Accessible Trail Being Built in Many Glacier Area of Glacier National Park

An accessible trail is being built along Swiftcurrent Lake in the Many Glacier area of Glacier National Park. Kurt Repanshek photo.

An accessible trail, the first in the Many Glacier area of Glacier National Park, is being built along the shoreline of Swiftcurrent Lake.

The section of trail that will be improved runs from the Many Glacier picnic area to the Swiftcurrent Creek bridge and is nearly a quarter-mile long, say park officials. To meet accessibility standards this section of the trail will have at least a 3-foot-wide hardened surface with a number of wider spots or turnouts, most of which will have seating available, park officials said

The work has been identified as a Legacy Project for Glacier’s centennial, supported by the Glacier National Park Fund, which has raised more than $70,000 to help pay for the trail improvements. A wheelchair accessible trail will be constructed on an existing dirt foot-trail to give the path a hardened and accessible surface.

On July 22 a group from the Glacier Mountaineering Society began the project by widening the trail and laying gravel. From August 9 to 13, volunteers from the Montana Conservation Corp will continue working on the project. Additional work to complete the trail, mainly an overlay to provide a hardened surface, will occur based on contract scheduling and weather conditions.

The Centennial Legacy Projects represent short-term goals identified through listening sessions and feedback from park visitors. As the park’s official fund-raiser partner, GNPF has undertaken fundraising campaigns for these projects as long-term “birthday gifts” to the park in addition to helping fund other programs and events for the centennial.