Guide to the East Side of Glacier National Park- with toddlers

 

We travelled to Glacier National Park in July of 2025. We had an amazing time but traveling with toddlers is not for the weak or faint of heart. Here is some ideas of more family friendly hikes that we enjoyed. 

For a general guide of East vs West Glacier check out this post: 

Reminders about the East Side: 

1. It is not very populated- there really isn't a whole lot there. Be prepared- food, water, extra clothes  etc 

2. There is barely any cell service so make sure you know where you're going and download maps on your phone  before you head out 

3.  It is generally a bit cooler on this side due to the continental divide. Plan accordingly. 

4. You do not need a reservation to access this side of the Going to the Sun road. This makes things a little easier. 

Knowing all of this why even go to the east side at all? Because it is considered some of the most beautiful places in the park! It is a haul but it is worth it- at least in my opinion. 

Many Glacier 

If you go no where else in East Glacier I would HIGHLY recommend going to Many Glacier. We ended up going twice and it is absolutely breathtaking. It is a pain to get to but so beautiful especially on a clear day. 

Lake Josephine Loop 

5.8 miles. 225ft elevation gain

Lake Josephine is so amazing. One of my favorite lakes of the whole trip. As we were hiking this I just kept thinking "this can't be real".  This is a very family friendly loop. We also tacked on Grinnell Lake onto this hike but you could do it just do the loop and have a very fulfilling hike. 

Grinnell Lake 

3.0 Miles out and back. 220 elevation gain. 

This lake was absolutely breathtaking. The hike was mostly forested. You hike along Lake Josephine and then about a mile farther you come to this beautiful lake. Very doable for families/kids. Our 3 year old hiked the last mile to the lake. This was my favorite hike of the entire trip even though it ended with us getting caught in a down pour and hailed on. 

Red Rock Falls 

4.2 miles out and back. Elevation gain 285ft 

Due to the construction at the time this ended up being a longer hike for us but it wasn't difficult. It was a very wet and rainy day when we did this hike but the Redrock falls was very pretty! You also walk around Redrock lake which is very pretty. 

Two Medicine 

This is a bit of a forgotten or overlooked section of the park. We found this area to be really pretty and might be worth going to on a day that you think the rest of the park might be busier to try to avoid the crowds. The road to get there is a bit "ambitious" especially if you are headed south just drive with caution. 

Two Medicine lake is right by the parking lot- we took some really nice pictures here after doing our hike. You can also take a boat ride on this lake. 

Aster Falls 

2.8 Miles out and back. 229ft Elevation gain 

This is a very easy fun family hike. Aster falls is very pretty! The trail opens onto to this really pretty meadow with mountain views which is also very neat. 

Waterton International Park 

So Glacier National Park is connected to Waterton National Park in Alberta Canada. From the St. Mary Entrance on the East side of Glacier it is about an hour to the border. The drive there is very scenic. You technically could get to it from the west side but it would be a major reach around (~5 hour drive)- the east side is the most direct route. You do need a passport to cross the border and it is only open certain hours of the day so be aware of that. 

Check out the Prince of Wales Hotel- this is a very neat historic hotel and the view of Wateron Lakes are very pretty from inside the hotel and just outside it. We had toddlers so we didn't stay for long but you can also eat at the hotel. 

Explore Waterton Village- There is a small "downtown" village in the middle of the park which is a bit of a foreign concept to me but it was still cool. We checked out some of the gift shops and went to the visitor center where they also had a park stamp. 

Red Rock Canyon Trail- 

0.5 Mile loop. 

There isn't a ton of hiking in this park and we came here on our last day so we were pretty beat and didn't want to do anything too crazy. This is a very pretty hike- it is completely paved but not paved well enough that I would take my stroller (not that I actually brought one). 

So you may notice that a section is missing. We meant to do more in the St. Mary's area but we honestly ran out of time. We did drive the Going to the Sun road and we saw the one glacier you can see from the road. But we didn't end up doing any of the hikes that we planned.  

If I were to do this trip again I might consider starting in the east and then going west. There is just so much to do on the east side but it is also a lot harder to be there for longer periods of time- especially with kids.  That all being said we loved it and would go back in a heartbeat.