Ptarmigan Falls
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Ptarmigan Falls is a waterfall in Montana, at a recorded elevation of 1,728 m. Mount Cleveland stands 3,190 m to the northwest, 9.5 miles off. The nearest named place is Crowfeet Mountain, a peak 1.3 miles away.
The story
Ptarmigan Falls is a waterfall located in Glacier National Park, Montana, US. Ptarmigan Falls has a series of cascades and at least one drop of over 30 feet (9.1 m) as it descends downstream along Ptarmigan Creek. The falls can only be seen by hiking west on the Ptarmigan Trail from Swiftcurrent Auto Camp Historic District in the Many Glacier region of the park.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q85794904, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 1728 m
How to reach it
Named places within 25 miles
- Crowfeet Mountain: 1.3 mi
- Mount Henkel: 1.3 mi
- Mount Wilbur: 1.7 mi
- Iceberg Peak: 2.3 mi
- Altyn Peak: 2.6 mi
- Redrock Falls: 1.9 mi
- Swiftcurrent Falls: 3.0 mi
- Apikuni Falls: 3.1 mi
- Hidden Falls: 3.9 mi
- Grinnell Falls: 4.1 mi
- Grinnell Point: 2.7 mi
- Bear Mountain Point: 8.0 mi
- Glacier Wall: 8.1 mi
- Dragon’s Tail: 11.5 mi
- Devils Slide: 11.6 mi
- Great Northern Railway Buildings: 4.5 mi
- Weeping Wall: 5.8 mi
- Weeping Wall: 6.6 mi
- Silver Dollar Beach: 12.6 mi
- Malmstrom Air Force Base Recreation Area: 13.9 mi
- Outpost Wetlands Natural Area: 16.4 mi
- Apgar Picnic Area: 23.6 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 11.4 miles of Ptarmigan Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Cleveland | NW 319° | 3,190 m | 9.5 mi |
| Mount Merritt | NW 315° | 3,054 m | 4.8 mi |
| Mount Siyeh | SSE 156° | 3,052 m | 7.0 mi |
| Cracker Benchmark | SSE 151° | 2,992 m | 7.0 mi |
| Going-to-the-Sun Mountain | SSE 159° | 2,939 m | 9.7 mi |
| Ipasha Peak | WNW 301° | 2,913 m | 4.0 mi |
| Mount Gould | S 182° | 2,911 m | 5.4 mi |
| Kaina Mountain | NNW 337° | 2,892 m | 10.0 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:38 | 19:06 | 19:48 |
| June solstice | 05:32 | 20:53 | 21:43 |
| September equinox | 07:22 | 18:53 | 19:35 |
| December solstice | 09:26 | 16:46 | 17:41 |
Local time (America/Edmonton).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 23 | 23 | 29 | 37 | 46 | 52 | 60 | 59 | 51 | 40 | 31 | 24 |
| Precip in | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — ST. Mary 1 SSW, 14 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: May–Jul — fullest in Jun, leanest in Feb.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 31.1 | 26.3 | 33.2 | 102 | 375 | 487 | 253 | 111 | 80.4 | 81.5 | 79.2 | 39.7 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Swiftcurrent Creek at Many Glacier MT, 3 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Inside the official boundary of Glacier National Park. Quietest months by visitation: Feb and Jan; busiest: Jul.
NPS visitation statistics, monthly averages 2021–2025 (2020 excluded).
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/11188639117
Day trips start here
- Glacier National Park · 10 mi
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