Running Eagle Falls sits in the Two Medicine area of Glacier National Park, about ten miles up the Two Medicine Road from the MT-49 junction near East Glacier Park. The National Park Service manages it. Two Medicine Creek drops over a limestone lip here into a rock basin, and the trailhead lot, restrooms and information kiosk are all right off the road, which makes this one of the easiest waterfalls to reach in the entire park.

Getting in costs the standard Glacier entrance fee. A private vehicle is 35 dollars and the pass is good for seven days, dropping to 25 dollars in winter from November 1 through April 30. A motorcycle is 30 dollars, 20 in winter. Walking or biking in is 20 dollars per person, 15 in winter. The Glacier Annual Pass is 70 dollars and is valid for one year from the month of entry. An America the Beautiful annual pass is 80 dollars for residents. No vehicle reservations are required in any area of the park in 2026.

The walk to the falls is 0.3 miles one way, gaining 47 feet and losing 8, essentially level. The Park Service rates it wheelchair accessible up to a viewing area of the falls, but not past the creek. A separate Running Eagle Falls Nature Trail loops 0.7 miles from the same trailhead with ten interpretive stops on native plants and how people here used them for food, fuel and other resources.

The falls has two outlets, which is why older maps call it Trick Falls. Glacier National Park describes it this way in its own photo captions: early in the season when there is more water flowing, it cascades from both over the top of the cliff and also from the middle of the rock face. As snowmelt tapers through summer the upper curtain thins out or quits, and the lower jet blasting out of the cliff is all that is left. In a good spring you can see both streams running, one behind the other.

Now the honest part. This is a waterfall you look at, not a swimming hole. The Park Service says water is the number one cause of fatalities in Glacier National Park, tells visitors to avoid wading in or fording swift streams, and warns never to walk, play or climb on slippery rocks and logs, especially around waterfalls. Waterfalls run hardest during spring snowmelt. The water is cold enough that sudden immersion can trigger the mammalian diving reflex. On May 4, 2016 a 26 year old man jumped into the shallow pool at Running Eagle Falls and died of his injuries. Park rangers responded and the park reminded visitors to use caution around all water features. People do pick their way down to the gravel and the creek edge below the falls on a warm August afternoon, and shin-deep wading happens there, but the pool is shallow, the rock is slick, and nobody should be jumping into it.

The name carries the English form of Pi'tamaka, Running Eagle, a Piikani (Piegan Blackfeet) warrior born Brown Weasel Woman who earned the name from a chief as a mark of respect. The Park Service biography of her also notes Pitamakan Lake in the park is named for her. The Two Medicine valley is held sacred by the Blackfeet and was used for vision quests, and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation boundary runs right past the Two Medicine entrance station. A widely retold story places her vision near this waterfall, though the Park Service page about her does not say so.

This is grizzly country. Carry bear spray, know how to use it, and make noise even on a short paved trail. Seasonal access is the other catch. The Two Medicine Road is in a multi-year rehabilitation project, and in 2026 the road closes at the Running Eagle Falls Trailhead or the park boundary outside the concessioner operating window of May 29 through September 7, with the Two Medicine Campground closed all year. Check current conditions before you drive out. Parking is a modest paved lot with auto and bus or RV spaces that fills up on summer middays.