TWO UP RIDERS

Stunning Wild Flowers of the Rockies

Rocky Mountain Wild Flower

On this trip, from Colorado to Jasper and beyond, we were astounded by the density and variety of the stunning wild flowers of the Rockies. As part of our motorcycle touring, we try to get in as much hiking as we can. If all we do is ride and eat our gut/butt keep getting bigger and bigger, not really the point of our travels. Selecting our hike can be somewhat random. Sometimes we just stop along the road and take a path to no where while other times we plan our hikes. Below is a collection of some of the beautiful flowers we saw on our hike in Glacier National Park along the Icerberg Lake Trail. This trail, bursting with wild flowers, startsĀ behind the guest cabins of the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. The trail traverses 9.7 miles round trip through spectacular alpine scenery with a total elevation gain of 1275ft. The juxtaposition of these alpine wild flowers vsĀ  the desert wild flowers that we saw at the beginning of our trip was interesting. The colors of wild flowers from desert to mountain were equally spectacular but the surrounding landscape was so vastly different.

Wild Flowers of the Rockies at Glacier National Park

Hiking Glacier National Park

This great chart of hikes created by HikingGlacier shows the numerous hikes you can take in Glacier National Park:

Trail Name Location Trail Features RT Miles Elevation Gain Difficulty Rating
Apgar Lookout Lake McDonald Scenic Views, Historic 7.1 1845 10.79
Apikuni Falls Many Glacier Waterfalls 1.7 625 2.95
Appistoki Falls Two Medicine Waterfalls 1.3 175 1.65
Aster Falls Two Medicine Waterfalls 2.8 320 3.44
Aster Park Overlook Two Medicine Scenic Views, Waterfalls 4.0 780 5.56
Avalanche Lake Lake McDonald Lake, Waterfalls 4.5 730 5.96
Baring Falls St. Mary Lake Waterfalls 0.8 160 1.12
Beaver Pond Loop St. Mary Lake Meadows, Forest Hike, Historic 3.6 350 4.30
Belly River Ranger Station Many Glacier Outstanding Views, Historic 12.2 870 13.94
Bullhead Lake Many Glacier Lakes, Waterfalls, Scenic Views 7.2 425 8.05
Cobalt Lake Two Medicine Scenic Views, Alpine Lake, Waterfalls, Wildflowers 11.2 1450 14.10
Cracker Lake Many Glacier Alpine Lake, Outstanding Views 12.6 1400 15.40
Dawson Pass Two Medicine Outstanding Views 9.4 2450 14.30
Deadwood Falls Logan Pass Waterfalls, Forest Hike 2.3 665 3.63
Firebrand Pass Two Medicine Outstanding Views, Wildflowers 10.2 1950 14.10
Fish Lake Lake McDonald Lake, Forest Hike 5.8 1210 8.22
Florence Falls Logan Pass Waterfalls, Forest Hike 9.8 975 11.75
Forest and Fire Nature Trail Lake McDonald Scenic Views, Wildflowers 1.1 180 1.46
Gable Pass Many Glacier Outstanding Views, Alpine Meadows 13.1 2250 17.60
Granite Park Chalet (via The Loop) Logan Pass Outstanding Views, Wildflowers 8.4 2450 13.30
Granite Park Chalet (via Highline) Logan Pass Outstanding Views, Alpine Meadows, Wildflowers 15.2 1920 19.04
Grinnell Glacier Many Glacier Outstanding Views, Glaciers 7.6 1840 11.28
Grinnell Lake Many Glacier Lake, Scenic Views 3.0 220 3.44
Gunsight Lake Logan Pass Outstanding Views, Subalpine Lake, Wildflowers 12.6 1500 15.60
Hidden Falls Many Glacier Waterfalls, Forest Hike 2.5 250 3.00
Hidden Lake Logan Pass Outstanding Views, Alpine Meadows, Lake 5.4 1325 8.05
Hidden Lake Overlook Logan Pass Outstanding Views, Alpine Meadows, Wildflowers 2.7 540 3.78
Highline Loop Logan Pass Outstanding Views, Alpine Meadows, Wildflowers 11.8 1950 15.70
Highline Trail to Haystack Pass Logan Pass Outstanding Views, Alpine Meadows, Wildflowers 7.2 825 8.85
Howe Lake Lake McDonald Lake 4.0 240 4.48
Huckleberry Mountain Lookout Lake McDonald Scenic Views 12.0 3400 18.80
Iceberg Lake Many Glacier Outstanding Views, Alpine Lake 9.7 1275 12.25
Johns Lake Loop Lake McDonald Waterfalls, Lake Views 1.8 225 2.25
Lake McDonald West Shore Lake McDonald Lake Views 14.0 300 14.60
Medicine Grizzly Lake Two Medicine Subalpine Lake, Scenic Views 12.4 625 13.65
Mt. Brown Lookout Lake McDonald Outstanding Views, Historic 10.1 4250 18.60
No Name Lake Two Medicine Alpine Lake, Scenic Views 5.4 905 7.21
Oldman Lake Two Medicine Alpine Lake, Outstanding Views 13.3 1850 17.00
Otokomi Lake St. Mary Lake Alpine Lake, Waterfalls 10.8 2180 15.16
Paradise Point Two Medicine Scenic Lake Views 1.4 220 1.84
Piegan Pass Logan Pass Outstanding Views 9.2 1850 12.90
Pitamakan Pass Two Medicine Outstanding Views, Lake Views 15.4 2500 20.40
Poia Lake Many Glacier Lake Views 8.6 1750 12.10
Preston Park Logan Pass Outstanding Views, Alpine Meadows, Wildflowers 7.1 1415 9.93
Ptarmigan Falls Many Glacier Oustanding Views, Waterfalls 5.0 768 6.54
Ptarmigan Lake Many Glacier Oustanding Views, Alpine Lake 8.8 1700 12.20
Ptarmigan Tunnel Many Glacier Oustanding Views, Alpine Lake, Historic 10.7 2300 15.30
Quartz Lake Loop Lake McDonald Lake Views, Forest Hike 12.8 2350 17.50
Red Eagle Lake St. Mary Lake Lake Views, Meadows 15.0 300 15.60
Redrock Falls Many Glacier Waterfalls, Lake, Scenic Views 4.2 285 4.77
Rockwell Falls Two Medicine Waterfalls, Scenic Views, Wildflowers 7.0 375 7.75
Rocky Point Nature Trail Lake McDonald Lake, Scenic Views 1.9 350 2.60
Running Eagle Falls Two Medicine Waterfalls 0.6 15 0.63
Scalplock Mountain Lookout Two Medicine Outstanding Views, Historic 9.4 3175 15.75
Scenic Point Two Medicine Outstanding Views, Alpine Tundra 8.0 2300 12.60
Siyeh Pass Logan Pass Outstanding Views, Alpine Meadows, Wildflowers 8.9 2090 13.08
Siyeh Pass Loop Logan Pass Outstanding Views, Alpine Meadows, Wildflowers 10.4 2280 14.96
Snyder Lake Lake McDonald Subalpine Lake, Scenic Views 8.7 2045 12.79
Sperry Chalet Lake McDonald Outstanding Views, Waterfalls 12.3 3360 19.02
St. Mary Area Waterfalls Hike St. Mary Lake Waterfalls, Lake Views 5.2 700 6.60
St. Mary Falls St. Mary Lake Waterfalls 1.7 215 2.13
Swiftcurrent Lake Nature Trail Many Glacier Scenic and Lake Views, Forest 2.9 25 2.95
Swiftcurrent Pass Many Glacier Outstanding Views, Alpine Meadows, Lakes 14.2 2400 19.00
Trail of the Cedars Lake McDonald Forest Hike, Waterfalls 1.0 60 1.12
Trout Lake Lake McDonald Lake 8.4 4200 16.80
Twin Falls Two Medicine Waterfalls 2.3 115 2.53
Two Medicine Pass Two Medicine Outstanding Views, Alpine Lake 15.8 2350 20.50
Upper Two Medicine Lake Two Medicine Lake Views, Meadows, Wildflowers 4.8 350 5.50
Virginia Falls St. Mary Lake Waterfalls 3.6 525 4.65