Glacier National Park Day 9 – Two Medicine Valley

As we were nearing the end of our vacation, we knew we wanted to get some more hikes in and there was one part of the park we hadn’t been to yet.

We made a drive back along highway 2 early in the morning to Two Medicine Valley. This is certainly one of the quieter parts of the park and doesn’t appear to see near as many visitors as the other sections.

We decided to start the day off with a short hike to stretch our legs after sitting in the car for a while. It was the first trail we noticed on our drive into Two Medicine. Running Eagle Falls is a very easy short hike (0.6 miles) with nice wide paths and little to no elevation gain. A great hike to take with little ones sine they can splash in the shallow river when you reach the falls.

Running Eagle Falls was named after Running Eagle who was a woman warrior of the Pikuni tribe. She is held in very high esteem by the Pikuni people for her knowledge and wisdom, as well as the inspiring person she is.

We continued on the road to Two Medicine Lake where most of the trails in this area begin. We were aiming for Aster Falls.

Aster Falls is a fairly easy hike which would be doable for most families. It is 2.8 miles round trip with a total elevation gain of 320 feet. Huckleberries lined most of the trail.

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Since we found the trail to Aster Falls easy compared to any of our other hikes, we decided to continue up to the Aster Park Overlook making the total hike 4 miles. This has considerable elevation gain of 780 feet over a short distance. Be prepare to hike switchbacks up due to the gain. The effort is worth it for the views up top.

I personally found it harder going down the steep hill than climbing up.

Once down we took a few minutes to enjoy the view of the lake and rest.

This hike deserved some more ice cream for the kids and a cool drink for us, especially with the temperatures getting quite warm again. We went into the general store in Two Medicine for the treat. This was probably the best general store for souvenirs we saw in all our time in the park.

On our drive back out we stopped at a few pullouts to take in the views and take a couple pictures.

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We figured one couldn’t go to this part of the park and not stop in to see the lodge. Glacier Park Lodge is one of the original lodges. They had a great display at the end of the one hall depicting the history of the lodge and of the park. It was neat to read and see all of the photos. While we were reading about the history of the park our kids enjoyed working on the puzzles that were out on the tables. You don’t have to be staying at the hotel to go in and enjoy the lobby area where you can sit and relax out of the sun.

Our son loved seeing the Totem poles and gardens that were out front of the lodge.

There are some neat signs we noticed on the East side of the park along the highway. We stopped to see one of them and see what they were about on our drive back to West Glacier and camp.

When you have a child with loads of energy you are always on the lookout for interesting spots to stop and stretch legs, run around, or get sillies out. Luckily there were a few spots we could stop on the way back. One place we stopped was the Continental Divide.

This was a great way to spend our last day in Glacier National Park before heading home the next day.

To read about more of our adventures during our time in Glacier National park check out the links below:

Day 1 – Getting our Bearings in St Mary’s

Day 2 – Waterfalls and a boat tour on the East side of the park

Day 3- Driving the Going-To-The-Sun Road and hiking at Logan’s Pass

Day 4 – Full day ranger led hike to Iceberg Lake

Day 5 – Quiet day exploring the west side of the park

Day 6 – Ranger led hike to Avalanche Lake

Day 7 – Family fun at Whitefish Mountain

Day 8 – Hungry Horse Dam