Highline Trail

A premier 11.6-mile high-alpine traverse along the Garden Wall of the Continental Divide.

The Highline Trail begins on the north side of the Going-to-the-Sun Road at Logan Pass, sitting at an elevation of 6,646 feet. Within the first quarter-mile, hikers encounter the trail's most famous and exposed segment: a narrow rimrock ledge carved directly into the sheer face of the Garden Wall. For three-tenths of a mile, the path is only six to eight feet wide, with a drop of more than 100 feet down to the highway below. A heavy steel cable is bolted directly into the rock face to provide a handhold for those navigating this stretch. Looking across the valley, the massive profiles of Mount Cannon, Mount Oberlin, and Heavens Peak dominate the western horizon, setting a dramatic scale that persists for the entire journey.

After leaving the ledge, the trail hugs the high slopes of the Continental Divide, gradually winding through subalpine terrain toward Haystack Butte. At approximately 3.6 miles from the trailhead, hikers tackle a series of switchbacks climbing roughly 275 feet to the saddle of Haystack Butte at 6,819 feet. This grassy pass serves as a common resting point, offering views of the valley below and the peaks of the Livingston Range. The surrounding meadows are rich with alpine wildflowers like yellow glacier lilies, purple asters, and towering stalks of white beargrass. Mountain goats and bighorn sheep frequently graze along these steep slopes, while hoary marmots and pikas whistle from the talus fields. The trail also exposes ancient geologic history: the limestone and dolomite of the Belt Supergroup, where fossilized stromatolites, ancient colonies of blue-green algae, are occasionally visible in the rock layers.

At the 6.8-mile mark, the trail reaches the junction for the Grinnell Glacier Overlook. This optional spur is exceptionally steep, climbing nearly 1,000 feet in just 0.8 miles to the crest of the Garden Wall, where hikers can look directly down onto the icy expanse of Grinnell Glacier and Upper Grinnell Lake. Continuing past the junction, the main trail soon reaches the historic Granite Park Chalet. Built in 1914 by the Great Northern Railway, this rustic stone structure sits at 6,690 feet and serves as a wilderness shelter where day hikers can purchase water and snacks. From the chalet, the classic route finishes by descending the Loop Trail. This final leg is a steep, four-mile descent that drops 2,200 feet through the recovering forest of the 2003 Trapline Fire, ending at the hairpin turn known as The Loop on Going-to-the-Sun Road.