West Glacier Entrance: Going-to-the-Sun Road
One
of the most famous roads in the Rocky Mountains is the Going-to-the-Sun Road in
Glacier National Park. The road is reached shortly after entering the Park at
the West Glacier Entrance. Above Lake McDonald, you will drive past McDonald
Creek. It is beautiful, but it is generally bereft of trout with the exception
of a few migratory fish. Lake McDonald Lodge and the trailhead to Snyder Lake
is a distance of nine miles; the Avalanche Lake Trailhead is 14.7 miles;
Packer's Roost (Mineral Creek) is 20.8 miles, and St. Mary's Park Entrance is
48 miles.
McDonald Creek
General location: Just inside the
West Glacier Entrance from Lake McDonald to the Middle Fork of the Flathead
River
Access: The
creek, as the outlet of Lake McDonald, may be easily accessed at Apgar, or just
after entering the Park, turn left at the Glacier Institute sign, and then turn
right towards the horse rentals and follow the signs to the Quarter-Circle
Bridge.
Maps: USGS
Glacier National Park (ISBN 0-607-32671-9); Montana Atlas and Gazetteer, p.83
(ISBN 0-89933-226-9)
Fishing species:
brook trout, bull trout, cutthroat, lake trout, rainbow trout, whitefish
Special restrictions:
"Catch-and-release fishing only with single hooks: Fish caught in Lower
McDonald Creek (from the Quarter Circle Bridge and upstream, extending into
Lake McDonald for a radius of 300 feet) must be handled carefully and released
immediately to the stream or lake. No fish of any species may be in possession
at any time along this stream/lake." -Park handout
McDonald
Creek, draining McDonald Lake and entering the Middle Fork of the Flathead
River, receives a great deal of fishing pressure because of its accessibility
and scenic allure. To protect the cutthroat populations, the Park established
catch-and-release fishing restrictions using single hooks between Lake McDonald
and the Quarter-Circle Bridge. Slow, clear water provides a challenge for those
fly fishers who enjoy delicate casting with long leaders and small tippets.
McDonald Creek above the lake, with the exception of the inlet, holds few fish and is a waste of time fishing unless you take the Going-to-the-Sun Road to the Packer's Roost area, which is approximately 20.8 miles. Even in this area the fishing is rated fair to poor.
Lake McDonald
Boat access: Apgar Visitor Center and Lake McDonald Lodge
Maps: USGS Glacier National Park (ISBN 0-607-32671-9); Montana Atlas and Gazetteer, p.83
Fishing conditions and species: According to all the published reports, Lake McDonald offers poor fishing, which is due in part to a nutrient-deficient offering from McDonald Creek. The lake is deep, and it requires trolling from a boat with standard hardware for brook trout, bull trout, cut-throat, lake trout and whitefish.
Going-to-the-Sun Road
One of the most famous roads in the Rocky Mountains is the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. The road is reached shortly after entering the Park at the West Glacier Entrance. Above Lake McDonald, you will drive past McDonald Creek. It is beautiful, but it is generally bereft of trout with the exception of a few migratory fish. Lake McDonald Lodge and the trailhead to Snyder Lake is a distance of nine miles; the Avalanche Lake Trailhead is 14.7 miles; Packer's Roost (Mineral Creek) is 20.8 miles, and St. Mary's Park Entrance is 48 miles.
McDonald Creek
General location: Just inside the
West Glacier Entrance from Lake McDonald to the Middle Fork of the Flathead
River
Access: The
creek, as the outlet of Lake McDonald, may be easily accessed at Apgar, or just
after entering the Park, turn left at the Glacier Institute sign, and then turn
right towards the horse rentals and follow the signs to the Quarter-Circle
Bridge.
Maps: USGS
Glacier National Park (ISBN 0-607-32671-9); Montana Atlas and Gazetteer, p.83
(ISBN 0-89933-226-9)
Fishing species:
brook trout, bull trout, cutthroat, lake trout, rainbow trout, whitefish
Special restrictions:
"Catch-and-release fishing only with single hooks: Fish caught in Lower
McDonald Creek (from the Quarter Circle Bridge and upstream, extending into
Lake McDonald for a radius of 300 feet) must be handled carefully and released
immediately to the stream or lake. No fish of any species may be in possession
at any time along this stream/lake." -Park handout
McDonald
Creek, draining McDonald Lake and entering the Middle Fork of the Flathead
River, receives a great deal of fishing pressure because of its accessibility
and scenic allure. To protect the cutthroat populations, the Park established
catch-and-release fishing restrictions using single hooks between Lake McDonald
and the Quarter-Circle Bridge. Slow, clear water provides a challenge for those
fly fishers who enjoy delicate casting with long leaders and small tippets.
McDonald
Creek above the lake, with the exception of the inlet, holds few fish and is a
waste of time fishing unless you take the Going-to-the-Sun Road to the Packer's
Roost area, which is approximately 20.8 miles. Even in this area the fishing is
rated fair to poor.
Lake McDonald
General location: McDonald Lake is just inside the West Glacier Entrance and first viewed from the Apgar Village Center. The Going-to-the-Sun Road follows the southern shoreline, while the northern shoreline is traversed by trail from the Fish Creek Campground for 6.5 miles on the Lake McDonald Trail, where it meets the northern end of the lake at the end of the North Lake McDonald Road. Camp-ers who wish to camp at a backcountry site along this trail may camp 4.5 miles from Fish Creek Campground at the McDonald Lake site, which offers two camping sites close to the lake.
Boat access: Apgar
Visitor Center and Lake McDonald Lodge
Maps: USGS
Glacier National Park (ISBN 0-607-32671-9); Montana Atlas and Gazetteer, p.83
Fishing conditions and species:
According to all the published reports, Lake McDonald offers poor fishing,
which is due in part to a nutrient-deficient offering from McDonald Creek. The
lake is deep, and it requires trolling from a boat with standard hardware for
brook trout, bull trout, cut-throat, lake trout and whitefish.
Rogers Lake and Trout Lake
Directions: Turn left at the top end
of McDonald Lake one-and-a-half miles above the lodge. Once you pass some
private summer homes the road is quite primitive. The trailhead is a mile from
the highway, but it does not offer any parking, except along the side of the
road on a steep embankment above the lake. I had to drive another mile on a
dark and narrow road until I could find a place to turn my truck around. Trout
Lake is 3.7 miles from the trailhead.
The trail is difficult as it climbs straight
up two miles to the crest, and then it drops straight down 1.7 miles to Trout
Lake. Two hiking fanatics left an hour before me and met me at the crest on
their way back. They bragged about hiking to the lake in two hours and eight
minutes. It took me three hours, which included a long break at the top, as I
was exhausted and cursing the 90-degree heat. Both lakes have populations of
cutthroats, but Trout Lake is restricted to fly fishing only and is considered
the better of the two. A log jam blocks the lake outlet. If the fishing is slow
in the lake, fish the shallow water behind the log jam. Look for dark
depressions and fish those areas for easy-to-catch smaller cutthroats from 6 to
8-inches. I used small bead-head nymphs. (Back to the Going-to-the Sun
Highway.)
Snyder Creek and Snyder Lakes: 9 miles
General location: Across the
trailhead from Lake McDonald Lodge
Trailhead access:
Snyder Creek is accessible from the Sperry Trailhead above Lake McDonald Lodge,
but it is an over-grown, brushy creek holding small cutthroats and brook trout.
The trail to Snyder Lake begins near the Going-to-the-Sun Road; follow the
trail past the riding stables. After about a mile and a half, the trail to
Snyder Lake continues past the Mt. Brown Lookout trail. Snyder Lake, nestled in
a small valley, offers three backcountry campsites.
Hiking conditions:
For the most part the 4.4 mile hike to Snyder Lake is a moderate hike through
heavy vegetation and forests of stately cedars, larch and Douglas fir. Early in
the season the trail can be wet and muddy.
Fishing species:
Snyder Lake offers good fishing for small cutthroats in Lower Snyder Lake and
the stream between the two lakes. Upper Snyder Lake is fishless.
Fish Lake
Accessed
from the Snyder Creek Trail, Fish Lake is re-ally a small, shallow pond, which
offers poor fishing for small cutthroat trout. Fish Lake is a little more than
two miles from the trailhead.
Avalanche Lake: 14.7 miles
General location: Near Avalanche Lake Campground on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, Avalanche Lake attracts a large number of day hikers to one of the Park's mountain jewels. The hike offers spectacular forest green and a destination lake at only 2.9 miles.
Trailhead access: The trail begins at Avalanche Camp-ground. Be sure to take the Avalanche Lake Trail rather than Avalanche Trail. The Avalanche Lake Trail closely follows Avalanche Creek, which provides photo opportunities of carved rock, moss and moistened ferns from the mist and spray. At the head of the lake, Monument Falls provides a picturesque backdrop. The lake's opaque color stems from the glacial silt of Sperry Glacier.
Hiking conditions:
The hike is a fairly easy climb and then ascent to the lake.
Fishing conditions and species: Day hikes of less than three miles tend
to bring about heavier fishing pressure. Avalanche Lake draws large groups of
both hikers and fishers. Nonetheless, the lake fishes well for small
cutthroats. The best fishing, naturally, is far from the maddening crowd, which
for some is out in the middle of the lake in a belly-boat.
Mineral Creek
General location: Off of the
Going-to-the-Sun Road on a spur road to Packer's Roost
Maps: USGS
Glacier National Park; Montana Atlas and Gazetteer, p.83
Fishing species:
westslope cutthroat trout Easily accessed from the Going-to-the-Sun Road,
Mineral Creek will not make my list of favorite little creeks. The creek is not
prolific in its offerings of westslope cutthroats. Just looking at the carved
and sculpted rocks, it is a wonder the creek doesn't have a higher fish
mortality during spring run-off. Mineral Creek's cutthroats are found not in
the open pools but in the nooks and crannies where they remain protected year
round. It receives little fishing pressure, and nymphs seem to work best. But the
creek is worth visiting just for its scenic beauty. The hike is along level
ground, and it takes only an hour to reach the suspension bridge.
Directions:
Drive 5.9 miles past the Avalanche Creek bridge. Turn left onto an unmarked
dirt road. If you are coming from the Logan Pass Visitor Center, the access
road is 1.3 miles from the tunnel. Follow the dirt road to the Packer's Roost
Trailhead. Take the Flattop Mountain Trail about two miles to the suspension
bridge over Mineral Creek. You may also follow Mineral Creek a half-mile to
upper McDonald Creek, but the fishing there is said to be poor.
Hidden Lake
General location: Below the Logan Pass Visitor Center on the Going-to-the-Sun Road
Maps: USGS
Glacier National Park; Montana Atlas and Gazetteer, p.84
Fishing species: Yellowstone cutthroat trout
Special restrictions:
Fish caught in Hidden Lake and the outlet must be released. Hidden Lake is
closed to fishing during spawning season.
Driving the Going-to-the-Sun Road to the Logan Pass Visitor Center is similar in popularity to driving to Yellowstone's Old Faithful. In truth, I join the masses each time on the boardwalk-guided tour, as it is breathtaking in beauty and offers great photo opps for mountain goats and people. Be advised, however, that the parking lot at Logan Pass Visitor Center often fills during July and August. Plan on arriving early in the day if you want to take the three-mile hike down to Hidden Lake, one of the highest lakes at 6,375 feet elevation. It is a moderately difficult trail that receives a great number of visitors and anglers each year. For that reason, the lake is restricted to catch-and-release. The lake does provide some good opportunities for casting to large Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Bear in mind that this is grizzly country.
Gunsight Lake: 6 miles
For
those hardy hikers looking for a high-elevation, wind-swept lake, Gunsight Lake
reportedly offers good fishing for nice-sized rainbows. The outlet creek also
offers fun fishing for smaller rainbows. The lake offers eight camping sites so
the fishing pressure late in the summer can be fairly heavy at the foot of the
lake. The trailhead begins at the Jackson Glacier Overlook below Logan Pass on
the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Follow the Piegan Pass Trail one mile down to
Deadwood Falls. Continue following the Piegan Pass Trail another mile to its
junction with the Gunsight Pass Trail. Take the Gunsight Pass Trail another
four miles to the lake.
Otokomi Lake
General location: On the Going-to-the-Sun Road at the Rising Sun Motor Inn, 18 miles west of the Saint Mary Visitor Center.
The
trailhead begins in the parking lot of the Rising Sun Motor Inn; follow Rose
Creek 5.1 miles to Otokomi Lake. If you do not have strong, youthful legs,
consider this hike difficult. The trail provides a strenuous hike up through
many switchbacks through stands of lodgepole pine and fir as well as meadows
and open areas, which provide a food source for bears. The lake is said to
provide fair to good fishing for cutthroats.
