Glacier National Park in Montana - thoughts?

[soupcxan]

Thinking about going out there in July, any comments/recommendations? Suggestions on worthwhile things to do/see that are nearby?

http://www.nps.gov/glac/

 

[justin]

doublecheck that any wildfires there won't create problems. My parents went two times in the last few years and were thwarted by wildfires both times and didn't get to see what they went to see.

 

[SecondCor521]

The prettiest place on Earth that I have seen.

I think early August is a bit better weather-wise, but check on that.

Things to see in the park:

Prince Albert hotel
Banff glacier
Going to the Sun highway

But it's all pretty.

2Cor521

 

[dex]

Great place for hiking. Make sure you are in good shape for the altitude. Also the traffic and be bad on the narrow roads. Bring your passport and you can go to Canada.

 

[Texas Proud]

It was many many years ago... but it was a beautiful place...

We didn't see the glaciers as there was still snow when we went in March or April...

Went to Canda, I believe it is Waterton National Park... just the same park extended into Canada... there is a neat log cabin hotel at the tip of a lake... very nice place to stay..

 

[SecondCor521]

I was mistaken on the name of the hotel. It's the Prince of Wales Hotel:

http://www.glacierparkinc.com/PrinceofWalesHotel.htm

That reminds me, though. If you're in good hiking shape, you might want to try the Crypt Lake Trail:

http://www.watertoninfo.ab.ca/14crypt.html

The photos on the above site don't do it justice.

The hotel and the hiking trail are both right next to Waterton Lake.

2Cor521

 

[bssc]

Try going to the Sun road. At Logan Pass there is a nice hike to a lake. Well, alleged lake, since it was buried in snow in June.

We are going there in August.

 

[JPatrick]

It has been quite a few years ago, but we took our first whitewater trip at West Glacier.
Class II & III rapids along with great scenery. The area between there and Whitefish is well worth a look. Google West Glacier for more activities.

 

[USK Coastie]

If you can, take one of the "Jammers" on Going to the Sun Road. They are rebuilt open top Touring Busses from the 1930's. The drivers will give you a running commentary on the park as they drive through the magnificant scenery.

 

[Goonie]

The prettiest place on Earth that I have seen...........Going to the Sun highway........it's all pretty.

If you can, take one of the "Jammers" on Going to the Sun Road. They are rebuilt open top Touring Busses from the 1930's. The drivers will give you a running commentary on the park as they drive through the magnificant scenery.

We were there a couple years ago, and stayed at Many Glacier Lodge.....It was FANTASTIC!!!!!

We were there at the end of July, and the weather was absolutely wonderful. The daytime highs were upper 60's to mid 70's.....nights were in the 50's to 60's (IIRC : )

It was by far the best trip we ever took! I want to go back there sometime.....hopefully soon!!!

The "Jammers" were super.....our driver was very knowledgable and told all about the natural wonders, as well as the history of the park and the lodges.

When we left there, we crossed over into Canada and went to Banff, Lake Louise, and the ice fields. We took a "snow coach" onto Athabasca Glacier, and got to get out and wonder around the glacier.....and get a drink of glacier water if you wanted to.

The whole trip was THE BEST!!!

 

[Texas Proud]

I was mistaken on the name of the hotel. It's the Prince of Wales Hotel:

http://www.glacierparkinc.com/PrinceofWalesHotel.htm

That reminds me, though. If you're in good hiking shape, you might want to try the Crypt Lake Trail:

http://www.watertoninfo.ab.ca/14crypt.html

The photos on the above site don't do it justice.

The hotel and the hiking trail are both right next to Waterton Lake.

2Cor521

Yes... that is the place!!! Stayed there... but it is in Canada...

 

[WanderALot]

Yes... that is the place!!! Stayed there... but it is in Canada...

I really like Waterton and Glacier. There are tons of day hiking you can do there. I especially liked the hike from Logan's pass to the lookout point. The "Many Glacier" area of the park is much less crowded than the rest of the park. It's close to the road that leads up to Waterton. We saw something like 6 bears (including 2 cubs and 1 grizzly) and 2 wolves in about 3 hours at Waterton!

If you do end up going to Glacier, have a look at the Prince of Wales hotel. Have a drink or afternoon tea in the lobby. The view is spectacular. See if you can convince Cut-Throat to go and he'll probably pickup the tab for the room.

 

[bright eyed]

take your bear spray!

this was just in the LA times...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/la-me-grizzly30apr30,1,244058.story?ctrack=2&cset=true

 

[dex]

Can you post it so we don't have to register?

 

[gandalf42]

Glacier was seriously damaged by floods last summer. Have the repairs been made?
I didn't see any info on the NPS page.

 

[Goonie]

take your bear spray!

this was just in the LA times...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/la-me-grizzly30apr30,1,244058.story?ctrack=2&cset=true

Wow! That was a story!

A friend of mine who is a nature photographer, and is regularly at Glacier, was out shooting wildflowers one day (off the beaten path) and he said all of a sudden he had a very eerie, bad feeling. He slowly turned his head, and about 20-30 feet away there was a grizzly. He said he reached (very slowly) into his bag, and grabbed his bear spray. When he turned back around the bear had decided it was more in the mood for huckleberries than humans, and had started to wander away.

He said he thought for sure that was the last time he'd ever see a wildflower, fortunately it wasn't. He's been back at the same location several times since, but is now more on the lookout for those fuzzy fellas.

When we were there we saw a couple of grizzlies not to far from Many Glacier Lodge.....less than 1/4 mile.....along the shore of Many Glacier Lake.

So if you're gonna hike or wander around......Take bear spray!!! Better safe than dinner!

 

[Mwsinron]

Speaking of bears. At our place in Tahoe we heard a banging on the door. I came to investigate and seen a big bear head resting right on our door. I yelled and closed the door. I re-opened the door after getting something. And he left a nice little puddle of pee for us. That was one of those cuddly bears. No thanks getting that close to a damn Grizz.

 

[loosechickens]

Glacier is one of our very favorite national parks.......you'll have a wonderful time, and see more beautiful scenery than you can believe.

Our friend, Betty, is going to be working as a Jammer up there this summer. She just got off a rafting trip down the Colorado and is on her way up there, and is looking at having a great summer up north.

Don't miss the huckleberry ice cream, available most everywhere in the park.....we gained several pounds on that huckleberry ice cream.

"Take the bear warnings SERIOUSLY......I can't believe the people we saw getting out of their cars to photograph grizzlies.

We were out hiking one day and came around a bend in the trail and there was a really fresh, great big, steaming pile of bear p**p. You can bet we were singing our bear song extra loudly after that.....

"Hey Bear.....how are you? Don't mind us, we're just passing through!".....then several more verses that got progressively less able to be written here.......

Wish we were going there this summer, but will have to make do with several months in a southern CA nudist resort where we are instead.

Have a great visit, and if your jammer driver is named Betty, tell her Hi from the LooseChickens

 

[Mwsinron]

Bears are no joke. You might get lucky and get the ones who are scared. Then again you might get the ones that say " Hey im bigger than you rawwwrrrr munch"

 

[kaudrey]

Need a travel buddy?

 

[bosco]

Great place for hiking. Make sure you are in good shape for the altitude. Also the traffic and be bad on the narrow roads. Bring your passport and you can go to Canada.

don't need a passport if you travel before Jan 1 by land.

Even after Jan 1, don't need one to get into Canada, only to get back. Passport lines are backed up, so don't sweat it if you don't have one, although they do help you get through customs.

 

[Zathras]

Beautiful area!
Go before the glaciers are gone

 

[kcowan]

If you go to Waterton, take the boat cruise down the lake to the US ranger station. You will get to see the 49th parallel border cut out of the forests on both sides of the lake.