Kintla Lakes - Glacier National Park

The Kintla Lakes in Glacier National Park consist of two lakes at the northern edge of the park near the Canada/US border. We spent a week in Glacier National Park the summer of 2024 and got to finish off the part of the trip with a backpack to both lower and upper Kintla Lake

Trip Logistics

The Kintla Lakes are on the northern end of Glacier National Park in a fairly remote portion of the park. To get to the trailhead we had to drive on gravel roads for 25+ miles. The roads were decently well graded with no need for very high clearance vehicles but your mileage may very. The area is very remote though so if you pop a tire and do not have a spare it will be difficult to get home.

Trip Statistics
2 days
24 miles
2,000 ft of elevation gain

Map

Trip Report

We spent a week in Glacier National Park and it culminated with a backpacking trip! We had originally planned for 4 days with us getting up to Boulder Pass. Sadly there were thunderstorms projected so we opted to modify our itinerary and just do a one nighter at Upper Kintla Lake. The day prior we did the Highline Trail, a popular hiking route in Glacier, where we realized a shorter trip is more appropriate for our fitness levels that week.

Day 1

We started at 10:30 am at the Kintla Lake Trailhead. It is a bit away from the campground, but not too far. We walked to the campground to use the pit toilet and got on with it. This would be our first time deep into bear country so we were a bit on edge as we were told we would likely see a bear this time around.

The starting view

The trail hugs the northern edge of Lower Kintla Lake so we got beautiful water views for the whole day. After trudging along we eventually reached the Kintla Lake Campground, just at the east end of Lower Kintla Lake. We chatted with some folks who were there and enjoyed some snacks. 

 

We moved on, heading away from the Lower Kintla Lake towards Upper Kintla Lake. This is where we left the water and entered the forest. The shrubbery was dense, making us very nervous about a bear popping out and getting us. We got scared by a few ptarmigans but avoided the bears, eventually getting to Upper Kintla Lake. We were greeted with a still lake reflecting the mountains to the east. It was beautiful, quiet, and still. 

Getting through the shrubbery

Our first view of Upper Kintla Lake

After a nice break, we move on heading towards our final camp. Again we hugged the northern end of the lake, reaching the campground at the other end of the lake eventually. We pitched, cooked, and enjoyed the sun going down over the lake.

Day 2

Because this was an out and back, this day was just... back.  We saw the same gorgeous scenery and did not run into any bears. After getting back to the trailhead, Lauren took a dip in the lake while I grabbed the car. From there we drove back to our accommodations at Flathead Lake. An hour into hour drive it started to rain heavily, followed by thunder and lightning. The decision to shorten our trip was well worth it.

Our last view of Lower Kintla Lake

Happy hiking!

-m