Crater Lake is a 8 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Bigfork, Montana that features a waterfall and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from July until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
backpacking
camping
fishing
hiking
trail running
forest
lake
river
views
waterfall
wild flowers
wildlife
bugs
muddy
over grown
Limited parking is available at the Camp Misery Trailhead. Check in at the Rangers station. Bathrooms are available at the parking lot but NO water
The map of the trail they have is not the route I took so I am not sure if their map just starts a few miles in, but the hike to Crater and back out from camp Misery trailhead is over 11 miles.
Right now the wildflowers are in full bloom and just amazing! You get incredible views of the Flathead valley and although the parking lot seemed full, there are so many hiking options in that area, that I didn't even see another hiker.
The first 3.1 miles to Birch lake there is no water so make sure you bring plenty for your dogs if you bring them. The trail starts to get overgrown after Birch lake but it is still visible and easy to follow. It gets better if you just continue on.
Oh my goodness, this trail has it all. I was worried about bears so I made a lot of noise and saw no wildlife. A lady I met on the trail said she saw mountain goats though. All of the lakes are spectacular. Crater lake it by far the best. So secluded and peaceful. The trail is a bit hard to follow and overgrown in just a few places. Coming out was much easier to follow and very strenuous. Well worth every step though. The views are some of the best I have seen. Do not sell yourself short and stop at Birtch Lake, Crater is well worth the extra hike!
Beautiful hike. We took our dog and loved it. Only one side note: we decided to do this on our drive from Swan Lake to Glacier National Park while towing our travel trailer. The road is narrow, dirt, and eventually reaches a pretty steep drop off the side towards the end. It's a great hike, just do it before you head to your next destination and leave the trailer. Also, there was plenty of snow left in the first mile of the hike.
The first 5 miles in was beautiful. The last mile to the lake is not well marked and the trail is overgrown. We didn't make it all the way to the shores of the lake, but we could see it.
We did stop at Birch Lake on our way in, lots of people fishing and we watched a few people catch some.
Great hike with awesome views. Please be considerate though and do not feed the mountain goats up there though as cute as they may be.
We did this hike at the beginning of July. This year (2014) it hasn't been a very warm summer so far. The trail was covered by snow almost the whole way once you hit Birch Lake. We did miles of side-hilling in the snow, which any hiker knows can be pretty rough! We may not have made it without ice cleats and trekking poles, there was about 5 feet of snow at most spots. I can't really speak to the trail because it was difficult to follow with the snow so we tried to just find the easiest way to go through the snow... The trail was pretty washed out in some of the spots where it could actually be seen due to the snow melt. We did run in to black flies on the way there (at Birch) so if you take your dog make sure to use pet safe bug repellent on them! The lake is incredibly beautiful and there's an awesome little island to sit and fish off of. We only got a few casts in then had to head back... It's a great trip!!!