Travelkitty

I'm planning a trip to Glacier National Park in late June, and since I just started making my reservations,some of the lodging options are already limited.

The purpose of the trip is just to relax and see some beautiful scenery (and hopefully some park wildlife), and although I want lodging to be clean, I don't need anything fancy. Proximity to scenery and trails matters more than "fancy" and I'd like to see as many different aspects of the park as possible. I'm travelling by myself and want some quiet time and to do some "day hikes".

My current itinerary is as follows:

6/21: travel day - arriving at Great Falls Airport, spend the night at Glacier Park Lodge (some time in the afternoon to explore)

6/22-23: stay at Village Inn

6/24-25: stay at Lake McDonald in a room at one of the "small cottages" (although staying at Rising Sun or Swiftcurrent is also an option)

6/26-27: stay at Many Glacier Hotel

A few questions on my itinerary: Is a week too long? My last trip to Yellowstone was 4 days (excluding travel) and that seemed like barely enough, but is there something nearby that would be worth cutting a few days off GNP?

I'm relatively "set" on the days at Village Inn and Many Glacier, but the two middle days are still open. I"d prefer to just extend my stay at VI and MGH each by one day, but those reservations aren't available. So my options are Lake McDonald cottage, Rising Sun and SwiftCurrent. Any suggestions on whether one of the options will offer scenery or hiking options that are different from VI and MGH? I understand all the housing options are pretty rustic, but any recommendations on whether one is significantly better or worse?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Kailee13

I do not think there is anything else to do that is better than Glacier. Flathead lake is peaceful, but I would rather stay at the park.

jfruff

Be sure to plan a day to go up to Waterton Park in Canada, which is the sister park to Glacier. It's worth the drive. You might consider staying a night or two up there if you don't want to make the whole drive in one day.

I think there is enough to see and do around Glacier to keep you occupied and give you plenty of relaxation time, but a week may be more than you need. (I agree that you can't do Yellowstone in only 4 days, but it's much bigger and has more scenic stops than Glacier.) With only one main road through the park and one main road around the south end of the park, your directional options are limited at Glacier, and it can take a while to get around. But when I went (Aug 2003), half the park was on fire, so we didn't get to see the whole thing.

I recommend a cruise on Lake Mary; it was very peaceful and lovely.

By the way, if it's still there, Thimbleberry's restaurant southeast of the park had excellent frybread and pork tenderloin five years ago.

Enjoy your trip!

bob_brown

I hope you like to hike because that is the best way to see the best parts of the park.

You picked a time when the Sun Road is almost sure to be open. I just read a report that says good progess has been made already on clearing the road.

Snow and boulders remain to be moved, but for this early in the season the road sounds to me like it may be open early. Usually early June is a good median time with some variance, but May 21 sounds like a reasonable estimate.

Of course, rain last year brought down a few boulders that had to be cleared. So the spring weather will be the determinant.

needsnow

I am interested to know how your trip went? We are also planning a trip to the Park and hope to go to Wateron as well. We are also late in planning - hoping to go August 1 and here we are in May - with no accommodations yet. Anything you would recommend or tell me to avoid? we are a family of 4 - 2 teens not too excited about all that hiking but I think they will be happy once they are there.

karens

I agree Glacier is a hiking park - and there are GREAT hikes. Our favorites were Avalanche Lake, the shoreline of St. Mary, Iceberg Lake.

We took a white water trip on the Middle Fork of hte Flathead out of WEst Glacier - that was fun and very scenic. We also rented a boat on the big lake on the west side of the park and I cant' remember the name right now. It's big.

We did a week trip to Glacier. We had only spent 2 days there previously and we really wanted to see more of the park. On our week trip, we spent two nights at Big Mnt. ski area. We rented mountain bikes and did some hiking there, too.

claire_bluesky

Although I haven't stayed there, I've heard nice reviews of Swiftcurrent and it's located in the park.

Link: http://www.glacierparkinc.com/SwiftCurrent.htm

I also recommend a visit to Waterton. We stayed at St. Mary's Resort on the east side of GNP which made it an hour+ drive each way, easily done in a day.

monpetit

A week could be too long if you are not hikers...
If you're hikers, a week could not be enough..
In the West part : a drive to Bowman lake and the Quartz lakes loop is a full day occupation...
Snyder lake, Avalanche lake and Cedars of the trails are other hikes for 1,5 days.
You could have a boat ride on Mc Donald lake.
In Many glacier area, Iceberg lake, cracker lake are mid-strenous hikes, sometimes closed for bear activity.
Grinnel Glacier and Swiftcurrent pass are more strenous but worth the efforts..There is a lot of wild life there : bear, moose, mountain goat,...
On the way from east to west part, at Logan pass, Hidden lake and the Garden Wall are more easier...
There is also sites to fish, boat,...
So a lot to do if you want(or are able) to do some physic actvities.
If not, 4 days are enough.
I did'tn mention Saint Mary area and other because it will be goal of a future sejour...
Erik
NB : we pass one whole week there last year and it was too...short!!!
I confirm that Swiftcurrent motor inn-the motel rooms are a must : quiet, large, clean and not so expensive...

karens

monpetit - thanks for posting. I must have been totally brain dead last night.

We took a boat ride on Lake McDonald.

And I meant one of favorite hikes was to Grinnel Glacier - loved the lake views of Grinnell Lake.

We've never done Iceberg Lake, but I've heard that's a good hike, too.

cgrk

I agree the going over to Waterton is a must but if you have one, bring your passport. No problem crossing over to Canada but had quite a hassle coming back into US. Border gaurds all upset that we only had our drivers licenses. Searched vehicle, etc. but finally let us back in with a warning to make sure we have our passports next time. This was in July, 2007.

Travelkitty

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, and I'll be sure to post a follow up report once I get back.

I ended up making reservations at Swiftcurrent for the middle two days, and since I'll have 4 days on the East Side, I'll plan a trip up to Waterton for one of the days.

Needsnow, I know this sounds silly, but if you've got the two teens who aren't that thrilled with hiking, you might want to consider staying outside the Park for at least part of the trip. I think most (if not all) of the in-park lodging doesn't have television, and if you think that will be an issue with the kids, just be aware of it.