Glacier National Park has been on our radar for a long time. It has a reputation for being one of the most beautiful national parks, and has also been in the news recently because the glaciers are rapidly disappearing due to climate change. When David had a work trip to Helena, we added on a weekend and made the drive up for a few days at Glacier.
We started early in the morning from our hotel in Kalispell, not far from the western entrance of the park. Unlike some other national parks that have a number of roads, Glacier mostly has just one - the famous "Going to the Sun" road. It crosses the park east/west. There are a few other areas of the park with small access roads that you have to reach by exiting the park and re-entering. For our first day, we decided to cross the width of the park on Going to the Sun road, stopping to hike along the way, and switching to a hotel on the east side of the park for the next two nights. We had read that the park gets very crowded and parking can be tricky at the more popular spots, so we woke up early in order to make it to the Logan Pass Visitor's Center before the crowds. This turned out to be very important, as the parking was already very full by the time we got there. Logan Pass is a central spot for access to several trails. We started by hiking part of Hidden Lake trail, one of the park's most popular and accessible trails.
After hiking back and checking out the visitor's center, we crossed the road and hiked a short portion of the Highline Trail. We went just far enough to get some good valley views, and then turned back to make sure we had time to see a few other areas of the park.
Back at the Logan Pass visitor's center parking lot, it was a bit of a zoo, with masses of people and a lot of cars circling. We decided to leave our car there, and take the free shuttle back west to the Avalanche Creek area. The shuttle is a great way to avoid traffic and lets you take in the view since you don't have to focus on driving on the narrow winding road.
We got off the shuttle at the Avalanche Lake area, where we hiked the Trail of the Cedars and Avalanche Lake trail. This area is pretty different from other parts of Glacier, with a boardwalk winding through a dense cedar forest before a climb alongside a series of waterfalls and rapids in a narrow canyon. All of the hike was forested, a big contrast to the other hikes we did that tended to be mostly in open prairie and hillsides.
We spent the night in Browning, at a casino hotel owned by the Blackfeet Tribe. There actually aren't many lodging options at the eastern end of Going to the Sun Road. Many of the hotels are on the west side of the park in West Glacier and Kalispell. There is an area further south near the Amtrak station with hotels and services, but it's a bit of a drive from the main entrance (it's closer to the "Two Medicine" area of the park). There are some great views of the mountains across the plains and farmlands east of the park.
On our second day we drove up to the Many Glacier area of the park. It's a separate entrance on the northeast side of the park, and doesn't connect to the Going to the Sun road or anywhere else. This was the highlight of our trip. We hiked the Grinnell Glacier trail, starting very early in the morning. It was about 9 miles round trip, and offered spectacular views across alpine lakes. It's not a particularly strenuous trail except for a rather steep part at the end, but it is quite long and took up the main part of our day. The trail was lined with a variety of wildflowers, and at the top we had good views of Grinnell Glacier and icebergs in the lake. We explored the area at the top of the trail for a while, which was a really unique area with a rocky glacial stream still partially covered in ice. This is one of the most amazing hikes we've ever done.
We spent the night in Browning again, and on our final day entered the Southeast portion of the park. Called "Two Medicine," this is another are that is only accessible by a short no outlet road. We did a very short hike to Running Eagle Falls before continuing on to Aster Park Overlook Trail for a longer hike. It was a nice hike past a couple of quiet lakes and up to a viewpoint. We saw a moose on the hike back out! Two medicine isn't as scenic as the other parts of the park, but it's less crowded and we were lucky to spot the moose here.
Glacier National Park is definitely a natural highlight of North America. Despite some crowds in the main section of the park, we had a fantastic time and went on a number of breathtaking hikes. It's a bit difficult to get here since there aren't any major cities nearby, but it's worth the drive. We highly recommend starting early each day to avoid the crowds and hike during pleasant morning temperatures.
We started early in the morning from our hotel in Kalispell, not far from the western entrance of the park. Unlike some other national parks that have a number of roads, Glacier mostly has just one - the famous "Going to the Sun" road. It crosses the park east/west. There are a few other areas of the park with small access roads that you have to reach by exiting the park and re-entering. For our first day, we decided to cross the width of the park on Going to the Sun road, stopping to hike along the way, and switching to a hotel on the east side of the park for the next two nights. We had read that the park gets very crowded and parking can be tricky at the more popular spots, so we woke up early in order to make it to the Logan Pass Visitor's Center before the crowds. This turned out to be very important, as the parking was already very full by the time we got there. Logan Pass is a central spot for access to several trails. We started by hiking part of Hidden Lake trail, one of the park's most popular and accessible trails.
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| We made a quick early morning stop to view the rapids on McDonald Creek. |
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| Paul ready for the first hike. |
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| We didn't see any bears, but these signs were everywhere. |
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| Hidden Lake Trail |
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| Some kind of weasel/rodent. We saw chipmunks and marmots all over, but this was the only time we saw these guys. |
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| Hidden Lake. We found it! |
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| We didn't hike all the way to the lake, but did get some great views. |
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| We saw a baby mountain goat right by the path. |
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| Marmot and mountain. |
After hiking back and checking out the visitor's center, we crossed the road and hiked a short portion of the Highline Trail. We went just far enough to get some good valley views, and then turned back to make sure we had time to see a few other areas of the park.
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| We saw about ten million chipmunks in Glacier. |
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| Views from the Highline trail. |
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| It's worth walking at least a little bit of this trail, to experience the narrow path and steep drop-offs. |
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| Wildflowers were in full bloom. |
Back at the Logan Pass visitor's center parking lot, it was a bit of a zoo, with masses of people and a lot of cars circling. We decided to leave our car there, and take the free shuttle back west to the Avalanche Creek area. The shuttle is a great way to avoid traffic and lets you take in the view since you don't have to focus on driving on the narrow winding road.
We got off the shuttle at the Avalanche Lake area, where we hiked the Trail of the Cedars and Avalanche Lake trail. This area is pretty different from other parts of Glacier, with a boardwalk winding through a dense cedar forest before a climb alongside a series of waterfalls and rapids in a narrow canyon. All of the hike was forested, a big contrast to the other hikes we did that tended to be mostly in open prairie and hillsides.
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| Crossing a stream on the way to the Trail of the Cedars. |
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| The cedar forest. It's reminiscent of the pacific northwest, and is the eastern-most example of these type of cedars. |
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| David on the boardwalk. |
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| Avalanche creek tumbles through rocky whirlpools and waterfalls. |
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| A deer in Avalanche Lake. |
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| Great views across Avalanche Lake. |
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| David on the shore. This was a popular spot since it's a fairly easy hike to get here. |
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| David on the trail. |
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| Exiting Glacier for the day, at the east entrance. |
We spent the night in Browning, at a casino hotel owned by the Blackfeet Tribe. There actually aren't many lodging options at the eastern end of Going to the Sun Road. Many of the hotels are on the west side of the park in West Glacier and Kalispell. There is an area further south near the Amtrak station with hotels and services, but it's a bit of a drive from the main entrance (it's closer to the "Two Medicine" area of the park). There are some great views of the mountains across the plains and farmlands east of the park.
On our second day we drove up to the Many Glacier area of the park. It's a separate entrance on the northeast side of the park, and doesn't connect to the Going to the Sun road or anywhere else. This was the highlight of our trip. We hiked the Grinnell Glacier trail, starting very early in the morning. It was about 9 miles round trip, and offered spectacular views across alpine lakes. It's not a particularly strenuous trail except for a rather steep part at the end, but it is quite long and took up the main part of our day. The trail was lined with a variety of wildflowers, and at the top we had good views of Grinnell Glacier and icebergs in the lake. We explored the area at the top of the trail for a while, which was a really unique area with a rocky glacial stream still partially covered in ice. This is one of the most amazing hikes we've ever done.
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| Early in the morning alongside the first lake. |
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| A neat little side lake. We think we heard a moose in the dense underbrush near here. |
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| A side trail leading across a stream to the other side of the lake. |
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| The trail crossed several waterfalls and streams. |
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| This marmot was right in the middle of the trail, licking the rocks. Maybe getting salt? |
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| Crossing another waterfall. You get a little wet here! |
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| Wildflowers were all along the trail. |
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| A neat little yellow flower. |
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| More alpine flowers. |
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| Getting closer to the glacier. |
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| Almost there! The weather was perfect. |
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| The lake and glacier. It was a serene and beautiful spot. |
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| Paul on the lake. |
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| The main part of Grinnell Glacier. |
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| We hiked around the lake a bit off-trail, for some great views of the glacial stream. |
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| Some type of grouse or ptarmigan? |
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| We were all alone in this area, as most people just stopped their hike at the lake. |
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| Paul near the top. |
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| It's worth wandering around this area for the stunning views. |
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| We didn't find an easy way across the raging stream, so we didn't actually make it to the glacier itself. |
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| There were several of these red pools, colored by biological activity. |
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| Wildflowers, waterfalls, and glaciers on the way back out. |
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| So many neat flowers. |
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| Looking down toward a lake. |
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| The lighting in the early afternoon was amazing. The lakes were like blue gems. We could see the wind whipping up waves. |
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| Views for days! |
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| Postcard perfect views. It was breathtaking. |
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| Paul at a rest spot along the trail. |
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| Made it back down to the main lake, with Many Glaciers lodge visible across the water. |
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| We had lunch and a beer before leaving the park. |
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| Sun and clouds across Lake Shurburne near the entrance to the Many Glaciers area. |
We spent the night in Browning again, and on our final day entered the Southeast portion of the park. Called "Two Medicine," this is another are that is only accessible by a short no outlet road. We did a very short hike to Running Eagle Falls before continuing on to Aster Park Overlook Trail for a longer hike. It was a nice hike past a couple of quiet lakes and up to a viewpoint. We saw a moose on the hike back out! Two medicine isn't as scenic as the other parts of the park, but it's less crowded and we were lucky to spot the moose here.
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| Running Eagle Falls is easily accessible. |
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| One of the lakes along the trail. |
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| We walked through a series of pleasant meadows. |
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| Aster falls. |
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| View from the overlook. |
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| David was carrying the backpack, and got a donkey head shaped sweat mark! |
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| Trail through sparse woods. We had beautiful weather all three days. |
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| David was wondering is amphibians could survive the winter here, then we saw this little guy. |
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| Hey what's that in the water? |
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| A moose! It came right up onto the trail near us. |
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| Our last view in the park, looking across Two Medicine lake. |
Glacier National Park is definitely a natural highlight of North America. Despite some crowds in the main section of the park, we had a fantastic time and went on a number of breathtaking hikes. It's a bit difficult to get here since there aren't any major cities nearby, but it's worth the drive. We highly recommend starting early each day to avoid the crowds and hike during pleasant morning temperatures.
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