Play In the Park
Horseback Rides
Guided Tours
For updated information on guided horseback riding within Glacier National Park, please call Swan Mountain Outfitters:
Apgar: 406-888-5010
Lake McDonald: 406-888-5121
Many Glacier: 406-732-4203
Horse rides lasting from one hour to a full day are also available through outfitters in East Glacier.
Alpine Stables provides guided horse tours in Waterton; please call (403) 859-2462 for more information during the summer.
Riders may also bring their own horses into the parks, although horses are prohibited in some areas.
Ask at the backcountry permit office for details.
Alpine Stables in Waterton will also board horses overnight.
There are no stable rentals available in Glacier. Check at a visitor center about special restrictions and park access.
Low Impact Stock Use
The proper use of Glacier's backcountry will prevent damage to the natural resources, maintain the aesthetic quality of the area, and avoid conflicts with other users. Please comply with the following regulations, guidelines and Leave No Trace techniques.
- Grazing of stock is not permitted. Stock users need to pack supplementary feed such as grain or pellets. Feed must be hung out of reach of bears using the established food hanging device or an NPS approved bear-resistant feed container (available to checkout at permit stations).
- Transporting hay into or through Glacier is prohibited, except on the portion of U.S. Highway 2 which passes through the park.
- Due to problems with noxious weeds, feeding hay at trailheads or backcountry campgrounds is prohibited.
- When not being used, pack and saddle stock must be tethered. Horses, llamas or mules that are nervous "diggers" or "pawers" should be hobbled when tied to prevent unnecessary damage to the terrain. Please tie at least 200' from streams or lakes
- Always use hitch-racks where provided. Where there are no hitchracks, tie a rope between two trees, "a highline" away from the trail and hitch the stock to the rope. This avoids damage to the tree and trampling around the root system.
- Stock are not permitted in the camping areas of campgrounds. Load & unload at the hitchrails provided.
- Loose herding or trailing is prohibited.
- Hikers are required to stand quietly on the lower side of the trail and yield the right-of-way to stock. Many hikers do not know and understand the need for this procedure, so stock users are encouraged to courteously coach them on proper meeting procedures.
- Please stay on established trails. Cross-country riding or riding on paved roads is not permitted.
- Scatter manure after camping or stopping for long periods and smooth out any ruts or holes.
- Stock is not permitted in auto campgrounds.
Loading Ramps and Area Limits
If you are using a stock truck, there are loading ramps located at the sites listed below. Check with a visitor center or ranger station for exact locations. Overnight limits for specific campgrounds may not be exceeded for day use stop-overs; however, up to five head may be taken into areas that do not allow overnight use. Also, parties which exceed particular limits may pass through the area, but may not remain (Example: A 10-horse party may cross Brown Pass although only 5 head at a time may stop at the Brown Pass Campground). An information sheet with details about parking and loading ramps, for west side trailheads is available upon request.
Trails Closed to Stock
In the Lake McDonald Valley
- Avalanche Lake Trail
- Loop Parking Area to Packer's Roost Trail Junction (Granite Park Trail)
- Spur Trail to Sperry Glacier
- Trail of the Cedars Nature Trail
At Logan Pass
- Hidden Lake Trail
- Logan Pass to Granite Park Chalet
In the Many Glacier Valley
- Appekunny Falls Trail
- Grinnell Glacier Trail
- Hidden Falls Trail
- Josephine Walkway
- Swiftcurrent Lake Nature Trail
In the St. Mary Valley
- Baring Falls from Sunrift Gorge
- Sun Point Nature Trail
In the Two Medicine Valley
- Dawson Pass to Cutbank Pass Trail Junction
- Running Eagle Falls Nature Trail
In Other Parts of the Park
- Hole-in-the-Wall Spur Trail
- Huckleberry Mountain Nature Trail
- Spur Trail to Lake Francis
Trails with a limit of 20-Head of Stock - Day Use Only
- Apgar Lookout Trail
- Apgar Mountain Loops
- Apgar Flats Trail
- Cracker Lake Trail
- Gunsight Pass Trail (Lake McDonald Lodge Trailhead to Sperry Chalet)
- Josephine Lake/Grinnell Lake (Horse Trails)
- McDonald Valley Trails
- Red Gap Pass Trail (Many Glacier Road to Poia Lake)
- Swiftcurrent Pass Trail (Many Glacier to Granite Park)
- Bowman Lake Road (When closed to vehicles)
- Inside North Fork Road (When closed to vehicles)
- The Old Flahead Ranger Station Road
- The Spur to Apgar Lookout Trailhead
Check with Rangers for specific locations.
Stock Use at Bowman Lake
Stock users may keep up to ten head of stock at the Bowman Lake Corral while they camp at Bowman Lake Campground (about ¼ mile away). Prior permission must be obtained from the Polebridge Ranger Station (888-7842).
Noxious weed-seed free pellets and grain may be fed, but hay is prohibited.
Campgrounds Outside that Park that Allow Stock
Devil Creek
(U.S. Forest Service) 10 miles west of East Glacier on U.S. Highway 2
Red Eagle Campground
226-5512
4 miles north of East Glacier on State route 49 on Lower Two Medicine Lake
St Mary/Glacier Park KOA
732-4122
north of St. Mary, on Lower St. Mary Lake
Chewing Blackbones
732-4512
north of St. Mary, on Lower St. Mary Lake
Leaning Tree
732-9285
east of Babb on County Road 464
Duck Lake
338-5007
4 miles east of Babb on County Road 464 (portable corrals required)
Buffalo Child Youth Camground
338-3264
1 mile south of the junction of Highway 89 and the Cutbank Road. |
