Glacier National Park's Highline Trail all the way to Many Glacier

The Highline Trail is one of the most popular in Glacier NP. It starts on a narrow cliff face and following the contours of the Garden Wall, until Granite Park. The remote Chalet their is booked months to a year in advance. We then head over Swiftcurrent Pass and drop 2300 feet as we join the Bullhead Lake Trail all the way to the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn in Many Glacier. It's a tiring 15.2 miles but amazing!

[@beebeesfuntasticadventures6110]

So beautiful, and amazing too, enjoyed it fully.

[@TheWestisBig]

Thanks again BeeBee

[@ikelinde3741]

One of the best hikes in Glacier... tough but worth it no matter what direction you do it. Happy to contribute to this one! The vid turned out great 👍.

[@TheWestisBig]

Hey, I’m glad you saw it. I can’t find your contact info. I want to credit you I remember Ike isnt your name. What is it.

[@ikelinde3741]

Sent you an email 🤙!

[@TheWestisBig]

Hmm Didn't get one today. I got one on Thursday. Sorry it took me so long to respond to it. I was finishing up another video.

[@ikelinde3741]

@The West is Big! Travel that was it 👍Just was making sure you got it.

[@bryanwilson3023]

Finally My Lunch Spot!

[@TheWestisBig]

It’s a great spot.

[@bryanwilson3023]

@@TheWestisBig great content as always. Cannot wait to go back with hopefully less forest fire smoke.

[@danielm3192]

Thanks for the video. I’ve done this route one time in summer 1997. Probably my favorite hike ever. From Logan Pass to Granite Park to Swiftcurrent Lookout down the pass to Many Glacier. An all-day hike that was so worth it! I’m heading back to the park again this summer. I can’t wait. I may take your advice and head to that lunch spot and loop back.

[@TheWestisBig]

that’s a full day hike all right. I’ve never made it up to Swiftcurrent lookout.

[@laurenstone3182]

I would love to do this as well but I can’t figure out how to get transportation back to Logan Pass from Many Glacier. Any advice on how or if this can be done?

[@TheWestisBig]

I've hitched a ride with other hikers who planned better then me. Also, there is always someone hanging around swift current heading back to the west side. Nicely ask for a ride- its worked for me.

[@jymnmeier3527]

Hey Steve, I hope you are well. I just got my going to the sun road pass this morning as well as a boat tour reservation for Many Glacier. I felt compelled to message you with a HUGE THANK YOU for all your work. It makes a difference for those planning once-in-a-lifetime trips. I have been binging you videos (again lol) and was wondering how someone would get back to Logan Pass after hiking Highline to Many Glacier. Are there shuttles or is the thought that you hike there to stay there?

[@TheWestisBig]

thanks. Congratulations! hiw hard was it to get the tickets? Apparently, you didn’t watch the highline trail segment in my 2hr gnp guide. - several versions r on my channel. you can book a red bus tour back to logan, make friends with hikers in the trail with a car at swiftcurrent- that’s what i did once. I bummed a ride with someone going that way another time. There’s a shuttle maybe? check park website

[@jymnmeier3527]

@@TheWestisBig So getting the Going to the Sun ticket was pretty easy I would say. They sold out in maybe 10 minutes We aimed for that and thus missed the other entry tickets which sold out much faster. I might advise folks to get the single-day tickets to the other areas first then the 3-day GTTS Road pass (?) I'm sure not all experiences are the same but that was ours today :) I have watched your videos a ton and am very fond of you work. I obviously missed that peice. Thank you for helping me with that info. You really are a great ambassador for the park. Speaking of, I communicated with you here regarding the filming in NP. Are things still where they are as reported in your last video? Has there been any movement or have you noticed anyone rallying together to push back outside of voicing the valid concerns? Much love to you kind sir :)

[@TheWestisBig]

Good to hear it was possible to get a ticket. Another commenter got one for Two med but failed on many glacier and the sun road. The nps stills says posting needs a permit- but the 3 parks i’ve reached out to have responded re thier local regs. Others have done videos on the topic with lawyers confirming any post to Social media requires a permit according to the statute. i’ve emailed Tv news and no interest in getting the word out yet.

[@jymnmeier3527]

@@TheWestisBig Thank you for the info. As you and many others have expressed the ambiguity of the statute is the scariest part to me.

[@TheWestisBig]

yes! and they have to investigate if someone turns you in. Low profile might be best.

[@CoryTheRaven]

We've done the Highline Trail to The Loop twice. We weren't prepared for the length the first time, because nobody ever seems to talk about the 2/3rds of the trail after Haystack Butte. The second time was last September and went much better (we hiked the Grand Canyon in between, so good experience). However, we started early in the morning and had also hit Hidden Lake late the previous afternoon, meaning that all my photos suck XD We're already booked in for this coming September, and the plan is to hit Hidden Lake in the morning/noon and to the Lunch Spot or the Stromatolite boulders in the afternoon to get the better light and the nice views walking back to Logan Pass. Fingers crossed! Either way, I love the Logan Pass area and the Highline Trail. Even as someone with a... healthy respect for gravity... it is one of the world's must-do trails.

[@TheWestisBig]

nice. where are the stromatolites on the highline? also do you know where the pillow lavas are? ive heard there are some near granite park.

[@CoryTheRaven]

@@TheWestisBig the stromatolites are those cabbage-looking impressions on the boulders after the lunch spot and before you start the switchbacks up to the saddle. I don't recall any pillow lavas, but there is another spot past Haystack Creek where there are more stromatolites that look "pillowy." The only volcanics I'm familiar with are where the trail crosses the Purcell Sill, which wouldn't have pillow lavas because it is intrusive.

[@TheWestisBig]

I’ve shot the stromatolites at grinnell glacier, so i know what they look like. guess i was too tired to notice them. I know it doesn’t make sense for pillows to be in the purcell, but a guy who teaches geology told there somewhere near the chalet and that they’re a weathered gray. Could be wrong- i’ve never seen pillow lava- would like to.

[@CoryTheRaven]

@@TheWestisBig I was just looking it up and yes, apparently there are! I found some USGS documentation for pillow basalts around Swiftcurrent Pass and further along the divide. I didn't know about them, so I'll have to look back at my photos to see if I saw them by accident 😆

[@TheWestisBig]

If you can see them. please send me copies. i’ll include them in next update.

[@laurenstone3182]

How did you get back to Logan Pass from Swiftcurrent to get your vehicle? This is what I’m trying to figure out. We have one night at Rising Sun so I can either start the hike at Logan pass and make it to Many Glacier but then I don’t know how to get back to Logan Pass…. Or I start at Many Glacier and end at Logan Pass but again I don’t know how to get back to Many Glacier. Help please!

[@TheWestisBig]

If you subscribe to my channel you’ll find longer guides to the Highline Trail where I talk about the diff ways to get back. One answer is hitch a ride- others have the same problem talk to fellow hikers At least one group will have staged a car.

[@laurenstone3182]

@@TheWestisBig I am subscribed! Your channel is very helpful! I’ll have to go back and look at more of your highline videos! We secured 1 night at apgar village, 1 night at rising Sun and 3 nights in many glacier for end of July 2024!

[@TheWestisBig]

Ahh thank you very much for Subscribing! it helps a lot. I hope i didn’t sound snotty. Congrats on getting in park reservations!! did you book those dates recently? If yes i’ll have try again.

[@laurenstone3182]

@@TheWestisBig yes we were ready on our computers at midnight mountain time last night! It helped to have two computers trying to book the rooms

[@TheWestisBig]

Thanks!!

[@TheFlyingDutchMan8K]

Hey my friend great video ! we need permits for filming the national parks. . . . no way i can get a permit hmmmm , i don't know when i'm at that day for filming with a permit. . . if i get one. . . i hope it go back to normal . . . they make life is not easy , taking a picture with your phone you need a permit haha holy cra..p

[@TheWestisBig]

Hey, it’s good to hear from you. I started research for my 2023 Glacier video yesterday. I was writing the new vehicle Reservation rules for 2023 when I saw your comment. It seems you are correct. The park service wants to make KZbinrs Federal Criminals. I called Glaciers permit office a few minutes ago and left a message on a machine- it’s lunchtime there. I’ll let you know what I learn.

[@TheFlyingDutchMan8K]

@@TheWestisBig got email back : Thank you for your interest in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. While still photography of the park often does not require a permit, the law says that all filming requires a permit, even if there is just one person. A b-roll permit is usually about $100 and can sometimes include multiple dates, and always includes multiple locations. We generally need 10 days notice minimum to issue permits, and during some times of the year we need longer.

[@TheWestisBig]

I called the Permit guy in Glacier several times- His assistant finally told me he would call me back today. I found this link on the National Park Info Site www.nps.gov/aboutus/news/commercial-film-and-photo-permits.htm Several pages are worth reading. It says a permit is needed for every video shoot but there is no fee for a permit if you are shooting video or "filming" if the crew is "1-2 people, camera & tripod only - $0/day "1-10 people - $150/day" if more equipment is used. It looks like its free for us, but we still need a permit. Park staff is already overworked, so I doubt 10 days won't long enough to get a permit at the busier parks. I wrote the Glacier Permit people last June (this new rule didn't go into affect until October) to request an interview with a Ranger 9 days before my trip. I received a response over two weeks later- when I was home. Park Ranger's aren't going to have time to enforce this, but that doesn't mean were safe. I'll be writing a video about this today- hope to get it out this week. I'll send the link to news organizations and the Park Service. Hopefully this will help get this law changed. BTW- I watched your Rothenburg video. Very nice! Perfect lighting and incredibly smooth. My long gimbal shots aren't as smooth- yours are always great. I was in Rothenburg a long time ago. I was shooting for a client and I was in Rothenburg the day East and West Germany reunited. Very nice place.

[@TheFlyingDutchMan8K]

@@TheWestisBig Hi, thank you for the information ! i hope the permit is for one week or something sometimes i don't know when i'm at that location at that date for the permit. . . thanks ! yes germany has got a lot of these villages very colorful , i need to do more of these in the future mark,

[@TheWestisBig]

Mark, I received an email from the permit coordinator at Glacier. The fees and procedures will vary from park to park. what follows is a copy of the 2nd email i received from him. It provides some clarifications and insight to the problem. Hello Steve, Thank you for your response. Although I am not included on the decision-making process, and thus cannot officially speak for Washington, I do know that our program managers there are trying to come up with policy that provides reasonable accessibility for small video crews while still ensuring the protection of the resource and the visitor experience. I believe that this may be a priority for them after the rescission of the Price Vs Barr decision. I know that they will let park coordinators such as myself know as soon as new policy is drafted. Not everyone who posts to social media needs a permit, but if their film is deemed to be commercial, in short, intended for a market audience with intent to generate revenue, they are supposed to have a permit per our policy. The NPS does not have the resources to manage the volume of potentially commercial film activities that occur in parks, nor do we have the means to fully enforce it at this time. We are hoping to address this dilemma with updated policy when it comes out. The fees in our park are $125 for the non-refundable application fee, then there is another $100 permit fee which is charged after the conclussion of the permit. If your film crew consists of two people or less for filming, the daily location fee can be waived. We do generally require a permit monitor for filming activities, which does also require hourly cost recovery for that individual's time. The extent of monitor coverage can be determined based up on the details of the application. Respectfully,