Glacier National Park

As we make our way north from Arizona, through Utah, Idaho and ultimately into Montana, we arrive at the coveted Glacier National Park. We’ve heard a lot about this gem that is located in the far northern reaches of the country but now we get to experience it firsthand.

Glacier National Park is in far northwest Montana and actually extends into Canada as Waterton Lakes National Park. It’s a large park with four separate and unique sections and a total of six entrances. With nearly 3 weeks to explore the park, we covered a lot of it, and then some. For simplicity, I’ll break it down by sections of the park.

TIP: As of the 2023 season Glacier National Park was still using a timed entry system with entrance pases coming available four months in advance, on the first of each month. Some remaining passes become available 24 hours in advance at 8am. Also note that individual passes are required for each of the four park sections, so if you want to see all of the park, you will need at least four separate entry passes. To avoid all of this, you can simply enter the park before 6am or after 3pm. Clear as mud? Be sure to check the National Park websites for updates to this policy.

Going to the Sun

The iconic Going to the Sun Road provides accesses to the most popular part of the park and for many, the only part that they visit. There are two entrances, West Glacier on one end and St Mary 50 miles to the east.

From West Glacier you first come to the village of Apgar, at the edge of Lake McDonald, where there is one of the three visitor centers along with lodging, restaurants and boat rentals. Oh, and of course, huckleberry ice cream at Eddies! Some of the best views across Lake McDonald are from this spot so get your ice cream and stick your toes in the water and admire the beauty of the lake with the mountain backdrop and all the colorful rocks below your feet.

From Apgar the road travels along Lake McDonald and through a thick treed area. This part of the road was under construction during our visit, but normally there are plenty of spots to pull over and get a closer look of the lake or stop for a picnic lunch.

The road continues along McDonald Creek which is gorgeous. There are plenty of great stops along the way including two waterfalls, McDonald Falls and Sacred Dancing Cascade Falls. Red Rock Point is a great spot to simply take a walk out to the overlook or to go for a brisk swim.

Once you get beyond McDonald Creek the road starts to gain altitude and this is where things really start to change. The road narrows, tall rock cliffs line one side of the road and a sheer drop off on the other. Plush green valleys with flowing waterfalls are mixed with tall, rugged peaks. You will pass through a rock tunnel, by a weeping wall and various pull-outs to take it all in. As a driver it’s mesmerizing, but a loss of focus on the road here can be catastrophic.

The road peaks at Logan Pass at just over 6,600 feet, not that high for a mountain pass, but this is what makes Glacier unique. At 6,600 feet you are still within the tree level, so things are green and plush with an abundance of wildflowers. Surrounding all of this are tall peaks jetting out of the green valleys, some at over 10,000 feet. The contrast of these two elements, along with what remains of glaciers is quite a site to see. There is a visitors’ center at Logan Pass along with access to several hikes, so it gets very busy and often hard to find a parking spot.

The road continues down from Logan Pass in much of the same manner. You will pass through another tunnel and soon arrive at Saint Mary Lake. A fire several years ago has left much of this area charred, but it’s fascinating to see the rebirth of a forest. Be sure to check out Goat Island at the far end of Saint Mary Lake. You might recognize this very small island from the opening scene of The Shining.

The road ends in the town of Saint Mary, where there is another visitors center and some local conveniences. Your choice at this point is to leave the park and take the main highways back to the other side, or simply drive the 50 miles of Going to The Sun Road in reverse. We always recommend traveling any scenic road in both directions since you see things in a completely different way coming back. This magnificicient road is no exception.

There are many great hikes along Going to the Sun Road and we did our fair share of them. The parking areas for these trailheads are small and for most hikes you should get there by 7am to get a spot, or you will have to come back in the heat of the day. Some memorable hikes for us included:

Avalanche Lake and Trail of the Cedars:

To get to the Avalanche Trail you need to go through Trail of the Cedars which is a beautiful paved trail through a forest of huge Red Cedar, Elm and Hemlock trees. The Avalanche Lake trail is a nice easy to moderate 6 mile hike to a beautiful lake. Be sure to take the trail a little further to the other side of the lake where the views might even be a little better. Three waterfalls can be seen coming down from the mountains high above.

Saint Mary Falls, Virginia Falls and Baring Falls:

These three falls can be hiked from several different starting points and all are accessible through the same trail system. We took the trailhead to Saint Mary Falls which is a very short hike to a popular spot where the young (and young at heart) can be seen jumping off the bridge to the frigid water below. It’s a little crazy, but the waterfall is very nice. A bit further down the trail is Virginia Falls which is a taller and more serein waterfall. This was well worth the extra steps and as a bonus we saw a couple of moose along the way. We opted to hike to Baring Falls on a different day and just took the short trail directly there. This was fun, as we were able to climb around on this one a bit. Big payoff for a little effort.

Hidden Lake:

Directly behind the Logan Pass visitors center is a boardwalk that leads to the Hidden Lake overlook. It’s only 2.7 miles but the uphill stairsteps make it seem a lot longer. A few Bighorn Sheep decided to hike along with us for a ways and the view of the lake from above was phenomenal. Normally you can hike down the steep grade to the lake, but this was closed when we were there due to bear activity at the lake.

Highline Trail:

The first day we attempted this hike, it was cold and the wind was howling, so we aborted. I returned the next morning with much improved weather for this fantastic hike. The hike goes for 15 miles, but I did an eight-mile round trip to the Haystack viewpoint. This is the common turnaround point for those not backpacking or staying at the Chalet. The hike starts out on a very steep ledge with a rope to traverse along. In fact, most of the hike goes along the edge but the terrain changes dramatically from rock edges to plush thimbleberry fields. It gains altitude along the way and at one point I came to a large snow/ice field. The last trek to the top of the Haystack viewpoint was the most difficult but the views were amazing. Unless you have a fear of heights, I highly recommend this hike.

Siyeh Pass:

I saved the best for last. I did this hike based on a tip from a local and I owe him big time. There’s so much packed into this hike it’s hard to know where to begin. I hiked along with a great couple I met along the way. The trail starts in a wooded area but slowly gains altitude and opens up to some great views of Piegan Glacier. You get past the tree line and the climb starts to get steeper. The peak over Siyeh becomes visible or does it? In reality, the trail turns to the right through a series of switchbacks to the higher part of the peak, and by far the most difficult part of the hike. When you finally reach the top it literally and figuratively takes your breath away. You know those times that the only word that you can verbalize is “wow”? This was one of those moments. The view down into the canyon with two lakes and the colorful mountains was an amazing site to take in as I sat on the narrow ledge along the pass. I could have spent all day in that spot, but there was the other side of the mountain and the descent to tackle.

As you turn the corner to come down the other side, it opens up into a whole new world of beauty. Sexton Glacier is actually below you at this point and the trail gets you very close to it. There are a couple of other smaller glaciers (or possibly snow fields) past that with waterfalls connecting them together like veins in the mountain. It’s a long steep downhill hike that eventually comes to the Saint Mary Lake area. The last part goes through the burn field which in an odd way is beautiful in its own right and somewhat erie as the wind makes this strange sound through the burnt trees. Strange, as Goat island is just below.

I’m not sure I truly felt like I experienced Glacier National Park until I did this hike. If you have it in you, this is a must do and I thank Mike and Diane for letting me tag along and share this experience with them.

TIP: Going to the Sun Road sometimes does not open until mid July due to snowfall at the higher elevations, so plan your trip accordingly. A trip to Glacier without access to this part of the park (not to mention the driving experience in itself) would be a big miss.

Two Medicine

Two Medicine is on the southeast side of Glacier and about an hour and fifteen minute drive from West Glacier. This part of the park is very different, it feels like you’re entering a remote state park rather than a large national park. The road takes you right up to Two Medicine Lake where there is a large parking area, gift shop and boat rental. It’s a quaint little area that we really liked.

There are plenty of hiking opportunities directly from the parking lot or from the other side of the lake. We opted to hike the Twin Falls hike but booked a return trip on the boat. There’s nothing better than a surf and turf day. It was a quite enjoyable day – the lake is beautiful and the falls were really pretty and fun to climb on.

Two Medicine is certainly worthy of a day or two of your time when visiting Glacier. It’s a good change of pace and chance to leave the crowds behind. If we had been staying in the Saint Mary area, we would have returned for a second day.

Many Glacier

If you ask the locals or Glacier veterans what their favorite part of the park is, they will likely answer Many Glacier. This part of the park is two hours and fifteen minutes from West Glacier on the far northeast corner of the park and is arguably one of the most picturesque areas with amazing hiking opportunities.

The centerpiece to Many Glacier is the Many Glacier Hotel, a Swiss style building on Swiftcurrent Lake originally built by the Great Northern Railway in 1914-1915. It looks like something right out of a postcard!

We had pre-booked a boat to take us to the far end of Lake Josephine to hike to the Grinnell Glacier Viewpoint. It’s actually two boats and a short hike to get from Two Medicine Lake to Lake Josephine. Although this was a bucket list hike for me, we decided to go with plan B and take the Grinnell Lake hike instead. Due to the long hike and remote location, it would have been too long of a day for us.

The Grinnell Lake hike was great, with a short diversion along the way to Redrock Falls and a fun swing bridge to walk across. Once at the lake it was mesmerizing. This is by far the prettiest lake we had seen at Glacier. The turquoise glacier filled lake with the mountain background, complete with a glacier and waterfall was incredible. It’s the kind of water that begs you to take off your shoes and walk in. It took awhile to feel my toes again, but it was well worth it.

Rather than waiting for the boat on the return, we decided just to hike back to the hotel. It was a nice hike with somewhat of a surprise along the way. About at the halfway point along Lake Josephine we came up to a group of hikers going the other direction. They were all wide-eyed and asked us if we had seen the bear. What bear! Well apparently, a bear had crossed the trail right in front of us unbeknown to either of us. They were trying to quietly alert us but I guess we were in our hiking Zen or too busy looking for the next thimbleberry to pick (as was the bear apparently). It was both a scary and disappointing moment. Disappointing because we missed the bear! Scary because we almost saw a bear!

We will be back to Many Glacier again some day. There is just so much to see there, but it’s a long haul from the other side of the park. But that’s OK, nothing this amazing should be easy to get to and we prefer it that way.

TIP: To more effectively see the entire park, it would be good to spread your stay between the west side and the east side. There are a couple RV parks in Saint Mary that would be a good option for a base camp to explore both Two Medicine and Many Glacier.

North Fork

North Fork is by far the most remote area of Glacier. If you’re up for a drive into the backcountry down gravels roads, this is the place. This far northwestern section of the park enters from Polebridge, a small area with a few amenities, and I don’t recall a gas station being one of them so make sure you fill up before you head out. There were two lakes that we visited in this part of the park, Bowman and Kintla. Both lakes can be accessed by car so no hiking is required, but once there, each has some hiking trails along the lake. We did some lite hiking but mostly just enjoyed the beauty and serenity of the lakes in this remote area.

TIP: The park map shows an interior road that leads up to North Fork, however it has apparently been closed for some time now. If this road reopens, it should make access here easier and add some additional sights along the way. However, if you have a Going to the Sun Road pass you can cut through on Camas Road from Apgar and make the journey a little bit shorter.

Beyond the Park

The west side of Glacier is by far the most populated area and therefor has the most opportunities for additional activities. The towns of Kalispell, Hungry Horse, Whitefish and Columbia Falls have everything imaginable to offer. This area is also central to three additional must see places.

Flathead Lake:

Flathead Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in the western United States, with over 200 square miles of water and 185 miles of shoreline. It’s a beautiful tree-lined lake with clear water and mountain views. A drive down either the east or west shore is a treat with great views of the lake and cherry orchards along the way. However, the best way to experience the lake is by boat, and that’s exactly what we did. We spent a half day on the lake with my brother, sister-in-law and niece who were also visiting the area. Our favorite part of the lake was around Wild Horse Island along the western shore. The island is actually a state park and is home to much wildlife. We saw a bald eagle perched on top of a tall tree. We highly recommend Flathead Boat Rental for this adventure.

Hungry Horse Reservoir:

This one wasn’t even on our list but based on a couple of tips from locals, we went to check out Hungry Horse Reservoir, which was literally right around the corner from where we were staying. The reservoir, formed by the south fork of the Flathead river, spans 34 miles long with 170 miles of shoreline thanks to the 10th highest dam in the U.S.. This was an amazing hidden gem that we visited several times. There are roads that go along both sides which provides great opportunities for wildlife viewing. We saw several Eagles and Osprey’s nesting. We also enjoyed hanging out along the water’s edge with the dogs. The only downside to our visit was a wildfire very close by that ultimately shut down both roads. We were glad we got our time in before they shut it down and were thankful the fire didn’t get any closer than it did.

Whitefish Lake:

Whitefish lake is a smaller glacier formed lake with two state parks and a city park beach area. It was a nice day driving the road that goes a little over halfway around the lake and then hanging out at the city park beach. The road travels through a thick forest with many nice houses nestled in along the waterfront. I think we found one or two (dozen) that we could call home.

Glacier National Park is an amazing destination with plenty to offer. The plush green forests, waterfalls and abundance of wildflowers contrasted with the rugged mountain peaks make it truly unique. Our hikes were complemented by snacking on wild huckleberries and thimbleberries, although we were careful not to take too much of the bears food. However, more so than any other national park we’ve been to, we found that to fully appreciate Glacier you must be willing to immerse yourself in it. The beauty is amazing along the roadside but is nothing compared to what you experience from deep within the park which can only be done by hiking through it.

Check out all of our pictures from Glacier.