North Circle (Highline Trail / Ptarmigan Tunnel loop) in Glacier National Park, Montana is one of the best hikes in the world.

Why? hiking guidebook 2002 travel guidebook 2004 fishing guidebook field guide hike Rockies 160x600	World > North America > Rockies > North Circle One of the best hikes in the world is the NORTH CIRCLE Hikes here also known as: Highline Trail / Ptarmigan Tunnel loop Many Glacier - Waterton via Highline Do you know this hike? You can expand it by emailing suggestions in the appropriate sections below. Our editors will add your comments. Thanks! We have seen more grizzly bears here than in any other park in the USA. You must be bear aware to hike Glacier. The red dot is GLACIER National Park. AT A GLANCE one of our top 10 hikes in the world 7 days, 6 nights recommended 65miles (104km) plus side trips best months July-Sept well-signed medium difficulty hiking recommended for experienced multi-day hikers ... add a comment here WHY WE LIKE THIS HIKE This is certainly the best multi-day hike in arguably the best hiking park in the continental United States. Highlights include: Highline Trail Ptarmigan Tunnel (120ft long) Swiftcurrent Mountain Lookout Iceberg Lake wildflowers late June to early August great day hikes elsewhere in the Park likely to see elk, mule deer, moose, mountain goats & bighorn sheep almost certain to see black or grizzly bears through the telescope at Swiftcurrent motel great fishing, no licence required in the Park convenient hiker's shuttle bus it's an international hike if you cross in to Waterton for the excellent hiking there you will see few of the other 2 million tourists visiting Glacier each year once you are on the trail we love the nearby Going-to-the-Sun highway 55mi (88km) ... add a comment here Iceberg Cirque CONSIDERATIONS Wilderness Permit should be booked long in advance Summer highs average about 70°F (21C), lows below freezing. remote & wild sections potentially dangerous crossing at Belly River biting insects (including ticks in the early season) bring binoculars or a high powered zoom lens for observing bears on distant mountain sides ... add a comment here The biggest hassle with this hike is getting a Wilderness Permit for the campgrounds you want on the days you want. You can reserve starting April 1st. The critical webpage for making an application for a Wilderness Permit is: http://nps.gov/glac/pdf/2005bc-app.pdf Print this .pdf application & send it to the Parks system, fax (406) 888 5819 ROUTES Lonely Planet Hiking in the Rocky Mountains lays out this hike beautifully. We followed it closely in 2005. No problems. Many Glacier and Goat Haunt (Waterton) are our preferred starting points alternate trailheads are Logan Pass and Belly River Granite Park Chalet en route, is a good option if you want a night or two under a roof less attractive is the Swift Current Motor Inn , but it is also en route ... add a comment here Best shorter alternative hike is Many Glacier - Waterton via Highline, 4 days, 3 nights minimum, 41.7mi (67km) Check i-NEEDtoKnow.com Glacier for more details on these routes. click for larger map - i-NEEDtoKnow.com LOGISTICS If you sign on with a guided trip logistics will be organized for you. This section is for independent hikers. Many Glacier is best accessed from Kalispell or Great Falls, Montana Waterton is most convenient from Lethbridge or Calgary, Alberta, Canada the closest aiport is Glacier Park International Airport - near Kalispell Amtrak's Empire Builder Route stops every day at Glacier if you do not have your own vehicle, public transportation is more convenient to Many Glacier than it is to Waterton in fact, all of Glacier National Park is connected by the Glacier Guides hiker's shuttle bus you pay separate fees to enter both Glacier National Park and Waterton National Park. (If you hike across the border you will not be charged.) crossing the border, most hikers take one of several daily boats across Waterton lake on Inter-Nation Shoreline Cruises this is a long hike, but you can resupply in either Waterton or Many Glacier ... add a comment here INDEPENDENT OR GUIDED? Glacier Guides Inc. ... add a recommendation here Glacier National Park recommends Glacier Guides. LOCAL INFORMATION Backcountry Guide webpage - Glacier National Park Backcountry Guide 2006 - Glacier National Park trail status - Glacier National Park ... add a recommendation here BEST HIKING GUIDEBOOKS Lonely Planet Hiking in the Rocky Mountains - Lindenmayer, Fairbairn, McCormack, 2002 Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park - Spring, 2003 Glacier Day Hikes - Alan Leftridge, 2003 Hiking Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks - Erik Molvar, 1999 ... add a recommendation here We like Lonely Planet best, followed by the Spring guide. BEST TRAVEL GUIDEBOOKS Lonely Planet Banff, Jasper and Glacier National Parks - Miller, Derby, Lukas, 2004 Moon Glacier National Park - Becky Lomax, 2006 Insiders' Guide to Glacier National Park - Susan Olin Exploring Glacier National Park - David Rockwell Waterton and Glacier in a Snap! - Fast Facts and Titillating Trivia Djuff & Morrison, 2005 ... add a recommendation here If you are travelling only to Glacier, the Moon guidebook may be better than the Lonely Planet. OTHER RECOMMENDED BOOKS Gadd is our bible in the Rockies: flowers, plants, animals, birds, fish, geology, history and much more. Handbook of the Canadian Rockies - Ben Gadd Fishing Glacier National Park - Russ Schneider Along the Trail - A Photographic Essay of Glacier National Park and the Northern Rocky Mountains - Danny On, 1980 Where the Mountains Meet the Prairies - Graham Macdonald, 2000 Northern Rocky Mountain Wildflowers - Phillips Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance - Herrero The Backpacker's Handbook - Chris Townsend, 2004 Mammals of the Rocky Mountains - Pattie, Fisher & Hartson Plants of the Rocky Mountains - Kershaw, Pojar & MacKinnon ... add a recommendation here BEST MAPS Trails Illustrated Glacier / Waterton lakes National Parks - 1:142,000. Oddly, we could not buy one in Waterton nor Many Glacier in 2005. government topographical maps, 1:100,000 are available, as well, but are not nearly as convenient to carry On-line maps: i-NEEDtoKnow.com hiking route map backcountry campsites map - Glacier National Park. Click to check availability of sites. where is Montana in the USA? where is Glacier National Park? National Park Service map of Glacier National Park - large file, slow loading Waterton maps ... add a recommendation here BEST WEB PAGES After this page, the best link by far is i-NEEDtoKnow.com Glacier Other useful sites: Entry and Exit Information for Goat Haunt - Canada - US border crossing requirements. Call 800 320-0063 in the States. Call 206 553-4676 in Canada Highline Trail - BigSkyfFshing.com Swiftcurrent Pass - BigSkyfFshing.com Iceberg Lake - BigSkyfFshing.com Glacier Guides Inc. - hiker's shuttle bus Waterton Inter-nation Shoreline Cruise Fishing Regulations Glacier National Park - Wikipedia Granite Park Chalet epionions.com tips for hikers Glacier National Park - glacier.national-park.com National Park Service — Bear information ... add a link here BEST PHOTOS & TRIP REPORTS McCharles 2005 North Circuit David Peterson 2000 - Backpacker magazine Doug Walsh 20 miles Granite to Kootenai Lake - article Phillip Flower - Ptarmigan tunnel Geoff's 2004 high resolution pics BigSkyFishing.com John Boyd 2005 Logan Pass to Highline National Park map with photos animal & plant photos Finely Holiday Stock photos of Glacier ... add a link here MOVIES, VIDEOS, DVDs hiking videos on-line - Glacier National Park add a recommendation here