Trail of the Cedars and McDonald Falls at Glacier National Park

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We're staying in West Glacier, and so we decided to check out some of the nearby sites at Glacier National Park today. To the north of Lake McDonald, on Going-to-the-Sun Road (open seasonally), we stopped at the Avalanche Creek picnic area to have a little picnic. After the kids ate, we walked down to the shore of the river that feeds into Lake McDonald, and we skipped stones into the water. There were stunning views of the mountains and forest, making it a fun and picturesque stop.



When we were ready to head out, we crossed the road over to Trail of the Cedars. It's a fairly busy, easy-to-navigate trail that is about 4/5 of a mile loop. We were able to easily do it with our group that included a 2, 3, and 4 year old. On the opposite end from where we started is Avalanche Gorge, and another trail begins there and leads to Avalanche Lake (we didn't do that hike).



After we finished that hike, we decided to head back in the direction of our vacation lodge. When we got near the north part of Lake McDonald, we pulled over to check out McDonald Falls. That one was a quick stop, but very pretty and worth pulling over for.



There are more pictures of Trail of the Cedars and McDonald Falls from our trip below this post.

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Photos

Avalanche Creek
Near the entrance to Trail of the Cedars

Skipping stones
This river feeds into Lake McDonald. We were skipping stones into the river, and the kids tried to do the same.

Looking into the forest
There was mostly cedar, hemlock, and cottonwood.