Been meaning to do this since a thread a few weeks ago. Finally have some down time today.
So some of you have been and spent more time than me at Glacier National Park (GNP), so disregard or add on and correct errors.. But for others, especially those planning a big trip from across the country, hopefully this stuff will help.
1: Timing
Having lived out here for a few years now in the same area of the Northern Rockies, we have 5 distinct seasons. Fall, winter, spring, summer, and fire season. You want to visit in "summer." That is late June through late July. End of July and August is typically going to be fire season. Glacier is all about the majestic views, you do not want to get those ruined by smoke. The smoke can get blown in from as far away as California and ruin the views. See the Goose Island Overlook near St. Mary's below for an example of what I mean.
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Just as problematic is late snows. This year was as bad as that has ever been. At my house, which is 260 miles as a crow flies from the west gate of GNP, we had more snow in April and May than in Jan, Feb, and March combined and it was equally as bad at GNP. This led to tying the latest opening ever of Going To The Sun Road (GTTSR) on July 13th. We were there from July 8th-17th and luckily got last minute passes on the morning of the 13th. Historically speaking, it almost always opens in June and has only opened after July 4th 3 times since WW2 and one was due to Covid in 2020. So you are typically going to be safe after July 1. Another nice thing about early to mid July is the days are still long. Sunrise on July 13th was at 5:45 am and sunset was at 9:35 pm.
Now, if you aren't going with kids that have school, there is something to be said about a mid-late September trip. Fires usually start to die down before then and smoke won't be as bad. They days are shorter, but the crowds are gone. Plus, the Aspen and Cottonwoods are likely turning by then. Definitely worth looking into. Plus, the weather is going to be amazing. The Indian Summer of Mid-September-late October if by far my favorite time of year up here. Waking up in the 30's and warming up to near 70 is the very best hiking/camping weather on earth.
2: Where To Stay/How Long
First, GNP is big, not Yellowstone big, but still 1 million acres. And the roads don't necessarily take you the quickest route to where you want to go due to all the mountains. There are 8 "areas" or units of the park. See map below.
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Unless you have backcountry permits and are looking to rough it for a few days, don't worry about Goat Haunt, Belly River, or Walton, they just are not developed like the rest of the park. You might want to throw North Fork in there as well if you aren't staying for an extended period and don't have a 4wd. The roads in there are brutal. The ranger tells you to plan on 45 minutes to drive the six mile road up to Bowman lake and it took us 30 in a Jeep... That said, it was my favorite part of the trip, but I will touch on that later. Most of the campgrounds, lodging, amenities, action, scenery, trails, and places to be are in the Many Glacier, St. Mary's, Two Medicine and Lake McDonald zones. Waterton in Canada is supposed to be cool, but we punted as the border closed to early (5 pm or something) to make a daytrip worth while.
GTTSR runs through the Lake McDonald and St. Mary's zones. There is nearly as much to do in the Lake McDonald zone as there is in the Many Glacier, St. Mary's, and Two Medicine zones combined. With all of this in mind, I would think of it as helpful to see the park in two halfs. West Glacier and East Glacier (technically there is an East Glacier Village part of the park down at the outside edge of the Two Medicine area, but it's ghetto as 17 in my opinion.) If you are flying into Glacier International, you are coming in from the southwest to the Lake McDonald Area or the West Glacier Village. From here you are less than 30 minutes to the Airport, Whitefish, and shopping in Kalispell. You can also get over to the east side going south of the park along highway 2. But some of the other roads you need to take are horrible. 49 is the bumpiest piece of **** on earth and there is a 10 mile section of 89 under construction requiring you to offroad effectively.
So, now that we have the 4 main zones and 2 halves, I would encourage you to plan your trip on an East/West basis. If I were flying in for let's say 7 days. I think I would leave the airport in Kalispell and head straight to WalMart to load up on water/food/supplies and drive around the south side of the park on highway 2 to spend the first 3-4 on the East Side (St. Mary's Village is centrally located.) Where I could get a 1.5-2 days driving 45 minutes up to Many Glacier to hit those hikes and see the awesome views. It gets crowded, so to get parking you need to get there early. They closed access around noon everyday we were at the park. The good hikes are pretty solid in length and elevation at Many Glacier, so I would pick a long one for each day and then maybe come back to explore St. Mary's in the afternoon/evening where there are a lot of shorter hikes. I would give at least half or most of a day to Two Medicine. Not as much there, but equally cool. We rode the boat across the lake and took an afternoon hike, which was fun.
After my 3-4 days on the east side is when I would want my 3 day GTTSR pass to kick in. Load up early and head up to Logan's Pass. Up there you have to hit the highline trail. Then work your way down to the wherever you stay on the west side (Apgar Village and West Glacier Village are cool, but I think Lake McDonald Lodge is the nicest lodge in the park.) This drive would be a whole day if you stop and take a few hikes.
Plenty of stuff to hit over on the west side of the park like Avalanche and Lake McDonald, but that first day on the West Side I would leave the park and head over to Whitefish for the day. Give the body and mind (especially kids) a break. Hit Buffalo Cafe for the buffalo pies at breakfast and then head up to Whitefish Mountain Resort. Ride the lifts to the top and explore, before coming back down to the village for lunch and activities. Then you can head into Whitefish to hit the shops and grab a good dinner before heading back to the park for the final few days of hiking/driving GTTSR and the west glacier area.
3. My favorite things and my biggest disappointments.
Favorite. We got passes to North Fork and took our kayaks up to Bowman Lake for the day. It was awesome. Paddled out 6 miles and were completely alone for the whole day. Not sure if you can rent kayaks and bring them up or not, but if you can, it is worth it.
View attachment 24823
Disappointment. Closures. Lots of trails and activities were closed due to bear activity (hidden lake trail for instance), congestion, construction, and snow. Make sure you have a contingency plan every day.
Favorite. Lake McDonald Lodge. I had heard all about for Many Glacier Lodge for years and as a construction guy, I was excited to see it. While the scenery was great at Many Glacier, the actual lodge was meh. Lake McDonald Lodge, was way nicer.
Disappointment. Food. Not that we came for the food, but man it sucks in the park and at the villages. Save your money and pack sandwiches everyday.
Favorite. Wildlife. Came up pretty close on a couple of grizzlies and a mountain goat.
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Disappointment. Rafting the Flathead River. Beautiful water, but good gosh it sucks. What they call class III wouldn't pass for class II most places. Save your money.
All in all, its worth the trip for anyone who remotely enjoys the outdoors. It's absolutely a hikers paradise. Even if you can't hike, there is plenty to be observed from the roads and parking areas to make it worth while. I will probably wait 3-4 year before I go back. My youngest is only good for easy hikes of less than 5 miles or 1000 feet of elevation gain. Kids 8+ that are in shape can do pretty much anything an average adult can do. So keep that in mind if you are planning a trip.
So some of you have been and spent more time than me at Glacier National Park (GNP), so disregard or add on and correct errors.. But for others, especially those planning a big trip from across the country, hopefully this stuff will help.
1: Timing
Having lived out here for a few years now in the same area of the Northern Rockies, we have 5 distinct seasons. Fall, winter, spring, summer, and fire season. You want to visit in "summer." That is late June through late July. End of July and August is typically going to be fire season. Glacier is all about the majestic views, you do not want to get those ruined by smoke. The smoke can get blown in from as far away as California and ruin the views. See the Goose Island Overlook near St. Mary's below for an example of what I mean.
View attachment 24827
View attachment 24821
Just as problematic is late snows. This year was as bad as that has ever been. At my house, which is 260 miles as a crow flies from the west gate of GNP, we had more snow in April and May than in Jan, Feb, and March combined and it was equally as bad at GNP. This led to tying the latest opening ever of Going To The Sun Road (GTTSR) on July 13th. We were there from July 8th-17th and luckily got last minute passes on the morning of the 13th. Historically speaking, it almost always opens in June and has only opened after July 4th 3 times since WW2 and one was due to Covid in 2020. So you are typically going to be safe after July 1. Another nice thing about early to mid July is the days are still long. Sunrise on July 13th was at 5:45 am and sunset was at 9:35 pm.
Now, if you aren't going with kids that have school, there is something to be said about a mid-late September trip. Fires usually start to die down before then and smoke won't be as bad. They days are shorter, but the crowds are gone. Plus, the Aspen and Cottonwoods are likely turning by then. Definitely worth looking into. Plus, the weather is going to be amazing. The Indian Summer of Mid-September-late October if by far my favorite time of year up here. Waking up in the 30's and warming up to near 70 is the very best hiking/camping weather on earth.
2: Where To Stay/How Long
First, GNP is big, not Yellowstone big, but still 1 million acres. And the roads don't necessarily take you the quickest route to where you want to go due to all the mountains. There are 8 "areas" or units of the park. See map below.
View attachment 24822
Unless you have backcountry permits and are looking to rough it for a few days, don't worry about Goat Haunt, Belly River, or Walton, they just are not developed like the rest of the park. You might want to throw North Fork in there as well if you aren't staying for an extended period and don't have a 4wd. The roads in there are brutal. The ranger tells you to plan on 45 minutes to drive the six mile road up to Bowman lake and it took us 30 in a Jeep... That said, it was my favorite part of the trip, but I will touch on that later. Most of the campgrounds, lodging, amenities, action, scenery, trails, and places to be are in the Many Glacier, St. Mary's, Two Medicine and Lake McDonald zones. Waterton in Canada is supposed to be cool, but we punted as the border closed to early (5 pm or something) to make a daytrip worth while.
GTTSR runs through the Lake McDonald and St. Mary's zones. There is nearly as much to do in the Lake McDonald zone as there is in the Many Glacier, St. Mary's, and Two Medicine zones combined. With all of this in mind, I would think of it as helpful to see the park in two halfs. West Glacier and East Glacier (technically there is an East Glacier Village part of the park down at the outside edge of the Two Medicine area, but it's ghetto as 17 in my opinion.) If you are flying into Glacier International, you are coming in from the southwest to the Lake McDonald Area or the West Glacier Village. From here you are less than 30 minutes to the Airport, Whitefish, and shopping in Kalispell. You can also get over to the east side going south of the park along highway 2. But some of the other roads you need to take are horrible. 49 is the bumpiest piece of **** on earth and there is a 10 mile section of 89 under construction requiring you to offroad effectively.
So, now that we have the 4 main zones and 2 halves, I would encourage you to plan your trip on an East/West basis. If I were flying in for let's say 7 days. I think I would leave the airport in Kalispell and head straight to WalMart to load up on water/food/supplies and drive around the south side of the park on highway 2 to spend the first 3-4 on the East Side (St. Mary's Village is centrally located.) Where I could get a 1.5-2 days driving 45 minutes up to Many Glacier to hit those hikes and see the awesome views. It gets crowded, so to get parking you need to get there early. They closed access around noon everyday we were at the park. The good hikes are pretty solid in length and elevation at Many Glacier, so I would pick a long one for each day and then maybe come back to explore St. Mary's in the afternoon/evening where there are a lot of shorter hikes. I would give at least half or most of a day to Two Medicine. Not as much there, but equally cool. We rode the boat across the lake and took an afternoon hike, which was fun.
After my 3-4 days on the east side is when I would want my 3 day GTTSR pass to kick in. Load up early and head up to Logan's Pass. Up there you have to hit the highline trail. Then work your way down to the wherever you stay on the west side (Apgar Village and West Glacier Village are cool, but I think Lake McDonald Lodge is the nicest lodge in the park.) This drive would be a whole day if you stop and take a few hikes.
Plenty of stuff to hit over on the west side of the park like Avalanche and Lake McDonald, but that first day on the West Side I would leave the park and head over to Whitefish for the day. Give the body and mind (especially kids) a break. Hit Buffalo Cafe for the buffalo pies at breakfast and then head up to Whitefish Mountain Resort. Ride the lifts to the top and explore, before coming back down to the village for lunch and activities. Then you can head into Whitefish to hit the shops and grab a good dinner before heading back to the park for the final few days of hiking/driving GTTSR and the west glacier area.
3. My favorite things and my biggest disappointments.
Favorite. We got passes to North Fork and took our kayaks up to Bowman Lake for the day. It was awesome. Paddled out 6 miles and were completely alone for the whole day. Not sure if you can rent kayaks and bring them up or not, but if you can, it is worth it.
View attachment 24823
Disappointment. Closures. Lots of trails and activities were closed due to bear activity (hidden lake trail for instance), congestion, construction, and snow. Make sure you have a contingency plan every day.
Favorite. Lake McDonald Lodge. I had heard all about for Many Glacier Lodge for years and as a construction guy, I was excited to see it. While the scenery was great at Many Glacier, the actual lodge was meh. Lake McDonald Lodge, was way nicer.
Disappointment. Food. Not that we came for the food, but man it sucks in the park and at the villages. Save your money and pack sandwiches everyday.
Favorite. Wildlife. Came up pretty close on a couple of grizzlies and a mountain goat.
View attachment 24824
View attachment 24825
View attachment 24826
Disappointment. Rafting the Flathead River. Beautiful water, but good gosh it sucks. What they call class III wouldn't pass for class II most places. Save your money.
All in all, its worth the trip for anyone who remotely enjoys the outdoors. It's absolutely a hikers paradise. Even if you can't hike, there is plenty to be observed from the roads and parking areas to make it worth while. I will probably wait 3-4 year before I go back. My youngest is only good for easy hikes of less than 5 miles or 1000 feet of elevation gain. Kids 8+ that are in shape can do pretty much anything an average adult can do. So keep that in mind if you are planning a trip.
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