SWIFTCURRENT Lake & Lake JOSEPHINE

July 26, 2008: We hopped the small cruise boat behind the Many Glacier Hotel across Swift Current Lake followed by a short 1/4mile hike and another cruise across Lake Josephine . We then hiked roughly a mile to the lake formed below Grinnell Glacier. This is an easy family-friendly hike for our small children. There is time to wade in the greenish water formed at the base of the melting glaciers. It is a great day hike. Bring your own food, water, and bug spray. We were in front of the rest of the boat passengers (and therefore the noise that goes with them), but probably not a bad idea to carry bear spray.

Without the kids, I would definitely have hiked up to Grinnell Glacier. Looks like a fairly steep climb, but on a well worn trail. Worth the trip though.

MANY GLACIER Hotel

July 25, 2008: We head to Many Glacier Hotel for our room overlooking Swiftcurrent Lake. It is one of the nicest areas of the park. A bit crowded with the hotel, but plenty of areas to explore without much difficulty. First, we hiked around Swiftcurrent lake - maybe 3 miles. Our weather is perfect, but we still had a fair amount of whining from the little ones - it kept the hike moving at a rather brisk pace.

After dinner, we rented a couple of the canoes on Swiftcurrent Lake behind the hotel while the sun set. Great way to relax for an hour. This is clearly intended for the "city boy" in all of us. The lake is simply not that big. To the end and back in about 20 or 30 minutes without really breaking a sweat.