Montana trails · Gunsight Pass
Gunsight Pass
A 18.5-mile out-and-back in Montana, with 2,925 ft of climbing. Reaches Gunsight Pass and other lake/pass/waterfall destinations. Managed by the National Park Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 66% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 6.2. It gives back about 3,642 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Gunsight Pass (pass)
- Lincoln Pass (pass)
- Mirror Pond (lake)
- Beaver Medicine Falls (waterfall)
- Deadwood Falls (waterfall)
Getting there
Sperry Trailhead — parking nearby, restroom. About 1 h 09 min drive (44 mi) from Kalispell. 48.61678, -113.87556 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:22 a.m., the sun rises at 7:53 a.m. and sets at 6:48 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:19 p.m. (MDT) — 10 h 54 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 36.9-mile round trip works out to roughly 16 h 36 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Nearby trails
- Swiftcurrent Pass — 15.4 mi
- Stoney Indian Pass — 22.2 mi
- Pitamakan Pass — 22.5 mi
- Two Medicine Pass — 24.0 mi