onthegogo

We only have 2 days in Glacier - mid September with 1 day to spare before the Going to the Sun Road closes 9/17 - which we're intending to take on the 16th to exit on the n/e side. There was no availability at the Lake McDonald Lodge (oh well, none of the reviews were very good anyway), but the motor inn had room, so we booked. Luckily it appears its located close to the lodge so we can walk there and enjoy its ambience, restaurants, etc. We're keeping our expectations low for what we find at the motor inn - but would like to hear from others who have stayed there as to what we might find. Just want a clean, safe and comfortable room....is that what we'll get? Hope to hear from anyone who's stayed there or viewed the rooms. Thanks.

karens

We stayed in Lake McDonald - both at the Lodge that I wouldn't recommend, and at a motel which I THINK was the motor lodge. It was a long strip of rooms. The rooms were basic but fine.

onthegogo

karens...thanks for replying. Maybe we are lucky afterall that only the motel was available. Apparently its a two story building about 200 yds from the Lodge. If we find "basic, but fine" we'll be good with that! We've stayed in Yellowstone in a lovely hotel, remodelled rooms/bathrooms...wish GNP would be able to do the same. Thanks again for your info.

curmudgeon

Don't count on enjoying the restaurant at the lodge. We had lunch there a few weeks ago, and I would count it as tied for worst food on our 3-week trip. I don't expect gourmet in NP lodges, but this was just pretty sad. I've read positive reviews about the motor inn at Apgar, at the other end of the lake; not fancy, but nice views. The LM lodge doesn't really have the scale/impact that the bigger lodges (Many Glacier, East Glacier, Prince of Wales) built by the railroad have.

onthegogo

Curmudgeon - thanks for the heads up on the restaurant at the lodge. Can you give me any ideas for alternative places for meals at that end of the park? Of course going outside the park would be ok if its not too far. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

monpetit

Just outside of the park, at Belton/West glacier, you have 2 good options:
-Belton Chalet restaurant, fine italian cuisine, well done, with some specials, not too expensive.
-The Highland restaurant, aside the fuelstation, basic ,repair of the locals : nice pizza(I think-we didn't take it, but people seem happy with...) and an excellent grilled trout-salad. Nice berries pies and huckleberries ice cream and very cheap.
If you are hikers, perhaps it would have been nicer to stay in the east part at Many Glacier.The swiftcurrent lodge is very quiet, in the motel part(the raw with room n°23) is juts at te trailhead of Iceberg lake and swiftcurent pass...
The garden restaurant for basic meals and the Ptarmigan dining room in Many Glacier hotel offer 2 nice options here for dinner/breakfast
You will not be disappointed either by both parts of this park...
If you have time,drive to Bowman Lake(it's a 30 miles from west entrance by the northfork outside road, but arrived here, the scenery is terrific...).
We just come back from here-I have made a trip report on the Monatana board(title : 2 weeks in west cental Montana).
Erik.

justme22

i checked out of lake macdonald when i was there. didn't like it at all and moved on to the east side of the park. in another trip i used apgar village inn which is NOT a park property but right at the end of Lake Macdonald.
plain but fine. my room was right beside a creek that either feeds or leaves lake macdonald, i can't recall...

go to : http://www.westglacier.com/

onthegogo

From the info from everyone...sounds like we should continue to keep our expectations VERY low for our 2 night stay in the Lake McDonald motor lodge and seek out the restaurants recommended (love pizza anytime-thanks monpetit). I'm planning to do a review of accommodations when we return. At least we know that the scenery, etc. will be spectacular. We'll be heading up to Banff and Jasper too eventually on this trip - so we can spluge there on nice hotels and restaurants. Thanks for the help everyone!

onthegogo

Just an update from my original question. We just returned from our trip. We did stay at the Lake McDonald Motel...made advance reservations, thank goodness because there were no vacancies anywhere..park was quite busy for such a late date. We thought it was just fine and good location because we also took the Red Bus Tour. We did eat twice in the Lodge's dining room -- too tired to drive anywhere else as we had a couple of full days there. Our meals were pretty good. Did an early breakfast there too...they feature a buffet.. but we didn't do that. We were very happy overall with our stay. Oh yes...also took the boat tour of the lake, then upon return sat on a bench looking at the lake enjoying a fine beer from the Lodge's pub. Since the place didn't get rave reviews, we were pleasantly surprised at how much we really enjoyed it. Liked the atmosphere (ie. lounging in the chairs in front of the big fireplace which is always lit) actually much more than the Banff Springs' atmosphere. Thanks again all for the help in preparing for this trip.

marymarra

Hi, we are thinking about this trip for August '08; two questions about your tours: did you like the bus trip you took (and if you remember which one would you let me know)--we have done the bus into Denali and really enjoyed it; would you recommend your lake tour and if you remember which one did you take?I've downloaded the brochure from the Park Service vendor and there is alot of variety so would love an opinion.

Thanks!

Mary

P.S. Sounds like Lake McDonald is okay (in any case, the beer sounds good!)