SigMT

SiG MT 50 St. Mary Falls is a beautiful double cascade, with a few spots to sit and rest on the rocks nearby. Adding to the araction of the hike, especially for kids, is the log bridge you cross to reach them. DISTANCE: From the St. Mary Falls trailhead, it is 0.8 of a mile to the falls, and then the same heading back, with 260 feet of elevation gain in total. TIME: 1 hour if going only to St. Mary Falls and back STARTING POINT: Take the shule or your car to the St. Mary Falls trailhead along Going-to-the-Sun Road. Leave the shule stop/parking area and start heading downhill along the trail. Aer a quarter of a mile, come to the main trail; continue down the trail to the right, following the well-marked signs. (e trail to the le leads to Baring Falls). Your route, however, winds mostly downhill through patches of burned and intact forest to the falls. As you close in on the waterfall, the trail bends to follow the bank of the river. Cross the log bridge across the river to see the falls to your right. e water is very cold since it is glacial runoff, so we don't really recommend this, but if you have capable and daring children—with personal flotation devices—they can join the ranks of those who jump off the bridge into the deep pool on the downstream side. It's quite exciting to see others do it! Aer this informative boat ride on two vessels across two lakes to reach Grinnell Lake, hike along a mostly level 1.1-mile trail that cuts through thick brush, traversing seasonal streams. e trail is oen boardwalk, and you'll frequently share it with other hikers. It is a good idea to make some noise as you walk—not usually a challenge when hiking with kids!—as there are oen bears that are easily surprised (as well as surprising you) in the thick brush. is is also excellent moose habitat. (e same safety rules follow for moose: if you come across one on a trail, make sure to slowly back away, not proceeding until the moose leaves.) Our children found the trail easy and enjoyed the mix of trail and boardwalk. e trail dumps you out onto the lakeshore, where you can spread out for a snack or picnic and some rest. Kids can usually find endless fun along the shores of a lake, so plan to spend a bit of time here. Grinnell Glacier is visible, hanging in a glacial valley far above the lake, and you can also see an impressive waterfall on the cliffs between the glacier, Upper Grinnell Lake, and Grinnell Lake. Two notes: First, the boat tour offers guided hikes to Grinnell Lake on some of its trips. You can plan ahead to join one, if you like to have a tour guide. We find that the tour guide pace isn't usually the pace kids want to walk, so we sometimes just pop in and out of the tour group as we go. Second, if some members of your party are more physically fit and would like to hike to the glacier, you can split up aer the boat ride at the top of Lake Josephine—there are two trails, one to Grinnell Lake and the other to Upper Grinnell Lake and Grinnell Glacier. at is what our family did. It was nice to take the boat rides together but also satisfying for each group to have the hiking experience that worked for them. St. Mary Falls St. Mary Lake Bear Grass

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