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Apikuni Falls was perhaps the most striking waterfall that I was able to get close to during our visit to Glacier National Park. Not bad considering that I actually hadn't planned on seeing this waterfall prior to the trip. Moreover, it turned out that this waterfall was not visible from the Many Glacier Road because it was facing away from the valley. It wasn't until I noticed it upon examining a map sign at the trailhead for Grinnell Glacier and realized that its trail was short enough to do without dramatically increasing the chances of a grizzly bear encounter (from a longer hike) did it even begin to cross my mind that I should do this hike.
In any case, this waterfall seemed to have two parts close together comprising its overall vertical drop, which I'm guessing is 150ft tall or so. There were also cascades continuing to tumble further downstream so depending on who you talk to, its overall height might be even taller.
From the trailhead shared with the trail to Poia Lake, the hike was said to be one mile each way. However, it was a pretty steep uphill mile for almost the entire hike so it was definitely a little tiring for such a relatively short day hike. The path started off out in the open facing some interesting cliffs rising high above the trees, but soon enough, the trail went straight into those trees (and it was here that I was concerned about surprising a grizzly, especially given how windy it was at the time).
It probably wasn't until around 3/4-mile into the hike did I finally start to see the hidden Apikuni Falls. Just a short distance further, the trail climbed above most of the treeline, and from this position, I took a few breathers looking back in the other direction towards the valley. That was where I got some very scenic views of the rest of Many Glacier Valley with majestic snow-capped mountains, remnants of what's left of the glaciers here, and colorful lakes.
Eventually, the trail was side-by-side with the creek just downstream of the falls, but some additional scrambling was required to get even closer to the falls. The closer I got to the falls, the steeper the scramble became. I'll leave it up to you to decide how close to the falls you want to get depending on your comfort level. It's definitely not for everyone.
Directions: From Babb, drive west on Many Glacier Road for about 10.25 miles to the Poia Lake car park and trailhead. From the trailhead, the trail to the lake forks to the right while the trail to the falls forks to the left. There are signposts there to help you pick the right path.
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