Sperry Chalet

This is Glacier's great staircase — a relentless six-mile climb that gains more vertical than most ski resorts drop. You'll start in dense cedar-hemlock forest along Snyder Creek, cross a series of switchbacks through wildflower meadows that explode with beargrass and paintbrush in July, and eventually break above treeline into the kind of alpine scenery that makes you forget your legs are on fire. The trail is well-maintained but rocky in stretches, with a few exposed traverses that'll get your attention. The payoff is Sperry Chalet itself — a stone lodge perched on a cliff shelf at 6,600 feet, first built in 1913 and rebuilt after the 2017 fire. The views of Lake McDonald's valley and the surrounding peaks are earned in every sense of the word. This trail rewards strong hikers who want a legitimate mountain day without technical terrain.