Glacier National Park
WHO
Our family of four went on this road trip in late July 2020, when Averhy was 16 and Eden was 13 years old. This was a great time to take a road trip to these northern mountain states, because many of the trails don’t open until mid-summer (especially in Glacier National Park). There were still a few trails closed that we had hoped to hike, so we’ll have to come back someday!
WHAT
We decided to take a road trip this summer because the COVID-19 outbreak cancelled our original overseas vacation plans. What better way to socially distance by spending time in nature - away from people as much as possible! We used two Motherlode Backpacks and one full-size suitcase for clothing. We ended up purchasing bear spray once we arrived at Glacier National Park. Because we were using our own van for the the entire trip, we could pack some extras (like card games, Sky’s guitar, pillows, and a cooler for food) and these other essentials:
Inflatable kayaks and life jackets
New hiking shoes for Averhy and hiking boots for Eden
Camelbak Helena & Daystar backpacks & water bladders
You may want to buy an Annual National Park pass for this trip. The $80 pass covers entrance fees at national parks for a driver and all passengers in a personal vehicle at per vehicle fee areas (or up to four adults at sites that charge per person). The pass is valid for one year from the end of the month you purchase it - so if you buy a pass on July 1, 2020 it will expire on July 31, 2021. You can purchase the pass online, or at the entrance to most national parks.
WHEN
We took this road trip during the middle two weeks of July. Glacier National Park has a very short season when roads and trails are accessible, because it is so far north. Many trails are not cleared of snow until mid-June, and snow can start falling again in early September. When we visited in 2020, the Going-to-the-Sun Road didn’t open until early July. Generally, late July and early August is the best time to visit Glacier National Park and other sites in the northern Rocky Mountains because the temperatures are mild and usually the snow-covered trails are open for the season by then. However, that means the park can get crowded during those months - so be patient! When we visited, there were some places with snow still on the ground, and because the park was operating with reduced staff due to COVID-19, there were some trails that were still not cleared. In addition, the entire east side of the park was closed for the 2020 season, so we were unable to access the Many Glacier section of the park. Timed entry reservations are now required between May and September. You can make those reservations at Recreation.gov
WHERE
For this road trip, we stayed in a great AirBnB just outside the south park entrance - basically as close as you could get without being in the park itself: !
The yellow stars on the map show all the hikes and activities we did during our time at Glacier National Park. The park is HUGE - to get from the bottom star (West Glacier) to the top star on the left (Bowman Lake) it took 1.5 hours of driving.
WHY
We enjoyed visiting Glacier National Park because the beautiful views just don’t stop! Coming from central Illinois (where it’s flat flat flat!) we really enjoyed seeing rugged mountains and huge valleys around every turn. The hikes we did were all moderate to easy, with gorgeous views throughout. We spent a day in Yellowstone prior to arriving at Glacier, and the drive north through Montana is especially pretty. I know that long road trips can be intimidating if you’ve never done one before, but it is doable. We have done multiple long road trips over the years, starting with a 24-hour drive to Arizona when Averhy was 2 years old. The key is to be patient, flexible, and have lots of snacks! I wrote about some of our strategies for traveling with kids in this post.
HOW
Day 1: Driving to Glacier National Park
Today we drove 7 hours from Yellowstone to Glacier National Park. We didn’t have any sightseeing stops along the way, but the views were beautiful!
After we arrived at our AirBnB, we picked up burritos from The Wandering Gringo food truck (delicious!) and drove to the north end of Lake McDonald for a sunset dinner picnic by the historic Ranger Station.
Day 2: Going-to-the-Sun Road
For our first full day at Glacier, we decided to drive the entire Going-to-the-Sun road and stop at any parking lots that had space. This scenic drive is 50 miles one-way, with a speed limit of 25-45 mph, so it’s an all-day affair. After buying bear spray at Glacier Guides, we started the drive at 9am.
We stopped briefly at the north edge of Lake McDonald and then
Sacred Dancing Cascades. It was pretty chilly to start the day, so after spending a few minutes here climbing on the rocks and logs at the edge of the river, we got back in the van. Continuing north, the parking lots at Avalanche Lake and the Loop were full, so we kept driving.
Once you get to the Loop, the road continues along the edge of the mountains rather than down in the valley. There are gorgeous views and waterfalls around every turn. The Weeping Wall falls even splash on your car, so roll up your windows!
Just past the Weeping Wall is a big curve in the road, with these falls on one side and Paradise Meadow on the other. This is a great place to stop and get beautiful photos of the mountains and the river at the bottom of the valley. To get close to these falls, it’s just a short walk up the hill.
The highest point of Going-to-the-Sun Road is Logan Pass, and the parking lot was full when we arrived at 10:30am, so we kept driving.
Our next stop was at the Siyeh Pass Trailhead, where we chose to hike to Baring Falls. This easy 1-mile trail was slightly overgrown, so we made sure to call out “Hey Bear!” as we walked. When we arrived at the waterfall, there were several other hikers and families here, and we took turns climbing on the rocks to get even closer to the falls.
Our next stop after Baring Falls was the Wild Goose Island Lookout. There are several parking spots right along the road, and this view is just a short walk along a path. The lake water really was this blue on the beautiful sunny day we had!
A little further along, we reached the Rising Sun Campground and picnic areas. The first picnic area had clean restrooms and lake access, where you can take a boat out onto Saint Mary Lake (but not this year due to COVID).
At the second camping area, there are picnic areas on the right and a general store on the north side of the road. The rest of GTTS Road was closed past this point, due to COVID - but the picnic area was not busy at all. We enjoyed lunch on a small beach we had all to ourselves!
At 12:30pm we headed back toward Logan Pass, and found a parking spot right away at 1:15pm! This is the starting point for several trails, but the trail to Hidden Lake Overlook was the only one open due to bear activity down at the lake and snow blocking the Highline Trail.
This hike ended up being our favorite of the entire trip! It starts with a boardwalk leading to valley views.
The boardwalk ended at a snow field about .5 mile wide, so we were glad to be wearing hiking shoes with great traction. The trail was heavily trafficked because it was the only one open in this area, but the wildlife didn’t seem to mind - we saw 7 mountain goats (including a baby!) and a small herd of bighorn sheep! However, that also means this trail closes frequently due to bear activity. Check the NPS website first…
The view from the Hidden Lake Overlook was amazing! There is a boardwalk and viewing platform, as well as lots of large rocks to the side where you can sit and catch your breath before heading back to the parking lot.
The mountain goats walk directly on the trail near the overlook, so be sure to give them space!
This moderate out-and-back trail is 2.8 miles and took us 2.5 hours - because the girls spent 30 minutes sledding down the snow field at the end, using their jackets as sleds!
There were several places along the trail that were very slick due to snow, so wear appropriate shoes. We saw a few people trying to hike across the snow wearing flip-flops, and it was not going well…
After we finished playing in the snow, we continued the drive back down GTTS Road, stopping at the Loop parking lot this time for another view of the winding valley. The road heads back down into the valley and follows the river toward Lake McDonald - and we happened to spot this moose crossing the river!
Our last stop was at the Red Rock Point. The water here is so blue against the red rocks, you won’t believe your eyes! There is a small parking area and a newly-renovated path to an overlook, and it’s easy to walk down on the rocks as well to feel the cold water.
We finished our Going-to-the-Sun Road driving day at 5:30pm - a long, fun day!
Day 3: Apgar Bike Trails & Bowman Lake
Today we rented bikes from Glacier Outfitters, located inside the national park. They offer a variety of equipment (bikes, kayaks, etc.) but definitely reserve in advance - we were able to walk right up and get our bikes at 10am, but there were lines of people waiting when we rode by later.
We spent 4.5 hours riding the bike trails around Apgar Village and West Glacier. Bikes are not allowed on hiking trails, and there are not very many bike trails, so we rode them all! We especially liked the West Glacier trail that crossed the Middle Fork Flathead River. There were several people jumping off the bridge into the river, & whitewater rafting groups on the river too. And more amazing clear blue water!!!
Next we loaded the bikes onto the van and drove 1 hour to the park entrance at Polebridge. From there, the 5 mi. road to Bowman Lake is TERRIBLE and full of potholes, which led to several big dents in the back of our van due to the bike rack bouncing around for the 30 minute drive. Oops! By the time we reached the lake, we only had about 25 minutes to enjoy the lake before heading back to return our bikes. That lake view though…
Day 4: Trail of the Cedars, Avalanche Lake, & kayaking on Lake McDonald
Today we got an early start, because we wanted to make sure to get a parking spot at Avalanche Campground - and we snagged one of the last spaces when we arrived at 8:15am. Trail of the Cedars is an easy 0.8 mile heavily trafficked loop (half of it is a boardwalk) with beautiful Avalanche Gorge waterfall at the halfway point.
The Avalanche Lake Trail continues from this point for another 2.5 miles. This section is less accessible than Trail of the Cedars, but still easy. The path goes through cedar forests and was fairly busy both when we were hiking out around 9am and hiking back at noon.
We arrived at Avalanche Lake at 9:45am and had a quick snack. Then we kept hiking around the right side to reach the far edge of the lake around 10:45am.
There were fewer people on the far side of the lake, and plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the rocky beach. There was an overgrown trail that continued toward the waterfalls, but we didn’t follow it very far because we were concerned about bears.
We got back to the parking lot at Avalanche campground around 1pm, then drove to Apgar campground, where there was a boat inspection station. We got our kayaks checked and registered so we could spend the rest of the day on the water.
We spent the afternoon kayaking on Lake McDonald. This was the only lake within Glacier NP open to boating when we were visiting. There were several rocky beaches along the edge where we stopped to have a snack and enjoy the day.
Next, we went home to clean up and have dinner, but most restaurants here are closed on Tuesdays! The only one open was a bar & grill called The Packer’s Roost, so we got burgers to go. (They were delicious!)
Day 12: Driving: West Glacier MT to Gillette WY
After checking out of our AirBnB in the morning, we had a long day of driving to get to our next hotel in Gillette, WY. For the drive home, we decided to break it up into 1 driving day, 1 sightseeing day, and 1 driving day. You can read all about it in this post. Overall, we loved Glacier National Park and would like to come back someday when the entire park is open to explore!
Final Tips
Road trips like this one require you to be FLEXIBLE and PATIENT. Everyone gets uncomfortable being stuck in a van after a few hours, so extend some extra grace to yourself and your family. You can read more tips in this post.
Glacier National Park is HUGE and there are so many options for adventure: hiking, boating, whitewater rafting, horseback riding… and the mountains are just so impressive all on their own! Because it’s so big, plan on spending several days (or a few weeks) here to see all of the highlights.
Be prepared for ZERO cell service in most of the park and surrounding areas. This also means that the “traffic” setting in Google Maps won’t show how busy the parking lots and Going-to-the-Sun Road might be…
What road trip questions do you have? Let me know in the comments below!
