Overview | Location | Cost | Time | Planning | Experience + Ratings Trip Extras | Missed Opportunities
Overview
When you are ready to get away from everything, take things slow, and really spend time in nature then you are ready for your trip to Glacier National Park.
From the National Park Service:
"Come and experience Glacier's pristine forests, alpine meadows, rugged mountains, and spectacular lakes. With over 700 miles of trails, Glacier is a hiker's paradise for adventurous visitors seeking wilderness and solitude."
Location
Montana
Cost
For the most part National Park trip costs can be up to you. Most of your expense will be in gas and lodging. We tent camp a lot to get costs low when we really want to go somewhere. We also carry a good ice chest for food and our small, portable camping stove for low cost meals.
For us:
Glacier Campground:
$22 - Tandem rental @ $22/hr for 1 hour
We cooked and packed all of our meals
Gas (this was our biggest expense because we had to drive around a lot due to Going-to-the-Sun Road being closed)
Time Commitment
Most of our trips are short and sweet and we rarely feel we missed out on much, Glacier is one of the exceptions.
You need time in glacier.
You need time to get around, time to hike and time to experience what Glacier truly has to offer.
We had 2.5 days, we needed minimum 4.
Planning
If you want to stay inside of Glacier National Park you must plan months in advance! There are some great campground and lodges to stay at but you will need to plan way ahead for reservations.
We stayed at Glacier Campground and it was great! The staff was wonderful and helpful, the location was safe and the price was right. They also have a great playground for kids and The Sunflower Cafe on site.
Getting Going-to-the-Sun Road tickets can be VERY DIFFICULT. The main entrances of Glaciers National Park are now ticketed to control congestion.
We did not know about the tickets initially. They do save about 150 tickets for those of us who did not know about reserving tickets. The held tickets are released 48 hr before the date you attempt to go to the park. We tried very hard two days in a row and it was impossible to get the tickets. Literally a crap shoot. They sell out in 4-8 minutes and we were logged in RIGHT ON TIME, three devices at once.
THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN'T DRIVE GOING-TO-THE-SUN-ROAD OR GET IN TO THE PARK WITHOUT TICKETS. It just makes it harder.
First way: Get into the park before 6 AM or after 5 PM
Second way: Use the Camas Entrance for East Glacier
We were told initially it would take a long time to go this way on rough backroads that the GPS doesn't read well. We did not have that experience. We quite enjoyed the 45 min drive through and into the park, and the GPS directions were perfect.
The Glacier National Park Experience:
Ross's Rating: 7/10
Crystal's Rating: 7/10
Would be higher if we had better weather & Going-to-the-Sun Road was open
Ross's Rating: 9/10 | Crystal's Rating: 9/10
Rent the kayak and have fun! Lake McDonald is the quintennial fruity pebbles rocks picture lake. As with all glacier lakes the crystal clear water and cool rocks makes this for such a fun kayaking adventure.
We did a tandem for $22/hr for 1 hour
Ross's Rating: 9/10 | Crystal's Rating: 9/10
The Trail of Cedars is also the trailhead for Avalanche Lake. This is a very easy and short trail through a forest of HUGE, incredible Cedars and Black Cottonwood poplar trees. You will also get a great view of Avalanche Gulch!
Ross's Rating: 9/10 | Crystal's Rating: 10/10
Running Eagle Falls - Unique, double waterfall. Easy 0.6 mile nature walk loop to a great waterfall that you can get very close too.
Appistoki Falls - Pretty and cool with several drops and a wonderful view. 1.3 mile hike, with moderate incline to the top.
Ross's Rating: 7/10 | Crystal's Rating: 6/10
Would be higher if we had made the boat and it was not raining
This is where you will really get to see most of the Glaciers that make up Glacier National Park. With that said a Glacier, looks like an area of snow.... know this going into it.
A good portion of this road was under construction at the time we went so be prepared for a rough drive and dirt.
Fun to see but unless you can make the boat or REALLY love long hikes this one is tough.
We did see a grizzly on the way out.
Ross's Rating: 6/10 | Crystal's Rating: 6/10
This visitor center on the East side of the park, was not fully open still due to COVID closures when we went. The gift shop was very small with most of the center dedicated to exhibits.
We suggest checking out Apgar and/or Logan's Pass if you can.
From the Meat Scientist: Glacier National Park is an incredible trip, but mostly for the super outdoorsy. This place is a hiking park! With only one road in and out, plus very long drives around it is hard to navigate this park in a weekend like we could Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. You are looking at +/- 8 mile hikes for the most part which really does require some time for most people.
From the Rockhound: Ditto. Lake McDonald and all the waterways with the multicolored stones are cool to see and was one of my favorite parts. Along with, the massive trees and waterfalls.
Trip Extras + Supporting Local
Eddies Cafe and Gifts:
Missed Opportunities:
Avalanche Lake - We got rained out on the day we planned to hike to Avalanche Lake.
Going-to-the-Sun Road - The road was still closed at the time we were at Glacier. The road was finally cleared but they were doing the last safety repairs. We suggest planning to go deeper into summer, no earlier than the last week of June/first week of July.
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