Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Montana / Northwest Montana

Turquoise Lake and Crescent Lake, Mission Mountains

Mission Mountains Wilderness, Flathead National Forest (Glacier Creek Trailhead, near Condon)

The Mission Mountains rise between the Flathead Valley and the Swan Valley, and their east side is the Mission Mountains Wilderness on the Flathead National Forest. From the Glacier Creek Trailhead, one trail leads past Glacier Lake to a string of higher lakes: Heart and Crescent, then Lagoon, Lace, and Turquoise.

onX lists the Turquoise Lake trip at about 11 miles round trip and recommends “backpacking in and camping for at least one night.”

The hike

To reach the trailhead, the Seeley Swan Pathfinder says to drive west on Kraft Creek Road from Highway 83 at mile marker 37, just south of Condon, and follow Forest Road 561 about 11.5 miles. onX calls it “a narrow, winding dirt road” with little signage. The lot has a pit toilet but no drinking water, and it is often busy with Glacier Lake day hikers.

The trail starts on Glacier Creek Trail #690 and crosses several small creeks, three on log bridges; the Pathfinder warns that one low spot may flood at high runoff. At about 1.3 miles, a well-marked junction splits: left goes a quarter mile to Glacier Lake, a 104-acre lake at 5,260 feet where camping isn’t allowed, and right is the Turquoise Lake Trail #708.

The Pathfinder’s route switchbacks up the north side of Glacier Lake, then traverses northwest to Heart Lake, 4.3 miles from the trailhead. Crescent Lake sits just above it, reached by a lakeside trail over the natural dam between them.

Continuing toward Turquoise Lake, onX describes steady switchbacks, “never too steep, just sustained,” then a barren alpine stretch of rock slabs where the trail can be hard to follow, before it drops into a bowl holding Lagoon, Lace, and Turquoise Lakes. onX warns of swampy ground near Lagoon Lake and a Turquoise Lake shoreline that is hard to reach in places because of boulders, slabs, and a logjam at the outlet. It also notes that ripe huckleberries in mid- to late August “can slow hikers down considerably.”

In mid-June 2020, the Pathfinder found patchy snow on the trail, ice on parts of Crescent Lake, and heavy mosquitoes. Both Pathfinder articles stress bears: carry bear spray and store food carefully.

The Mission Range’s west side is the separate Mission Mountains Tribal Wilderness, which Visit Montana says requires a Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes recreation permit for non-members.

For another lake trip in the Swan Valley, see Upper Holland Lake and Sapphire Lakes.

Tips

Camping

Swan Valley Connections’ trail report lists a group size limit of 8 for the Mission Mountains Wilderness and says camping is prohibited within a quarter mile of Glacier Lake (and of the Cold Lakes, elsewhere in the range). Stock must stay 200 feet from shorelines. Beyond Glacier Lake, campsites are dispersed.

The Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem food storage order (R1-2023-02) covers the Flathead National Forest from March 1 through December 31 each year through 2028: unattended food and attractants must be hung at least 10 feet up and 4 feet out from any support or kept in an IGBC-certified bear-resistant container, and must not be buried or burned in a campfire.

Inside Intel: onX says there are “some very nice camp spots along the near shore” of Turquoise Lake, with Lace Lake about half a mile away. The Pathfinder points to the east camping area at Crescent Lake for a shorter night out.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Cooking above Glacier Lake:

Camping is off-limits near Glacier Lake, so dinner happens higher up at Crescent or Turquoise Lake. See the backpacking stoves testers chose.

See what testers chose →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.