The hike to Grinnell Glacier was an incredible experience. Starting at 8:30am, at the boat dock behind the Many Glacier Hotel, I took two boats across two lakes: Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine. The lakes are separated by a small forest area which requires a 1/4 mile hike (very simple hike). At the end of Lake Josephine is where the real hiking begins.

The hike is about 7.6 miles round trip, but if you decide to do the hike without taking the boats, you’ll need to tack on another 4 miles (take the boats, trust me on this!) There is an elevation gain of about 1840 feet, so be prepared for that. The hike is considered strenuous, but since I hike quite a bit in Yosemite at about 10,000 feet, this was a pretty moderate hike for me (elevation at Grinnell Glacier is about 7,500 feet).

The first two photos are of the mountains and lower Grinnell Lake as I made my way up the trail. There are a lot of photo opportunities along the way, but I wish I could have had some nice sunrise pictures. I would think to get those kind of pictures you’d have to start really early and the first boats are at 8:30am. Still, it was nice getting the photos I did.

The next photo is of Salamander Glacier, which sits up on what’s called the Garden Wall, above Grinnell Glacier.

Here is a photo of icebergs in the Upper Grinnell Lake. You can see part of Grinnell Glacier in the background.

And this is a photo of Upper Grinnell Lake again, with Salamander Glacier on the Garden Wall and a small section of Grinnell Glacier on the left.

More icebergs in Upper Grinnell Lake.

Here you can see people heading away from the glacier overlook to walk to the glacier itself. Grinnell Glacier is the lower snow field next to the lake in the photo and on the far right, on the Garden Wall, is part of Salamander Glacier. You can also see another glacier, Gem Glacier, just left of center up at the top of the Garden Wall.

The next glacier photo is of the entire Grinnell Glacier as I was making my way back down the trail. You can also see Gem Glacier and part of Salamander Glacier on the far right.

Lastly, is a photo of Swiftcurrent Lake taken from the boat dock across from the Many Glacier Hotel. You can see the hotel on the lake in the distance.

I hope to one day do this hike again. There are also a number of other hikes I want to do, so I will probably need about four days in the park to do them. Will be nice to return to such an amazing place!

Have a great week everyone!