Montana trails · Dawson Pass
Dawson Pass
A 9.8-mile out-and-back in Montana, with 2,897 ft of climbing. Reaches Dawson Pass and other lake/pass/waterfall destinations. Managed by the National Park Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the middle third — 72% of the ascent, between mile 3.3 and mile 6.5.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Dawson Pass (pass)
- Pray Lake (lake)
- Twin Falls (waterfall)
- Two Medicine Lake (lake)
- No Name Lake (lake)
Getting there
North Shore Trailhead — parking nearby. About 2 h 13 min drive (99 mi) from Kalispell. 48.49183, -113.36584 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:20 a.m., the sun rises at 7:51 a.m. and sets at 6:46 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:18 p.m. (MDT) — 10 h 55 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 19.6-mile round trip takes roughly 10 h 09 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 6:00 p.m. — 46 min before sunset.
Nearby trails
- Two Medicine Pass — 4.7 mi
- Pitamakan Pass — 7.6 mi
- Gunsight Pass — 24.9 mi
- Swiftcurrent Pass — 25.6 mi