This rating is comparing this hike to others in Glacier National Park. The trail is in the woods for a good portion of the hike. The trail is in great shape and very smooth. Most of the elevation comes in the last mile. The view at the top between the two valleys is nice but average compared to other passes in the park. Google maps does show the parking lot correctly since it is hard to find otherwise.
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This was a very enjoyable but busy trail up to the lookout. The rest of the Path was closed as there was Grizzly Bear activity. The path is a well maintained boardwalk out from the visitor centre. This is a fairly constant ascent which might leave you a bit puffed if you are not used to the altitude. The views of Hidden Lake are great and it was a most pleasant trail in the crisp mountain air.
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Got to the Logan Pass parking lot at 6:50AM on 8/9/2018 and the parking lot was about 1/2 full. According to shuttle driver parking lot is completely full by 8AM. There is only one bottle filler at Logan Pass - the visitor center does not sell any liquids and there are no sinks or drinking fountains, so bring whatever water you will need with you as the lines at the bottle filler were very, very long.
Unfortunately the skies were pretty hazy from the western wildfires. Views were still pretty good, and you could tell that on a clear day they would be spectacular. The trail to the Granite Park Chalet is in good condition and easy to follow. The part with the cables is hilariously wide (can easily fit two people walking side by side with no trouble); not sure why they put it there. The trail down from the Chalet to the Granite Park camping area is to the right of the Chalet (as you're looking at it from coming up the trail); there was a clothesline installed in front of it when we were here today. There is a building down in the Granite Park camping area and they have the area around it cordoned off; the detour trail is a very steep section over rocks but you can see the trail that you're supposed to pick up so it's not too difficult to find your way.
From the campgrounds to the shuttle stop is a very miserable 4.2 miles of completely exposed, hot, dusty, multi-use (horses) trail. The majority is downhill, though there is a brief bit that's slightly uphill as you're (finally) nearing the end. Be sure you bring lots and lots of water and sun protection! A ranger met us at the bridge just before the shuttle stop and asked if we had bear spray as there was a black bear sow with two cubs on the trail, but we didn't actually see her.
The shuttle ride back up to Logan Pass was uneventful. Traffic coming down from the pass (at about 3PM) was busy, but someone had broken down going down to Apgar and that was causing quite a back-up. Still, I would recommend not being on the Road to the Sun during the hours that they forbid bicycles from traveling on the road (this year that was 9AM to 4PM).
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Got to the trailhead at 7:30AM on 8/7/2018 and got the last parking spot - you definitely want to get there early for this hike! There are composting toilets at the trailhead, actual toilets in the Avalanche campgrounds (about 0.2 miles from the road), and a pit toilet up at the lake. The trail itself was quite nice; went along Avalanche Creek for a good part of the beginning with lots of good photo ops. Avalanche Lake is gorgeous, with lots of little beaches for people to explore and phenomenal scenery to enjoy. The lake never felt too crowded while we were there (though we were done with the RT by 10AM - there were a LOT of people on their way up while we were going down); everyone there while we were were whispering, which was also very nice and added to the overall sense of serenity.
Bugs were not too bad on the beaches or the higher trail around the lake. The trail right next to the water, however, had small swarms of them at intervals. Seems to just be gnats, nothing biting, but was still annoying. Not too much in the way of flowers along the trail. Overall a beautiful, highly recommended hike (as long as you start early).
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