Glacier NP and Greater NW Montana

[UTexasFight 9430]

Saw some Glacier talk in the Yellowstone thread but hoping for a more dedicated discussion of GNP/northwest Montana. Spent a week there last year and absolutely fell in love. So much to the point where...

If you were spending 5 weeks (last week in June + all of July) 10 minutes from the west entrance to Glacier NP what would be on your itinerary? 


I’ll be working two of those weeks but company “headquarters” are in central and eastern time zones, so hoping to logoff by 4pm Mountain each day and still have 5 1/2 hours before sunset.

going to catch Under the Big Sky music festival one weekend

will have the girlfriend with me one of the weeks

another week will have the girlfriend plus my 6 and 8 year old.

The final week will include 40 miles of hiking in GNP and a half day of rafting https://glacierinstitute.org/product/exploring-glacier-in-july/

I think at this point, mostly looking for stuff to do with the kids the week they will be there as well as what do with the 5-6 hours of daylight I hope to have the couple of weeks I plan to work.

[Kennythetiger 9376]

There are kid-friendly floats down the Flathead River.  We took my ten-year old niece on the adult float while my younger nieces and older parents did the kid float.  Ten-year old got along just fine- I think there was only one set of rapids that was even questionable.  It was a good way to spend an afternoon.

Sporting-goods store in Kalispell called Snappy's is very mom-and-pop, they have a giant outdoor aquarium where the kids can feed fish from the surface or go underneath to the glass and look up at the fish.  Sounds corny, but pretty fun even for adults.  

Pizza at Moose's Saloon.

If you haven't done the Going to the Sun Road, would highly recommend.  We drove my most trusted vehicle halfway across the US to get there- vehicle happened to be my 3/4 ton extended cab long bed cattle pickup.  NOT cool for the GTSR, but we didn't have any choice.  Was recommended to enter the highway from the east side, which put us up against the side of the mountain for the majority of the drive.  There are quite a few slides on the Road's website that I wish I would have read before we did it (building the road, removing snow in summer, etc.)

Whitefish ought to be biting on Flathead when you're up there, if you feel like fishing.

[CooterBrown 18004]

We have friends in Columbia Falls so we go every other year.

There's quite a few good breweries in the area...Backslope, Bonsai, Sacred Waters, etc.

We use Glacier Rafting Co for river floats. Kids need to be 50 lbs. When my youngest was 5, she could handle class 3 rapids and she loves it. They need to be in the center of the boat though unless you want to fish them out of the water with a head injury.

Go swimming in one of the glacier lakes. The water is like 55 degrees but you get used to it about 10 minutes. It's great. Crystal clear water and great scenery.

Tons of great hiking everywhere. Don't ignore Flathead National Forest. It's right next door, just as scenic, and unlike a NP, you can pretty much go anywhere you want.  If you're driving up into Flathead NF, Polebridge Mercantile is a decent cool stop with food.  There are rustic cabins you can stay at in the NF. We stayed at Schnauz cabin which was fantastically scenic.

Carry bear spray.  Our friends like to say that mountains in Colorado are civilized but the mountains in Montana are always trying to kill you.  There's zero cell coverage in most locations and no help available anywhere.

Going to the Sun Road is a must. Great hiking at the ranger station at the top.  However, I think I heard you have to reserve a spot now.  When we tried to drive it a year ago, out of season in August, our local friends said you needed to leave at 5am to get a parking spot at the ranger station.

Edited April 21, 2021 by CooterBrown

[Pato del Muerto 52487]

You could skip over to couer d’lane Idaho, or however it’s spelled. 

[luke duke 6412]

We took our 6yo on a rafting trip in Glacier last July. There’s a water park and ropes course close to the park. I highly recommend a trip to the Polebridge Bakery.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4975]

Yeah, we had to leave super early last summer to get on the going to the sun road. It was only partially open, so a there and back kind of deal. Definitely don't want an oversized vehicle.

[CooterBrown 18004]

2 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

You could skip over to couer d’lane Idaho, or however it’s spelled. 

First time we went to Montana, we flew into Spokane on Southwest points and drove over through the Idaho panhandle.  It was absolutely gorgeous. We stopped in Wallace, an old silver mining town which was well worth the few hours we spent there.

[Spoosner 86]

We'll be up there May 16 - 24, which is "Early Season" so the Going to the Sun Road won't be open yet. Not ideal, but it's the timing that works for us. Hoping we'll miss some crowds by being early.

I have a 3 year old. Can he do a kid's float trip?

We are looking to rent a cabin somewhere between Glacier NP and Bozeman (where we fly out of). Any particular locations come to mind? Would like to relax a bit, but still do some hiking/fishing.

[UTexasFight 9430]

Maybe look for something around Flathead Lake

[Carl Spackler 3479]

You may need a ticket to drive GTTS Road -- see the link.  Still worth it, IMO.  An iconic drive.  Breathtaking scenery.  Do it.

https://www.kpax.com/news/local-news/flathead-county/glacier-np-announces-temporary-going-to-the-sun-road-ticketed-entry-system

Logan Pass is tremendous.  Some great hikes in that vicinity, including the iconic Highline Trail.

On the west side of GNP, the wife (no pics) and I really liked heading off the beaten path up to Polebridge, stopping at Polebridge Mercantile, and then taking a day trip up to Bowman Lake.  Stop at Backslope Brewery in Columbia Falls for a beer or three when you head back to civilization.

And I highly recommend trying to snag a room at Many Glacier Lodge and spending some time hiking in that area of the park.  Pretty good area of grizzly sightings if that's your thing.  The Lodge is very popular, though, so reservations are hard to come by. 

 

[UTexasFight 9430]

These are all great

I feel good about my itinerary last year that I checked off a lot of these during that trip but still a lot of suggestions I will be doing

The Many Glacier part of the park was closed last year (mostly due to Covid, I believe) so hoping we’ll have access to the entire park by mid-July this year. The east entrances were closed because the Blackfeet shut down their res. They will all be vaccinated very soon if not already and talking about offering up doses to tourists ~end of May.

[Firemans4Horn 18036]

If you and your kids have passports or an international travel card they might enjoy staying a night or two at the Prince of Wales hotel in Waterton on the Canadian side of the park. Breathtaking setup there. 
 

 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

On 4/21/2021 at 1:51 AM, UTexasFight said:

Saw some Glacier talk in the Yellowstone thread but hoping for a more dedicated discussion of GNP/northwest Montana. Spent a week there last year and absolutely fell in love. So much to the point where...

If you were spending 5 weeks (last week in June + all of July) 10 minutes from the west entrance to Glacier NP what would be on your itinerary? 


I’ll be working two of those weeks but company “headquarters” are in central and eastern time zones, so hoping to logoff by 4pm Mountain each day and still have 5 1/2 hours before sunset.

going to catch Under the Big Sky music festival one weekend

will have the girlfriend with me one of the weeks

another week will have the girlfriend plus my 6 and 8 year old.

The final week will include 40 miles of hiking in GNP and a half day of rafting https://glacierinstitute.org/product/exploring-glacier-in-july/

I think at this point, mostly looking for stuff to do with the kids the week they will be there as well as what do with the 5-6 hours of daylight I hope to have the couple of weeks I plan to work.

So........ same girlfriend or different the second time ?  We need this info to properly suggest what not to miss.

[UTexasFight 9430]

8 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

So........ same girlfriend or different the second time ?  We need this info to properly suggest what not to miss.

Haha

so far the same... although trip doesn’t start for 2 more months 

Edited April 29, 2021 by UTexasFight

[UTexasFight 9430]

A reservation/ticket for the Going to the Sun Road appears to be the hottest ticket of the summer.

it’s only $2 and is good for 7 days, but May 28- Jun 28 sold out in about 10-15 minutes yesterday. It’s now on a daily rolling window, 60 days out. So Jun 29 went on sale this morning and sold out in 3 minutes (june 30 goes on sale tomorrow, etc....9am Central at recreation.gov)

looks like they are selling 435 per day.

they will release some additional volume (~25% of total) 2 days in advance (e.g. ticket for jun 1 would go on sale May 30)

I tried yesterday and today for late June and got nothing (“system is too busy. Try refreshing.”)

I had a much easier time getting tickets to the World Series last year than I did this!

[Biff Tannen 45666]

On 4/30/2021 at 3:25 PM, UTexasFight said:

A reservation/ticket for the Going to the Sun Road appears to be the hottest ticket of the summer.

it’s only $2 and is good for 7 days, but May 28- Jun 28 sold out in about 10-15 minutes yesterday. It’s now on a daily rolling window, 60 days out. So Jun 29 went on sale this morning and sold out in 3 minutes (june 30 goes on sale tomorrow, etc....9am Central at recreation.gov)

looks like they are selling 435 per day.

they will release some additional volume (~25% of total) 2 days in advance (e.g. ticket for jun 1 would go on sale May 30)

I tried yesterday and today for late June and got nothing (“system is too busy. Try refreshing.”)

I had a much easier time getting tickets to the World Series last year than I did this!

All of the national parks seem like they are like this now. On one hand, good for people for getting out to see their lands, on the other, fuck you people and go back to your urban pursuits. 

[CooterBrown 18004]

Glacier NP just clarified on their Facebook page that if you enter the Going To The Sun Road before 6am, you do not need a pass. A pass is required 6am-5pm.

Two years ago, you would’ve had to be headed up that early to get a parking spot at Logan’s Pass anyway so you might as well get up early.

[Borachio 416]

On 4/29/2021 at 9:21 AM, Firemans4Horn said:

If you and your kids have passports or an international travel card they might enjoy staying a night or two at the Prince of Wales hotel in Waterton on the Canadian side of the park. Breathtaking setup there. 
 

 

Thank you for posting this.  I'm doing a road trip from Fargo to Portland at the end of August.  Plan on driving the Going to the Sun road and already booked a night to stay here.  Looks amazing!

Surely the Canadian border will be open by then?  I hope...

[Firemans4Horn 18036]

3 minutes ago, Borachio said:

Thank you for posting this.  I'm doing a road trip from Fargo to Portland at the end of August.  Plan on driving the Going to the Sun road and already booked a night to stay here.  Looks amazing!

Surely the Canadian border will be open by then?  I hope...

We accessed it through the Blackfeet Reservation and then border crossing. Looks like Blackfeet Reservation opened up to cars last month so at least half your issue should be taken care of.

 

If you have a few extra days I would head north from Waterton into some of the Canadian National Parks near Banff.

 

Mount Assiniboine is on my bucket list. Only accessible via helicopter or 20+ mile hike from the trailhead.

 

[Biff Tannen 45666]

7 hours ago, Firemans4Horn said:

We accessed it through the Blackfeet Reservation and then border crossing. Looks like Blackfeet Reservation opened up to cars last month so at least half your issue should be taken care of.

 

If you have a few extra days I would head north from Waterton into some of the Canadian National Parks near Banff.

 

Mount Assiniboine is on my bucket list. Only accessible via helicopter or 20+ mile hike from the trailhead.

 

Shhhh...

[Borachio 416]

On 4/30/2021 at 3:25 PM, UTexasFight said:

A reservation/ticket for the Going to the Sun Road appears to be the hottest ticket of the summer.

it’s only $2 and is good for 7 days, but May 28- Jun 28 sold out in about 10-15 minutes yesterday. It’s now on a daily rolling window, 60 days out. So Jun 29 went on sale this morning and sold out in 3 minutes (june 30 goes on sale tomorrow, etc....9am Central at recreation.gov)

looks like they are selling 435 per day.

they will release some additional volume (~25% of total) 2 days in advance (e.g. ticket for jun 1 would go on sale May 30)

I tried yesterday and today for late June and got nothing (“system is too busy. Try refreshing.”)

I had a much easier time getting tickets to the World Series last year than I did this!

Did you ever have any luck?  I'm going to try and get a ticket/ reservation for the last week in August.   Since the ticket is good for a week, I will start trying to get a reservation 7 days out from my intended date of entering the park to help my chances. That should give me 7 tries at it. 

[UTexasFight 9430]

25 minutes ago, Borachio said:

Did you ever have any luck?  I'm going to try and get a ticket/ reservation for the last week in August.   Since the ticket is good for a week, I will start trying to get a reservation 7 days out from my intended date of entering the park to help my chances. That should give me 7 tries at it. 

I took the “good for 7 days” to mean you have to enter on the date of ticket but then you’re set for the next week.

but yes, I was able to get a ticket for early july when the day I was looking for became available a couple of weeks ago.

I’ll need another ticket for a 7 day window starting july 19 and that opens up for sale on Thursday. Will reply here if I have any issue.

I noticed it’s been showing “1,125 available” for each day now instead of the 435 it was showing at the very beginning 

[Borachio 416]

14 minutes ago, UTexasFight said:

I took the “good for 7 days” to mean you have to enter on the date of ticket but then you’re set for the next week.

That makes sense.   Looks like I have one shot at this then!  Good luck on Thursday with the reservation.

[Borachio 416]

17 hours ago, UTexasFight said:

I took the “good for 7 days” to mean you have to enter on the date of ticket but then you’re set for the next week.

but yes, I was able to get a ticket for early july when the day I was looking for became available a couple of weeks ago.

I’ll need another ticket for a 7 day window starting july 19 and that opens up for sale on Thursday. Will reply here if I have any issue.

I noticed it’s been showing “1,125 available” for each day now instead of the 435 it was showing at the very beginning 

I practiced this morning to get tickets for July 17th and was able to secure one on multiple attempts.  I'm feeling better about this.   

[UTexasFight 9430]

Yeah. Seems it was just first day rush that got me spooked

And I think my interpretation of the 7 days was wrong. See last sentence below:

 

 

[Borachio 416]

Yeah, they are not very clear.   If you look at their FAQ page https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/ticketedentryfaq.htm

#19. Your GTSR Entry Ticket is valid for your entire 7-day Entrance Pass from the reserved arrival date.

I think I'm just going to reserve for the date I'm going to be in the park.   This morning when I was testing it out, I got the system overload error a few times right at 9am central,  but then I waited about 10-15 minutes after the initial rush and secured a ticket no problem.  They were all gone in about 30 minutes though. 

[HoustonHorn 1062]

I realize summer is about the worst time to see the Northern Lights, but I've read its still possible. True? And if so, tips?

[luke duke 6412]

I realize summer is about the worst time to see the Northern Lights, but I've read its still possible. True?

Not sure.

And if so, tips?

1. Travel north
2. Look up
3. ???
4. Profit

[conVINCEd 21469]

6 minutes ago, luke duke said:

 

Not sure.



1. Travel north
2. Look up
3. ???
4. Profit

 

3.  Bring a coat.

[UTexasFight 9430]

Arrived near west glacier yesterday. Will be here for the month of July.

I’ll let you know.

[UTexasFight 9430]

I freaking love this place

 

[HoustonHorn 1062]

Gorgeous, can't wait for my trip later this month.

[UTexasFight 9430]

A few more from this week’s hikes.

the first couple, looking over Grinnell Glacier back towards Many Glacier, may be my new favorite spot I’ve witnessed on this Earth, or at least certainly in GNP.

Other pics are Bowman and Kintla lakes. Smoke from western Montana/Idaho fires having an impact on views.

shitty iPhone pics, obviously, can’t do any of this justice. Just have to try and etch as much of it in the brain as possible 

 

Edited July 13, 2021 by UTexasFight

[Pato del Muerto 52487]

I’d love to spend that amount of time there. 

[Scary Stranger 1714]

Where are you staying for the month?

[UTexasFight 9430]

41 minutes ago, Scary Stranger said:

Where are you staying for the month?

I started to respond but then got distracted/couldn’t stop staring at your avatar

 

 

edit: first 4 weeks in an Airbnb about 15 minutes from the west entrance (I wish I could tell you “at various backcountry campgrounds” but I’m still very much a greenhorn…and actually, no I don’t. This is not the summer to be spending a month in the backcountry. There have been, if any, days this month that Austin has been hotter than this part of Montana…and it’s going to continue that way for at least another week. Uppers 90s again here this weekend.

the last week, doing a hiking program with the Glacier Institute and staying at their field camp just inside the park.

Edited July 13, 2021 by UTexasFight

[Carl Spackler 3479]

Great pics.  The one day that the weather was somewhat bad while we were at Glacier was the day we were hiking to Grinnell Glacier.  Got to the lake and everything above it was socked in.  Then it  started sleeting.  So we turned around.  That was disappointing, but it gives me a good excuse to go back . . . as if anyone needs a reason to go to Glacier.

[Scary Stranger 1714]

6 hours ago, UTexasFight said:

I started to respond but then got distracted/couldn’t stop staring at your avatar

 

 

edit: first 4 weeks in an Airbnb about 15 minutes from the west entrance (I wish I could tell you “at various backcountry campgrounds” but I’m still very much a greenhorn…and actually, no I don’t. This is not the summer to be spending a month in the backcountry. There have been, if any, days this month that Austin has been hotter than this part of Montana…and it’s going to continue that way for at least another week. Uppers 90s again here this weekend.

the last week, doing a hiking program with the Glacier Institute and staying at their field camp just inside the park.

Can you message me the link to the place?  Was thinking about doing exactly this next summer.

[CooterBrown 18004]

Nothing is as refreshing as swimming in the glacier lakes.  It is cold AF but after about 10 minutes your body gets used to it and it is fantastic. 

[Borachio 416]

On 5/12/2021 at 12:53 PM, Firemans4Horn said:

We accessed it through the Blackfeet Reservation and then border crossing. Looks like Blackfeet Reservation opened up to cars last month so at least half your issue should be taken care of.

 

If you have a few extra days I would head north from Waterton into some of the Canadian National Parks near Banff.

 

Mount Assiniboine is on my bucket list. Only accessible via helicopter or 20+ mile hike from the trailhead.

 

Canada opens back up on Aug. 9th for fully vaccinated Americans!  I'll be in Waterton at the Prince of Wales hotel the last week of August.  Can't wait!

[Biff Tannen 45666]

On 7/13/2021 at 2:09 PM, UTexasFight said:

doing a hiking program with the Glacier Institute and staying at their field camp just inside the park.

Yeah, gonna need more info on this.

[luke duke 6412]

Yeah, gonna need more info on this.

More info

[UTexasFight 9430]

“Give a month at least to this precious reserve. That time will not be taken from the sum of your life.  Instead of shortening it, it will indefinitely lengthen it and make you truly immortal.” -John Muir

I’m immortal, bitches!  
but seriously, incredibly thankful and fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend July in/around Glacier.

and even after all of that, there are still areas I would love to check out.

 But I can definitely understand why that area(Flathead Valley) is exploding. Would love to have something in that part of the country some day.

A few more photos …that don’t come remotely close to doing any of it justice.

Just hoping that area gets through this wildfire season without things getting worse than they already are

 

 

 

[strangulation! 1716]

10 hours ago, UTexasFight said:

 how far away was this guy?

[UTexasFight 9430]

Much much closer than the recommended 25 yards.

my group came around a corner and BAM. Walking right in front of us.

I was a few paces back but probably no more than 30-40’ in front of the guide and first guy in the group who took these pics.

Glad we got a friendly one.

 

[Mo Horn 8831]

Sons and I were hiking in Tetons a few years back, came around a corner, and came up on a moose about 20 feet away. I snapped a quick pick and we kept going. Told a ranger about it later and he said he'd rather come up on a bear than a moose. 

[Mo Horn 8831]

Starting to plan next year's vacation, and it will include GNP. I think lodging can be booked a year in advance, so I want to get on that. Would appreciate thoughts on the best place to stay inside the park. We will be driving and won't have any camping equipment. We don't need anything 5 star, and are ok with more rustic rooms or cabins, but ok with a hotel type situation. We prefer ones that are run by the national park, but if there's is a better, overwhelming, choice we can do that. 

[mininghorn88 2277]

On 8/4/2021 at 9:24 PM, Mo Horn said:

Sons and I were hiking in Tetons a few years back, came around a corner, and came up on a moose about 20 feet away. I snapped a quick pick and we kept going. Told a ranger about it later and he said he'd rather come up on a bear than a moose. 

Similar incident for me in the Wasatch Mountains just outside of SLC.  Was hiking alone and was walking through an open meadow and came around a corner and walked up on a cow and her baby moose. Being that I was out in the open and cover was sparse I retreated to the nearest tree where I was stuck for about 20 minutes waiting for the pair to exit the area.  The mom kept a sharp lookout.

[CooterBrown 18004]

11 hours ago, Mo Horn said:

Starting to plan next year's vacation, and it will include GNP. I think lodging can be booked a year in advance, so I want to get on that. Would appreciate thoughts on the best place to stay inside the park. We will be driving and won't have any camping equipment. We don't need anything 5 star, and are ok with more rustic rooms or cabins, but ok with a hotel type situation. We prefer ones that are run by the national park, but if there's is a better, overwhelming, choice we can do that. 

Define rustic. Schnaus Cabin is probably the best cabin for views, location, etc.  However, there's no running water or electricity. It does have a propane lights and a stove.

[Mo Horn 8831]

13 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Define rustic. Schnaus Cabin is probably the best cabin for views, location, etc.  However, there's no running water or electricity. It does have a propane lights and a stove.

If we were camping, I'd say no problem, but we're driving and just stopping by the park for a couple of days in the way to Seattle.