Trail of Cedars

Glacier National Park

We love this walk beneath the canopy of old trees along Avalanche Creek on the west side of Glacier National Park. Western red cedar dominate the grove. Black cottonwood with its deeply grooved bark and Western hemlock are also prominent. Many of these trees reach heights of over two hundred feet. The cedars and hemlocks can live to over 1,000 years.

About half of the trail is along a board walk raised about the spongy forest floor covered with decomposing logs, dropped needles and shade tolerant plants. Mosses hang from dying branches. In this moist enclave lichens and moss streak tree trunks. Along the eastern side of the loop trail shaded rocky hills drip with constant water seepage.

Reflections in Avalanche Creek