Visiting Glacier Nat'l Park with 18 mo old.

Old Feb 20th, 2017, 09:41 PM
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Visiting Glacier Nat'l Park with 18 mo old.

We're planning a trip to Glacier National Park mid-April with our 18 month old daughter. We will be staying in Kalispell for a full week. I was looking for advice on the best and easiest hikes to do with our daughter. We would like it to be fairly close considering long car rides can be boring for her; however, I've read the east side of the park has the best scenery, with that in mind, is there an attraction that is definitely worth the drive out that direction? Also, if anyone has any suggestions for must see attractions in town, I've read that the National Bison Range is a good place to visit. Any advice for visiting when the park is mostly shut down? Thank you in advance!
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Old Feb 20th, 2017, 11:59 PM
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Kalispell has great food, an amazing railroad depot, a Frank Lloyd Wright building, and a nice downtown, but you are sentencing yourself to a _lot_ of time in the car.

I assume you will be carrying your daughter on your back, so you will need modest expectations of where you can go, especially if you need snowshoes or crampons.

I know that the highway is only open to Lake McDonald on the west side and don't know what is open there. You will have to take US 2 around the lower end of the park. I just don't know what's open in the way of food and lodging. It isn't the season yet. Lots of trains, but your daughter is too young to be able to see the wildlife on the way.

Glacier has great webcams, so you can keep an eye on what's going on. I can't help with details because I have only been to Glacier in summer, but I have been to Banff-Jasper in May. While the roads were all open and the glaciers were in fine shape, the scenic waterfalls, lakes, and the Saskatchewan River were all frozen and indistinguishable from the surrounding terrain.
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Old Feb 21st, 2017, 03:02 AM
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I didn't know about the railroad depot in Kalispell. The one that I know about is the one in Whitefish where I have got off the Empire Builder several times.
I suggest that you spend at least one night at the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex MT. http://www.izaakwaltoninn.com/
The Empire Builder also stops there with a shuttle van to the Inn.
Just off the parking lot at the Lake McDonald Lodge is a famous spot where Ansel Adams took several great photos.
At a pulloff from US 2 you can watch goats on a salt lick above the Flathead River.
If you are lucky you might see a herd of elk somewhere in your travels in this area.
Why did you choose to spend the whole week in Kalispell?
There are several better places IMO.
The road over Logan Pass (Going to the Sun) should be open all the way through in mid-June.
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Old Feb 21st, 2017, 05:49 AM
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There is no railroad depot in Kalispell. I'm sure you are confusing Kalispell with Whitefish which has an active depot with Amtrak service and a Frank Lloyd Wright building. Kalispell is the shopping hub of the Flathead valley with restaurants and motels of your choice.
Almost ALL hikes in the park will still be covered with snow in mid April. Going to the Sun Road does not normally open until mid June and depending on the weather can open as late as mid July. In any case, visitor's center etc. do not open till Memorial day. They are open weekends for snowshoers and C/C skiers etc.
GTTS road is open for 11 miles on the west side year round and only 1 mile on the east side, until weather permits . We are having a tough winter snow wise so I'm GUESSING the GTTS road will open later than normal this year.
If at all possible, I would put off your trip till late June early July.
For all the latest info on the Park including road closure, opening and web cams, go to:www.nps.gov/glacier.
National Bison Range is approx. 1 hour drive south of Kalispell. For info go to; FWS.gov/refuge/nationalbisonrange
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Old Feb 21st, 2017, 06:05 AM
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Only a portion of the road through the National Bison Range is open during winter. It's an out and back on the flatter side and not a loop. There are no trails off of this portion so you're not allowed to get out and walk. It took us over an hour and a half to get there from Kalispell but it was raining heavily that day.
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Old Feb 21st, 2017, 07:11 AM
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Yes, it was Whitefish. Mea culpa.
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Old Feb 21st, 2017, 08:51 AM
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I'm not sure you're going to find enough to do in April. There really won't be any guest services open in the Park. There will probably be too much snow for you to do any hiking. You could cross country ski or snowshoe.

FWIW, we try to stay a weekend in Whitefish either in the fall or in the spring for some spring skiing. There are good restaurants and some shopping. But, for me, there's not enough to fill a week in April.
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Old Feb 21st, 2017, 02:13 PM
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Thank y'all for thfor great advice! We chose to stay a week in Kalispell because a time share was given to us and jumped on the chance. We expect that traveling with our 18 month old, everything is going to take twice-three times as long as it would if it were just my husband and I so we wanted time to enjoy being leisurely. We're from Texas and snow is a bit of a novelty for us, if anything we get more ice than snow, so it will be nice to experience some true snow and allow our daughter to play in it. I hope we'll get the chance to see some scenery despite the weather conditions, I'm sure we'll have a good time regardless...it's our first trip as a family and mine and my husbands first trip since our honeymoon. Thank you all again!
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