The Best Places to See Wildlife in Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park is one of the best wildlife-viewing destinations in the United States, protecting more than one million acres of diverse habitat that supports more than 70 mammal species. Grizzly and black bears, moose, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, mule deer, coyotes, marmots, bald eagles, golden eagles, and many other animals can be found throughout the park, but certain areas consistently offer better viewing opportunities. Visitors can improve their chances by searching during the morning and evening, scanning high elevations for mountain goats and bighorn sheep, open meadows for bears and elk, and wetlands and creek sides for moose and deer. Carrying binoculars is also highly recommended, as patiently scanning distant hillsides and valleys is often one of the best ways to spot Glacier National Park's abundant wildlife.

Fishercap Lake

If your primary goal is to see a moose in Glacier National Park, Fishercap Lake is arguably the best place to start. Located in the Many Glacier area, the small lake can be reached via an extremely short detour from the Swiftcurrent Pass Trail.

Unlike many of Glacier's wildlife-viewing destinations, reaching Fishercap Lake requires very little hiking. Once at the shoreline, visitors can look across the shallow water and marshy edges where moose frequently come to feed on aquatic vegetation.

Early morning and evening are generally the best times to visit. Rather than immediately leaving if nothing is visible, spend some time quietly watching the opposite shoreline and surrounding vegetation. Moose can emerge from the forest with surprisingly little warning.

The surrounding Swiftcurrent Valley is also excellent bear habitat, so grizzly bears and black bears are possibilities throughout the area. Carry bear spray, make noise while hiking, and never approach a moose—even if it appears calm. Moose are extremely large animals and can become aggressive when they feel threatened, particularly cows protecting calves.

Hidden Lake Overlook Trail

Few trails in Glacier National Park offer a better combination of spectacular scenery, sunset views, and wildlife than the Hidden Lake Overlook Trail at Logan Pass. Beginning behind the Logan Pass Visitor Center, the trail climbs approximately 1.3 miles to Hidden Lake Overlook through an open alpine landscape between Clements Mountain and Reynolds Mountain.

The mountain goats are the stars here. They frequently wander through the meadows, across rocky slopes, and occasionally directly across the trail and boardwalk. Some of the goats around Logan Pass have become unusually accustomed to people, which can create the illusion that they are tame. They aren't.

Bighorn sheep also inhabit the Logan Pass area, while hoary marmots and Columbian ground squirrels are commonly found among the rocks and meadows, especially near the Logan Pass Visitor Center. Keep an eye on distant slopes as well, as grizzly bears occasionally travel through the alpine terrain.

Due to its higher elevation, temperatures at Logan Pass are typically much cooler than in other areas of the park, so visitors should plan accordingly.

Highline Trail

The Highline Trail may be Glacier National Park's ultimate wildlife hike. Beginning across Going-to-the-Sun Road from the Logan Pass Visitor Center, the trail traverses the western side of the Continental Divide beneath the Garden Wall. Because much of the hike remains in open alpine and subalpine terrain, hikers have excellent opportunities to scan both the mountainsides above the trail and the valleys far below.

Mountain goats are particularly common, while bighorn sheep, bears, and marmots are often seen as well.

One of the advantages of the Highline Trail is visibility. Rather than hiking through dense forest for miles, much of the route crosses open terrain where animals can be spotted from considerable distances.

Bring binoculars and periodically stop to scan rocky ridges, avalanche chutes, grassy benches, and distant slopes. The area around Haystack Pass and the upper portions of the trail toward Granite Park can be especially productive for spotting wildlife.

Grinnell Glacier Trail

The Grinnell Glacier Trail combines one of Glacier National Park's signature hikes with outstanding wildlife habitat. Beginning in Many Glacier, the route passes Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine before climbing high above Grinnell Lake toward Upper Grinnell Lake and Grinnell Glacier. The constantly changing elevation means hikers travel through several different habitats over the course of the hike.

Lower portions of the route pass through forest and lakeshore habitat where bears, deer, and occasionally moose may appear. As the trail climbs into increasingly open terrain beneath the Garden Wall, opportunities to see bighorn sheep and mountain goats increase.

Marmots are another animal to watch for among the rocks near the upper portion of the hike.

Because Many Glacier supports a substantial bear population, hikers should be particularly bear aware. Carry bear spray somewhere immediately accessible rather than buried inside your backpack, make noise in areas with limited visibility, and pay attention to temporary trail closures or wildlife warnings posted at the trailhead.

Iceberg Lake Trail

Another excellent wildlife hike in Many Glacier is the Iceberg Lake Trail, which travels from the Swiftcurrent area toward one of the most spectacular alpine lakes in Glacier National Park. The trail crosses a fascinating range of wildlife habitats. The lower portions travel through forest and brush before emerging onto open slopes with expansive views across the Swiftcurrent Valley. These open areas provide excellent opportunities to scan distant hillsides for bears.

Grizzly bears are perhaps the most exciting possibility along the route, particularly around berry-producing vegetation later in summer. Black bears may also be encountered, while bighorn sheep and mountain goats inhabit the higher rocky terrain surrounding the Iceberg Lake basin.

Don't become so focused on the trail directly ahead that you forget to look across the valley. Many of Glacier's best wildlife sightings occur hundreds of yards away on open slopes, and binoculars can turn what initially looks like a dark rock into a feeding bear.

Two Dog Flats

You don't necessarily have to hike to have an incredible wildlife encounter in Glacier National Park.

Two Dog Flats, located along Going-to-the-Sun Road on the park's east side, is one of Glacier's best roadside wildlife-viewing areas.

What makes Two Dog Flats so productive is its location where the grasslands of the Great Plains meet the forests and mountains of Glacier. This transition between ecosystems creates an "edge effect," bringing animals associated with several different habitats into the same general area.

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Coyotes, foxes, and badgers hunt ground squirrels in the meadows, hawks search for rodents from above, and deer frequently move from the forest into the grasslands during morning and evening.

Elk use the flats extensively during colder portions of the year before generally moving into higher terrain during

Most notably, Two Dog Flats is the best place to look for grizzly bears from Going-to-the-Sun Road. Drive slowly through the area around sunrise or sunset and carefully scan the meadows and hillsides. If you see a bear from your vehicle, remain inside and give it plenty of room rather than approaching it for a photograph.

Lunch Creek

Located immediately east of Logan Pass along Going-to-the-Sun Road, Lunch Creek is another excellent place to keep an eye out for wildlife. The small creek tumbles down the mountainside beneath Pollock Mountain through an area filled with wildflowers during summer. Its rocky slopes and proximity to the alpine terrain around Logan Pass make the surrounding mountains an excellent habitat for animals such as bighorn sheep and mountain goats.

Lunch Creek is particularly useful because it allows visitors to scan high-elevation wildlife habitat without committing to a long hike. Bring binoculars and look carefully across the rocky slopes above the creek and toward the surrounding ridges.

Visitors should resist the temptation to wander uphill after animals. Instead, use one of the nearby pull-offs and watch safely from your vehicle or carefully walk near the creek along Going-to-the-Sun Road and watch from there.

For most species, early morning and evening provide the best wildlife-viewing opportunities. Temperatures are cooler, human activity is lower, and many animals become more active around sunrise and sunset.

Habitat is just as important as time of day. Look for mountain goats and bighorn sheep around rocky high-elevation terrain near Logan Pass, the Highline Trail, and Many Glacier. Scan open meadows for bears, elk, and coyotes. Check shallow lakes, wetlands, creeks, and willow-filled areas for moose and deer.

Most importantly, slow down. Wildlife watching in Glacier is often less about covering miles and more about patiently studying the landscape. Spend ten or fifteen minutes scanning a meadow rather than simply driving past it. Stop periodically on hikes and search distant slopes with binoculars. Some of the park's most memorable wildlife encounters begin with a tiny movement hundreds of yards away.