Hiking to Cracker Lake: One of the World's Most Beautiful Lakes

Dan Wagner
2 days ago
9 min read

Hiking the Cracker Lake Trail in Glacier National Park leads to one of the most brilliantly colored alpine lakes in the United States, but the turquoise water waiting at the end is only part of what makes this hike worthwhile. Beginning near the historic Many Glacier Hotel, the trail undergoes a remarkable transformation over its roughly six-mile journey into the mountains, beginning in thick forest before passing Cracker Flats, climbing onto a wooded ridge between two creek valleys, dropping into the narrow Canyon Creek drainage, and eventually emerging from the trees into an increasingly dramatic alpine landscape beneath Allen Mountain and Mount Siyeh. At the end of the journey, hikers arrive at the almost unbelievably turquoise waters of Cracker Lake beneath one of the largest and most imposing mountain walls in Glacier National Park.

Trailhead elevation 4,950'

Water filterable from Canyon Creek and Cracker Lake

Don't miss looking for the old mining equipment at the back end of the lake

Hiking to Cracker Lake

The hike begins from the Cracker Lake Trailhead at the south end of the upper parking area above the Many Glacier Hotel. Parking accommodates a few hundred vehicles, with overflow parking a short drive beyond the hotel along Many Glacier Rd. Given how popular the area is, hikers are encouraged to arrive no later than 7 AM during the park's busy season (July through Labor Day) in order to secure a parking spot.

Almost immediately after leaving the trailhead, hikers enter a heavily forested area while following a trail that is also used by horseback riders. Depending on recent weather and how much horse traffic the trail has received, the first two miles can be muddy, dusty, deeply rutted, or covered with the unavoidable evidence that horses have been through recently (road apples). It's not exactly the glamorous introduction hikers might expect from a trail leading to one of Glacier National Park's most beautiful lakes, but don't let the first couple miles discourage you—the scenery improves dramatically as the hike progresses.

For roughly the first mile, the trail winds through a mixture of forest and small openings while wrapping around the lower slopes of Allen Mountain. The forest can feel surprisingly dense compared with the wide-open alpine landscape waiting later in the hike, with much of the surrounding scenery initially hidden behind the trees. This is also excellent black and grizzly bear habitat, particularly where thick vegetation and berry-producing shrubs grow beside the trail, so hikers should make noise around blind corners and carry bear spray where it can be reached immediately.

Further along, the forest begins opening enough to provide the first significant views of the day. Hikers can look across the broad Cracker Flats area and toward the upper reaches of Lake Sherburne, with mountains rising beyond the lake. After spending much of the opening mile surrounded by trees, the sudden view across the flats provides the first indication that the hike is beginning to leave the developed Many Glacier area behind.

At roughly 1.3 to 1.4 miles, hikers reach the Cracker Flats Horse Loop junction. Stay on the route toward Cracker Lake rather than following the horse loop across the flats. Shortly afterward, the trail crosses Allen Creek via rock hopping. The area around the creek once again becomes noticeably greener and more enclosed, with thick vegetation surrounding the drainage.

Beyond Allen Creek, the character of the hike changes again. The relatively gentle opening miles give way to a series of switchbacks climbing onto a ridge between Allen Creek and Canyon Creek. This is one of the more noticeable climbs along the Cracker Lake Trail, but it also leads to the first truly interesting mountain terrain of the hike. As hikers gain elevation, openings through the trees begin providing views into the neighboring drainages.

Eventually, hikers reach a particularly interesting stretch where Allen Creek lies in the valley on one side of the ridge while Canyon Creek occupies the drainage on the other. It's an unusual perspective and one that helps reveal the topography hikers are traveling through. The route is no longer simply following a valley floor—it is temporarily traveling along the high ground separating two mountain drainages.

After reaching the high point of the ridge, the trail gradually works its way down toward Canyon Creek. The scenery becomes enclosed once again as hikers return to thick forest. This middle portion of the Cracker Lake Trail can feel completely different from the open views around Cracker Flats only a couple miles earlier. Tall trees surround the trail, vegetation crowds portions of the path, and Canyon Creek rushes through the narrow valley nearby.

At roughly 3.25 miles, the forest temporarily breaks apart, providing hikers with their first expansive look into the Canyon Creek Valley. This is one of the most important transitions along the hike. For the first time, hikers can really see the mountain corridor they will follow toward Cracker Lake. The steep slopes of Allen Mountain rise along one side of the canyon while the rugged mountains east of Canyon Creek form the opposite wall.

The opening provides a preview of the landscape ahead, but the trail isn't finished with the forest quite yet. After continuing farther up the drainage and crossing Canyon Creek, hikers reenter the trees for another extended stretch. This portion of the route alternates between forest, thick brush, creekside vegetation, and occasional openings that provide glimpses of the increasingly massive mountains ahead.

The farther hikers travel up Canyon Creek, the more remote the hike begins to feel. The crowds and development around Many Glacier Hotel are now miles behind, Lake Sherburne has disappeared from sight, and the surrounding mountains begin closing around the valley. The forest can be particularly thick in places, with brush growing close to the trail and blind corners limiting visibility. This is another section where hikers should be especially alert for bears.

Although the middle miles can feel somewhat enclosed, the mountains occasionally appear through openings in the canopy, providing a preview of what is coming. Allen Mountain rises dramatically to the west while Mount Siyeh begins asserting itself ahead. At 10,014 feet, Mount Siyeh is one of only six mountains in Glacier National Park exceeding 10,000 feet, and the closer hikers get to Cracker Lake, the more dominant it becomes.

At roughly 5 miles, the scenery undergoes its biggest transformation of the entire hike. The dense forest finally begins to thin, trees become smaller and more scattered, and hikers emerge into a dramatically more open landscape. After spending several miles traveling through trees and thick vegetation, the sudden exposure feels almost like stepping onto an entirely different trail.

The final approach is arguably the most beautiful portion of the hike. The vegetation becomes lower and more sparse, allowing hikers to see considerably farther up the valley. Rocky slopes and cliffs become increasingly prominent, while patches of wildflowers can cover portions of the open terrain during summer.

Mount Siyeh grows particularly impressive during this section. The mountain rises to 10,014 feet, but its elevation alone doesn't explain its enormous appearance from the Cracker Lake drainage. The mountain's northern face rises thousands of feet above the basin, creating an immense wall that becomes progressively more imposing with every step toward the lake.

Eventually, at roughly 6 miles from the trailhead, hikers crest a rise and receive their first view of Cracker Lake. It's one of the best reveals on any trail in Glacier National Park. After more than six miles of forests, meadows, creek valleys, and mountain terrain, an almost impossibly turquoise lake suddenly appears below. Even hikers who have seen countless photographs of Cracker Lake may be surprised by how intense the color looks in person.

The brilliant turquoise appearance comes from extremely fine particles of sediment known as glacial flour. Glaciers grind the underlying rock into microscopic particles, which are carried downstream by meltwater and remain suspended in the lake. Sunlight reflecting from those particles creates the milky turquoise-blue color for which Cracker Lake is famous.

As impressive as the water is, the cirque surrounding it is even more dramatic. Mount Siyeh towers above the southern end of the basin, with its immense rock wall rising thousands of feet above the water. Allen Mountain, reaching roughly 9,376 feet, forms another massive wall along the western side of the drainage. Together, these towering peaks create a tremendous natural amphitheater around Cracker Lake and one of the most unforgettable mountain scenes in Glacier National Park.

Adding another impressive feature to the landscape is Siyeh Glacier, tucked along the northern slope of Mount Siyeh. The glacier was once believed to cover only about 25 acres, but improved imagery later revealed that nearly half of its ice had been hidden beneath a thick layer of rock debris. With that previously concealed ice included, Siyeh Glacier is now estimated to cover more than 55 acres. While still considerably smaller than Swiftcurrent Glacier along the Swiftcurrent Pass Trail and several of Glacier National Park's larger glaciers, its position high above the brilliant waters of Cracker Lake makes it an impressive part of the surrounding alpine scenery.

Rather than stopping at the first viewpoint, hikers should continue along the trail. The route travels above the lake, providing increasingly impressive perspectives across the turquoise water toward Mount Siyeh. Each bend reveals a slightly different angle, and the color of the lake can change considerably depending on the sunlight, clouds, and viewing direction.

Eventually, hikers descend toward the three site Cracker Lake backcountry campground and shoreline. From lake level, the scale of the surrounding mountains becomes even more apparent. Mount Siyeh seems to rise almost directly from the water, while scree slopes, cliffs, and exposed layers of ancient sedimentary rock surround the basin.

Cracker Lake is beautiful, but it also tells an important geological story. The mountains of Glacier National Park consist largely of ancient sedimentary rocks belonging to the Belt Supergroup, many of which were deposited more than a billion years ago. Those rock layers were later uplifted and subsequently carved by enormous glaciers into the steep peaks, U-shaped valleys, cliffs, and lake basins seen throughout the park.

The Cracker Lake area also contains an unusual igneous intrusion, where molten rock forced its way through the surrounding sedimentary formations. Mineralization associated with this geological feature attracted prospectors during the late 1800s and eventually resulted in one of the most ambitious mining operations attempted in what would become Glacier National Park.

In fact, Cracker Lake's name comes directly from this mining history. The lake was originally known as Blue Lake before prospectors began searching the surrounding mountains for valuable minerals during the late 19th century. In 1897, prospectors L.S. Emmons and Hank Norris were investigating a promising mineral deposit when they stopped near the lake for lunch. According to the historical account, the men left crackers and cheese beneath some rocks with the intention of retrieving them later. The mineral deposit became known as the Cracker Lead, and Blue Lake eventually took the name Cracker Lake.

The discovery helped spark development of the Cracker Mine, one of several mining ventures created during a brief rush into the Many Glacier region. Prospectors believed the mountains might contain commercially valuable deposits of copper and other minerals, and substantial amounts of money were invested in developing the site.

The operation eventually became surprisingly elaborate considering its remote location. Heavy machinery and mining equipment had to be hauled miles into the mountains, and miners drove extensive underground workings into the rock near Cracker Lake. Equipment used to process the ore was installed near the lake, transforming this otherwise isolated alpine basin into a small industrial operation around the turn of the 20th century.

Ultimately, the mineral deposits failed to live up to expectations. The mine never became the profitable operation investors envisioned, and the mining boom faded away. Glacier National Park was established in 1910, permanently changing the future of the landscape from one focused partly on resource extraction to one centered on preservation.

Hikers can still find evidence of that forgotten period around Cracker Lake today. Rusted pieces of mining equipment and other remnants of the Cracker Mine remain scattered near portions of the basin, creating an unusual contrast with the turquoise lake and towering mountains surrounding them.

For day hikers, the return trip simply retraces the route back toward Many Glacier Hotel, but the changing scenery makes the hike out more interesting than a typical out-and-back trail. Leaving the barren alpine environment around Cracker Lake, hikers descend back into the upper Canyon Creek Valley, gradually trading exposed rock and sweeping mountain views for scattered trees and eventually dense forest. The trail then follows Canyon Creek back through the enclosed middle portion of the hike before climbing onto the ridge separating Canyon Creek and Allen Creek. From there, hikers descend the switchbacks, cross Allen Creek, and eventually return to the more open landscape around Cracker Flats. The distant views toward Lake Sherburne signal that the hike is approaching civilization once again before the final forested stretch leads back to Many Glacier Hotel.

Cracker Lake Trail Glacier National Park

That constantly changing landscape is one of the most underrated aspects of hiking the Cracker Lake Trail. The hike doesn't simply travel through six miles of similar terrain to reach a beautiful lake. It begins in thick forest, opens toward Lake Sherburne and Cracker Flats, climbs onto a ridge separating two creek valleys, drops into the heavily vegetated Canyon Creek drainage, emerges into increasingly open mountain terrain, and finally enters a stark alpine basin dominated by turquoise water and the enormous cliffs of Mount Siyeh.