Montana trails · Pitamakan Pass
Pitamakan Pass
A 17.3-mile out-and-back in Montana, with 2,497 ft of climbing. Reaches Pitamakan Pass and other lake/pass/waterfall destinations. Managed by the National Park Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the middle third — 74% of the ascent, between mile 5.8 and mile 11.5. It gives back about 2,810 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Pitamakan Pass (pass)
- Atlantic Falls (waterfall)
- Morning Star Lake (lake)
- Pray Lake (lake)
- Seven Winds of the Lake (lake)
Heads up
Getting there
Cut Bank Trailhead — parking nearby. About 2 h 34 min drive (109 mi, 5 of them unpaved) from Kalispell. 48.60245, -113.38375 · 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 34.6-mile round trip works out to roughly 15 h 18 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Nearby trails
- Dawson Pass — 7.6 mi
- Two Medicine Pass — 11.6 mi
- Swiftcurrent Pass — 19.1 mi
- Gunsight Pass — 22.5 mi