If you're coming at Glacier from the east, apparently a less traveled route, Two Medicine is the first major park area as you leave East Glacier and head north. If you're tempted to head straight to St. Mary and Going-to-the-Sun Road, don't.
The Two Medicine area has all the things that make Glacier so wonderful: mountain lakes, sculpted peaks, waterfalls, trails, campgrounds, and boat rides, too. If you're headed to the backcountry, you can also get there from here. In fact, it was a major destination before Going-to-the-Sun Highway; tourists arrived at West Glacier by train and were brought here by car, the first stop on a horseback tour across the park, housed at a series of interior chalets that are largely gone now.
The road changed that, and not many people were here on the morning of our July visit. After the short hike to Running Eagle Falls, we bought tickets for the boat ride to the end of Two Medicine Lake, and used the waiting time to explore the gift shop. It's in a classic old lodge, which bears a plaque noting that FDR broadcast a Fireside Chat from here during a visit in 1934.
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The 45-minute ride on the Sinopah across the length of Two Medicine Lake is delightful. It's an old wooden launch (low ceiling—look out), with nothing but rock, water, and sky to starboard during the whole trip. Creek after creek tumbles down the mountainside, and our family traded the binoculars back and forth, examining them up close. It's also a popular lake for kayakers, several of whom were making their way along the shore on this breezy day.
At the dock, trails leave for several places. You can head all the way into the backcountry, up to Two Medicine Pass across the Continental Divide, among other places. The trip to Twin Falls is a very pretty and modest two-mile round trip hike from the boat dock. Along the way, you get a nice view of Pumpelly Pillar from the trail, a large dark triangle of a mountain.
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The 2 hours between departures gives you more than enough time to hike to the falls and back at a leisurely pace. We caught the 10:30am trip, arrived just after 11, and rode back at 1:45pm. You can see the full schedule at the Glacier Boat Co. website. The afternoon trips offer a free guided hike to the falls and back. Though we were on the self-guided tour, we thought the $10 fare ($5 for kids) was a bargain. For an extra challenge, take the boat one-way—the hike along the north side of Upper Two Medicine Lake adds 2 miles.
On our way out of Two Medicine, we stopped for the hike to Appistoki Falls. We were glad that we spent the better part of a day here. All in all, Two Medicine was quiet and beautiful from start to finish.