Length: 27.2 miles roundtrip

Difficulty: Moderate

National Park: Glacier National Park

Journal: "Heather & John's Big Adventure: The Honeymoon"

From Glacier National Park, drive north on Montana State Highway 17 to the Chief Mountain Customs Trailhead, on the left, within sight of the Border Patrol buildings at the Canadian border. Permits are required for all backpacks in the Glacier backcountry. Please check with the Glacier National Park Backcountry Desk for trip planning. Advanced reservations are $20.00, and permits are $4.00 / person per night.

Trail Description:

From the trailhead, the Belly River Trail begins to descend steeply into the Belly River Valley -- an elevation loss of 744 feet over 1.5 miles. As the trail reaches the valley floor, it levels out as it begins to meander through vast, green prairies and thick, virgin forests. At 6.0 miles, you will see the junction for Stoney Indian Pass to the right, and at 6.1 miles, you will come to the junction with the Gable Pass Trail, at the Belly River Ranger Station. (Here, you will also find the Gable Creek Campground). Keep going south for this trail.

At 8.1 miles, you will come to Dawn Mist Falls, which is very beautiful. There is a spur trail that goes to the bottom of the falls; it is worth the side trip to see and hear this waterfall up close, and the cool mist is very refreshing after a long day's hike.

At 9.3 miles, you will come to the foot of Elizabeth Lake. There is a campground here, too. The lake is 1.6 miles long, and, like all of the lakes in Glacier, it is ice cold!

The trail continues south for another 3 miles, eventually ending at Helen Lake.

Return the way you came.