We started our hike at the Sunrift Gorge pullout, crossing under the highway to Baring Falls. If you begin at the St. Mary Falls pullout, you miss Baring Falls. It is a pretty falls, but the least spectacular of the three falls. The trail heads up the lake with beautiful views and a palette of wildflowers. Beyond Baring Falls is the dock for the St. Mary tour boat. The trail is fairly steep in this area.
The lake ends and the trail parallels St. Mary River. A thundering roar of water lets you know you have arrived at St. Mary Falls. A bridge crosses the river. Stop here in the mist for a while if you are hot! The river falls in two places. The swirling, churning water below the bridge is impressive.
It's only .5 mile to Virginia Falls. The trail continues upstream. Virginia Creek cascades over those familiar green and red rocks of Glacier Park. You can see the falls from the trail, but you can scramble down the rocky ledges to get a closer look. We had planned to eat our lunch here, but there were so many gnats that we didn't stay long. The trail continues a little ways to a bridge across the creek. The trail was quite muddy here in June. There is an outhouse near the bridge.
Turn around here and retrace your route. We stopped on the return trip at St. Mary Falls to eat our lunch. We found a pleasant place to sit on some rocks where we could watch the power of the water and relax. The return trip is more downhill than up!