Two Medicine Recommendation

[Observable]

I’d like to do a hike in the Two Medicine area on my upcoming trip in mid-August. Obviously The Dawson-Pitamakan loop is the most highly recommended but I’m thinking we will not have the energy to take on the full loop (and still do the other hikes we have planned). So I have narrowed it down to 3 options for a hike that is shorter and little less strenuous than the full loop (I think?)

1. Dawson Pass Out and Back (take boat both ways)
2. Two Medicen Pass Out and Back (take boat both ways)
3. Scenic Point Out and Back

Any input on which hike you all prefer? I’m thinking Dawson is most popular but Two Med. Pass is looking really tempting. Any input or advice is welcome, thanks!

[llholmes1948]

Scenic Point should not be difficult as it is a relatively short hike, but uphill.

I don't think the boat helps much with Two Medicine Pass because the Cobalt Lake Trail junction is still a ways from the boat dock. We prefer to dispense with the boat and merely hike in and out on the South Shore Trail.

Cobalt Lake is a nice hike and hopefully will have plenty of wildflowers. Once you get to Cobalt Lake you can assess your energy and decide if you want to continue to Two Medicine Pass. If you only go as far as Cobalt Lake, it is still a very nice hike and doesn't seem to attract a large number of people.

Hope you have a great trip.

Lyman

[smahurin]

Full disclosure, I haven't done two medicine pass/cobalt lake hike yet. But between dawson out-n-back and scenic point I'd probably opt for scenic point. In my opinion dawson/pitamakan (the full loop) is the single best "day-hike" in the park (if you consider 18.5miles a day hike). But the awesome part of the hike is the 4-ish miles between dawson and pitamakan. While the views from dawson are awesome its definitely a trek to get up to the pass and while you'd get a glimpse of the awesomeness between the passes (and maybe thats all you need) I do feel it'd sell the hike a little short.

Scenic point is a fantastic shorter hike in its own right. While it definitely has a little climb to it, it is a little easier than the front side of dawson and the views from the point are really cool.

You probably can't go wrong with either choice, but i'd probably opt for the scenic point route in that scenario.

[Jen]

In my opinion dawson/pitamakan (the full loop) is the single best "day-hike" in the park (if you consider 18.5miles a day hike). But the awesome part of the hike is the 4-ish miles between dawson and pitamakan. While the views from dawson are awesome its definitely a trek to get up to the pass and while you'd get a glimpse of the awesomeness between the passes (and maybe thats all you need) I do feel it'd sell the hike a little short.

Agree 100%

[Observable]

Great advice everyone (as usual)! Thanks for your help. I will most likely give Two Medicine Pass a shot this time around. Now back to counting the days till I can get out there, 23!

[pitamakan]

You know, a round trip to the top of Two Medicine Pass is somewhere around 16 miles ... it's a long day hike. The boat would just take a couple miles off of that, and so wouldn't be much help. It would a little shorter than doing the Dawson-Pitamakan loop, and a little less elevation gain, but really not all that much, especially if you use the boat on the way back from Dawson. I think if you could do Two Medicine Pass you could do Dawson-Pitamakan.

Two Medicine Pass is great, but I definitely agree that Dawson-Pit is among the very best hikes in the park ... it's amazing. I'd really think about giving it a try.

[isleroyaleguy]

+1 for Dawson/Pitamakan.
If you only have a short time in the area you wouldn't want to miss this one. As for mileage and difficulty it's not bad. I would suggest heading up to the Pitamakan side and take it all the way around to Dawson then down to catch the boat. It's a good climb up then a concentrated down at the end but in between is a pretty level hike. Not to mention the incredible scenery that whole stretch. You won't be disappointed.
IRG

[Observable]

Yeah, think I got some bad info on Two Med. Pass. When I first read about it I was under the impression the it was only 10 miles RT if you take the boat. Looks like it is in fact more than that. Now I'm thinking I should give Dawson-Pit a shot. I know I am in good enough shape I was just worried about not being able to get other hikes done. I could to Dawson-Pit rather than the Hockey Ref hike which I did last year. That has been my favorite and was gonna take some of my friends because they have never seen it before, from the sound of it they wouldn't be disappointed with Dawson-Pit though!