiding trail, Campground, Primitive campground, Wilderness campground, Picnic area, Horseback riding (guided), Boat tour/rentals, Shuttle bus stop, Amphitheater, Wheelchair-accessible trail, Bookstore/gift shop, and Lookout tower.

Two notes outside the park boundary read as follows:

Wilderness. Over 90 percent of Glacier National Park has been recommended for wilderness designation. Preserving wilderness protects forever the land’s wilderness character, natural conditions, opportunities for solitude, and scientific, educational, and historical values. Find out more about Glacier’s wilderness on the park website.

Driving Going-to-the-Sun Road. Vehicles over 21 feet (including bumpers) or over 8 feet wide (including mirrors) are prohibited between Avalanche Creek and Rising Sun, and North Fork Road beyond Polebridge Entrance Station. Rock overhangs may pose difficulties for vehicles over 10 feet tall in traveling west from Logan Pass to The Loop. Guided tours are available; check at a visitor center.