Top Trails: Glacier National Park: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone

by Jean Arthur

Glacier National Park's remote locale allows visitors to experience an intact ecosystem that hosts nearly all wildlife and bird species that were found a century ago when Congress designated the 1.2 million acres as America's 10th national park. Here at that Crown of the Continent, hikers use the guide to access a mountain pass where meltwater drains to three different oceans. Trail users retrace routes to some 200 sapphire blue or turquoise green lakes, following trails along some of the park's 1,557 miles of streams and rivers and discovering some of Glacier's 200 named waterfalls. The ever-changing landscape encourages trail users, photographers, and nature lovers to return to Glacier to explore glacial tarns as they melt, aspens as they quake golden in the fall, and even recovering landscapes from large wildfires a decade ago. This guide also reveals historically significant information about the park and the trails, culturally significant waypoints, Blackfeet Indian and other Native American traditional use, ongoing scientific research and sustainable practices in Glacier.Top Glacier National Park by local author Jean Arthur leads visitors to secluded trails and unique settings while providing details of current and past human activity, wildlife movement, wildfire's importance, and geologic changes that altered the landscape and created America's 10th national park.The unique approach of Top Glacier National Park reveals why certain trails wend alongside sensitive meadows or climb above crystalline lakes. The guide leads hikers to backcountry respites, unique to Glacier. The guide also traces outlaws, poachers, and mining ventures that occurred inside the current park boundary.

463 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 19, 2014

Reviews

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completed the hidden lake hike this weekend and it was spectacular! Will be back soon for all the others!!

[Kathy Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a perfect companion for your trip

[Eric]

A great book for making the most of a visit to Glacier NP. It contains descriptions and photos, mileage, elevation change, when to go, including best time of day, and maps for 40 hikes in Glacier and adjoining Waterton Lakes in Canada. Although there are apps and internet sites with similar info, I like seeing it all in one place and not needing an electronic device to view the information. The book is small enough to fit in a backpack—one can always rip out and bring just the relevant pages—and does not need batteries or WiFi! I can take it out of my pack in the rain and not worry about it getting wet, too.

[Ryan Hoshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well put together guide.