Destination Glacier National Park

[liveoakal]

Greetings fellow travelers,
It's never too soon to begin trip planning so I am seeking advice and opinions for where to stay and what to see in and around Glacier National Park. My expectation is to be there in late summer/early fall next year. I will be traveling from the central California coast so any thoughts about the route getting there and back would also be appreciated.

[rmitch]

Of course #1 is going to Sun Road. No trailers allowed, no problem and awesome. Best
campground in the park, Many Glacier. Have fun.

[Mike G]

I enjoyed the hike to Avalanche Lake and the view there.

[MVA]

Over the past 20 years, we have camped at Glacier NP three times; twice at Many Glacier and once at Rising Sun. You used to be able to drive in and get a site in 2001; now you need a reservation for Many Glacier campground (assuming my memory is current!) and those are made significantly in the future. The last time we went to Glacier (last week August 2019) we did drive into Rising Sun campground without a reservation and did not have a problem at 2 pm getting a site. It did fill by nightfall.

Areas we enjoy are Logan's pass and Hidden Lake, St. Mary and Virginia Falls trail, and St. Mary Lake. Grinnell Glacier trail is so crowded that we passed last time we visited. Instead in the Many Glacier region of the park, try the south side trail along Swiftcurrent Lake, Lake Josephine, to Grinnell Lake; very few people and wonderful. For an additional falls trail in Many Glacier area, try Apikuni Falls trail. Lastly for a longer hike, Iceberg Lake is nice. We have not spent time on the west side of the park. It tends to be much busier.

enjoy!

[AndNeitherDoI]

We spent three weeks in the Apgar Campground in September. It a first come, first served site, so it takes some work to get a spot. We didn’t have a ticket for the Going to the Sun road, so we tried going after 5pm a couple days and that didn’t work. I ended up running the 3 miles from West Glacier, reserving a spot, and running back to the truck at West Glacier. For once my running habit had tangible benefits!

If you can decide which side of the park is best for what you want to do, then get reservations at an appropriate campground. Example: From Apgar to the trailhead for Grinnel Glacier was 2.5 hours. Add 5 hours to hike and 2.5 hours back is a long day. Next time, I think I’ll camp on the east side. There were more interesting hikes there.

[hotfishtacos]

We've been to Glacier more than once and it is definitely a "bucket list" location for camping. We've camped both sides of Glacier. It may be hard to get a camp site because it is so popular but just be patient and camp close by until you get the site you want. Some are first-come-first-serve. Apgar Campground is right on Lake McDonald and is the best place to be to start with. Middle of the summer is probably best because the, "Going to the sun road" will probably be open. It closes frequently for weather and slides. Remember that there are numerous other interesting places to visit in Montana, especially if you like fishing and hiking. The hike to Avalanche Lake is great! You can go North though Oregon and Washington from where you are through Spokane to get there but I personally avoid Oregon and Washington completely when camping or going to a far-away destination . I would go through Reno to Twin Falls Idaho to get there from where you are. Going up through Idaho to Montana is great experience.

Have fun!

Steve