David Restivo

Avalanche Gorge and the Trail of the Cedars boardwalk.

Avalanche Creek
May 11, 2009

Saturday (May 9) was a perfect day to visit Avalanche Creek, Gorge, and the Trail of the Cedars. Cedar and hemlock boughs dripped with water from a brief passing shower, and the aroma of the forest was very strong.

This area is dominated by water. But why is it so wet here? If you travel from almost any direction to get to Glacier National Park you pass through vast areas of sagebrush, grasslands and lodgepole pine; species adapted to the dry conditions of the Rocky Mountain west. What's different here? Just to the east, the barrier, formed by towering peaks of the Continental Divide, wrings tremendous amounts of water from passing clouds. This extra moisture allows species much more typical of forests on the Pacific Coast to flourish here, hundreds of miles inland. The Avalanche Creek area is the furthermost eastern extent of this type of cedar/hemlock forest.

To learn more about this area, take a virtual tour of the Trail of Cedars and Avalanche Lake.