MWRT 2025 – Many Glacier Lodge at Swift Current Lake
This lodge at Swift Current Lake was so well maintained and held stunning views for the visitors to enjoy. It included a boat dock where canoe rentals were available as well as a tour boat. We took the tour boat which was really two lakes connected by a short walk, on two different boats. The boat tour was then followed by a hike to Grinnell Lake. The two boats were quite old, one of which was commissioned in 1945, eighty years ago. There names were Chief Two Guns and Morning Eagle. The Many Glacier Lodge is one of those Alpine lodges that is completely snowed in with no road clearing service for the winter months. The owner’s hire an inn keeper to stay over the winter to maintain the place, which reminds me of the Steven King story, The Shining, made famous in the movies with Jack Nicholson.
Our first day hike was going to come after the boat tour and there were actually two options. The one I was really hoping to try would take us more miles and way more elevation, to Grinnell Glacier, where we would have been able to visit one of the few remaining Glaciers in the park. The other option was a visit to Grinnell Lake and this was the option we chose after getting to the crossroad and realizing how difficult the climb was going to be to get to that glacier. Maybe next time.
The lake has an emerald blue color due to the glacier grinding the limestone into dust over the centuries and the melting ice water rushing the dust down into the lake water. It’s quite remarkable and a photo barely does it justice. We pulled out a blanket and unpacked lunch and enjoyed the view for an hour before heading back to meet the return boat. While we cooled off on the beach, a large bull moose came out of the forest and into the lake to cool off, amazing! We were so fortunate to see one.
Our return hike included so many plants and animals and magnificent views.
