The Greenhorn’s Guide to Glacier:
There’s a reason Glacier is America’s favorite national park, the scenery is spectacular and no matter what you do or where you go, there’s something gorgeous or interesting wherever you look. But that popularity combined with a very short tourist season and limited roads and parking, means dealing with a ton of people, but it can be done and is well worth the effort. All information was accurate as of 8/1/22, things will likely change in future, please reference the necessary resources before finalizing your plans!
Plan Ahead: we rented a cabin 10 miles from Glacier’s West Entrance and drove our car or used Glacier’s shuttle service to get around the park. You can also tent camp, bring a camper, or rent a hotel room in or near the park, but whatever your accommodations of choice, you’ll want to plan ahead, at least nine months if not a year out, as campsites, rooms, and rentals fill quickly. You’ll also need a vehicle pass for the going to the sun road, the only road through the main area of the park, and the passes are released 120 days before the active date, without the vehicle pass you can’t get into glacier, even to take the shuttle.
Vehicle Passes: in an attempt to limit crowding, the national park service has instituted a vehicle pass system (available at recreation.gov) whereby a limited number of vehicle passes are released to the public for entry into the main area of the park: the Going to the Sun Road. Half of the passes are released at 8am MST 120 days before the active date and the other half are released the morning of. Each pass is good for 3 days, we needed two for our six day trip. You can also use a reservation within the park (hotel room, boat ride, horseback riding reservation, etc.) for the day(s) of the reservation. We had no trouble getting a pass either day by logging into the system (set up your account beforehand) right away with the early release. It was annoying but not difficult. The vehicle pass is in addition to the actual park pass or entry fee required to actually access the park.
When to Visit: the Going to the Sun Road isn’t usually cleared of snow until the first part of July, or even later depending on the winter. It was still closed until the middle of July in 2022 and it can snow at the higher elevations towards the end of August, so mid-July through August is the height of the tourist season.
Be Prepared: while extremely popular, Glacier is rather remote and undeveloped, meaning gas, food, water, and other necessities aren’t necessarily available when and where you want them. The weather can also change quickly and dramatically in mountainous areas, ranging from 95 and humid to 45 and windy/rainy the same day. Cell service can also be sketchy. Plan on carrying water, food, bug spray, sun block, medications, hats, jackets, a paper map, and other necessities in the vehicle and on your person during long excursions. While everybody recommends bear spray (and is happy to sell or rent it to you for $50) while traveling in the area, the number of people that actually are attacked by bears each year is miniscule so that may or may not be a necessity. Sensible shoes are also a must, even the easy trails are rocky with much up and down travel, forget the sandals and light tennis shoes or anything new, bring a good pair of hiking boots or sturdy tennis shoes that you know won’t rub.
Driving: while going to the sun road is considered one of the most challenging roads in America, not to mention one of the most beautiful, I didn’t find it that bad. If you are okay with heights and pay attention and don’t speed, you’ll do just fine. It wasn’t any worse than the Needles Highway in Custer, SD or the Beartooth Pass and was less steep than the Bighorns and Teton Pass. There is also far less wildlife congestion in Glacier than in places like Yellowstone (due mostly to a lack of bison) where people can be backed up for miles to watch a deer or a turkey! Weather, construction, and time of day also play a huge factor. There was minimal construction on our trip, the weather was gorgeous, and we tried to avoid driving in the middle of the day. Also, it takes a lot longer to drive a mile than it does in normal places, between curves, traffic, and other factors. The park is only 50 miles across but it takes 2 hours one way with no stops so plan accordingly. It isn’t the driving that is hard, it is finding a place to park!
Go Early or Late: If you are going to less popular attractions like Many Glaciers, Two Medicine, or McDonald Creek, the rule is get there before nine or you won’t find anywhere to park. If going to the ultra-popular areas of Logan or Avalanche, you’d better be pulling in around 7am. You could also go around 4pm and enjoy an evening visit at the less trafficked areas. The glacier shuttle is another option, we had really good luck with it, especially coming back but you still have to get up early if going to a place like Logan. We were in line at 6:30 for a shuttle that started running at 7 and were on the third bus at around 7:45. Coming back around noon we didn’t have to wait and had the bus to ourselves while everybody else was still heading out for the day. We stopped at Avalanche and then had another nearly empty shuttle ride back to our car in midafternoon. The temps are cooler, there are far fewer people, the light is better for photographs, and the wildlife is more active at dawn and dusk, so it really is a good strategy for navigating the park. Just make sure to keep the shuttle schedule in mind (last one runs at 7pm) and know they might close the going to the sun road between 10pm-6am and plan accordingly.
Be Flexible: if there isn’t anywhere to park or there is a three hour wait for a shuttle, all you can do is move on to the next thing. We tried getting in line for a shuttle to Logan at 7:30 but wouldn’t be getting on until 9 or later, so we drove up to Avalanche and then Logan to see if there was parking (there wasn’t!) so we kept driving and ended up at Many Glaciers (we had done Sun Point the previous day, as that’s where we finally found parking) well after 9 but managed to snag a precarious roadside parking spot. We came back for the shuttle the next morning at 6:30 and then got to see everything we missed the previous day. If it doesn’t work one day, there is always tomorrow, move on to something else and enjoy what you can. There isn’t a bad hike or overlook in the entire park, while some aren’t as hugely scenic, they all have something to offer. We wanted to do the Highline trail up at Logan, but the wind was so bad we couldn’t get more than a quarter mile down the trail without being blown off the mountain with constant dust in your eyes; we went back and did the Hidden Lake trail on the other side of the visitor center and it was amazing.
The Shuttle: we only used the shuttle to access Avalanche and Logan, where parking seemed impossible, but it went really smoothly and helped immensely in navigating the most congested areas of the park. It really helped to go early and to go back at an odd time of day so we weren’t fighting the crowd. While in theory you can get to the far side of the park and back via the shuttle, it will take 7 hours and 8 transfers so you really couldn’t do anything but get on and off the bus. Instead, know where you want to go, how long it will take to do what you want to do, and make sure you can get back in time to catch the bus. It is a free hop on, hop off service and runs about every 20 minutes and is a nice option, though you may have to wait an hour or more, depending on where and when you are going.
Wildlife: there are no bison and seemingly no elk at Glacier, but moose, white tailed deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and both types of bears call it home along with a plethora of birds and smaller mammals. Logan is the place to see mountain goats and bighorn sheep while moose are common around the many ponds, lakes, and streams throughout the park. Bears can be anywhere. Look for rosy finches, pika, and yellow bellied marmots on the Hidden Lake and Highline trails above the snowline and Harlequin ducks along McDonald Creek. We briefly saw a moose and a grizzly from the car, but most of the wildlife is out on the trails so you’ll have to go out and find it.
Where to Stay: West Glacier is far more developed and ‘touristy’ than East Glacier, while most of the popular spots are located in the middle to eastern side of the park. There are far fewer places to stay on the east side, but you are closer to many of the attractions. You can also stay in the park itself at various campsites and hotels. Gas, dining options, and groceries are cheaper and more abundant on the west side as are other activities like rafting, horseback riding, etc. The west side is heavily forested with lower mountains while the east is higher, with more jagged peaks that have been burned in recent decades with some brushy regrowth that transitions fairly quickly into rolling plains outside the park.
Places to Go and Things to See:
Polebridge: we didn’t visit this NW section of the park, as it requires a separate permit and is best explored with an off-road vehicle.
Many Glaciers: the entrance is north of the east entrance to the park, no permit is required but get there before nine to find parking. You can hike out to the Grinnell glacier for a wonderful view (if you don’t mind a 10+ mile hike!). We hiked to Red Rock Falls past a couple small lakes which made for a nice day. You can take a boat ride on the lakes or take in the historic chalet.
Two Medicine: the entrance to this section of the park is found near the town of East Glacier and doesn’t require a permit. Get there before nine to find a parking spot. Enjoy several nice waterfalls including Running Eagle and Aster Falls, hike up to the Aster Park overlook for a view of both lakes and the mountains, the path runs by several small lakes where you might see a moose. Rent a canoe or take a boat tour on the gorgeous lakes. The Apistoki falls were rather underwhelming but the wildflowers were stunning.
St. Mary/Sun Point: this is the East entrance to the park and requires a vehicle permit to enter and is the eastern end of the Going to the Sun Road. Sun Rift Gorge is gorgeous. Park at Sun Point and hike past three waterfalls including Baring, St. Mary, and Virginia falls along the shore of the ridiculously blue St. Mary Lake with wonderful mountain views in every direction.
Logan: probably the most popular area of the park, located 18 miles west of St. Mary on the Going to the Sun Road and the origination point for the popular Hidden Lake and Highline trails. Get there before 7am to find parking or take the shuttle. Hidden Lake is a board walk trail straight up the side of a mountain, it is listed as Hard but is very doable if you take it slow; you’ll find a plethora of wildflowers, melting snow and running water, wonderful vistas, mountain goats, and rosy finches. Highline is Glacier’s most iconic trail, the pedestrian version of the Going to the Sun Road and runs for miles into the alpine wilderness. Bighorn sheep and wonderful vistas await, but it is a narrow trail along a steep mountainside and shouldn’t be trod lightly. We actually turned back after a quarter of a mile as our five year old probably couldn’t handle it and the wind was blowing 40 mph and whipping the dust into your eyes making for a miserable experience, but if you can handle the heights it is said to be an amazing experience.
Avalanche: located in about the middle of the park, this is a popular campground and hiking area, get up early or take the shuttle. The Trail of the Cedars is a one mile boardwalk loop through an old growth cedar forest with an amazing waterfall at one end, you might even see an Ewok or two in the area. We continued on to Avalanche lake from the Cedar trail through a climbing cedar wood to a small lake fed by spectacular cataracts of glacier melt plummeting from the summit.
McDonald Creek/John’s Lake: located at the east end of McDonald lake, this is a nice place for a late afternoon hike and seems to be less crowded than other areas of the park. Hike along a rushing blue river full of rapids, falls, and colorful rocks. Look for Harlequin ducks and dippers on the river and moose in the ponds.
McDonald Lake/Apgar: this is the West entrance to the park and the west side of the Going to the Sun road, a vehicle permit is required. This is where we parked to take the shuttle to Logan/Avalanche. Apparently sunset at Lake McDonald is quite an experience. We spent a little time splashing in the lake and skipping stones one afternoon, but as we were always up at a horrendous hour, we never stayed up that late!
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