Glacier National Park - help w/ planning
 

(reposted w/ Montana search topic)

Hi

We are planning to drive up to Glacier National Park next August (2008) from southern New Mexico and would love some assistance with lodging and hiking info.

We would like to stay in the park for four nights I am considering Many Glacier Hotel, Swiftcurrent Motor Inn or Lake MacDonald Lodge. Which one would you choose (or would you choose another option) and why? (We have stayed in the cabins and motel at Bryce (loved it) but opted out of staying in park at Zion)

I would like to do at least one long day hike while we are there - we are considering the hike to Iceberg Lake. Other options? (We are 55+, in good shape but want to avoid a lot of scrambling over uneven rocky terrain. We did the 8.0 mile Fairyland loop in Bryce when we were there - it was fantastic and well within our capabilities)

We would also be interested in suggestions for shorter hikes within the park.

Also, are the boat tours worthwhile? Has anyone used the boats as part of a hike to Grinnell glacier or other destination? recommendations?

We are planning to arrive in the park from the east and leave from the west. What Montana towns/cities should we try to visit on our trip.

Thank you in advance for any assistance / insights that you can provide

Pamela

I see that you haven't gotten any replies. We went to Glacier two years ago, but I can't help you with most of your questions. It was just one part of a swing through the Canadian Rockies and on to Yellowstone. We were only there one night.

Here is what I wrote about the boat trip that we took:
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Thursday June 23. GLACIER TO YELLOWSTONE - I got up early so that we'd have time to take a boat cruise on St. Mary's Lake. The boats were freshly painted and only in their first week of service this season. The ranger pointed out that the Going-to-the-Sun Road had just been opened on May 22nd and that drifts on it sometimes reach over 60 feet.

We sailed some distance on the lake and learned a bit of how the layers of the earth had moved exposing lower, older, layers. This is why the visible layers on the sides of the mountains were at a diagonal rather than straight across. Midway through the cruise, we all got off and hiked to a nearby waterfall.
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We stayed at Rising Sun Motor Inn & Cottages. They were just inside the eastern entrance to the park. They were close enough for us to walk to the evening campfire program at the campground next door.

Debbie

Many glacier is my favorite part of the park.

Iceberg lake is a nice hike, good even ground, and wow what a payoff you can take anywhere from 3 to 6 hours round trip depending on your hiking speed and how much you hang out at different places along the way, and you will want to... Grinnell Glacier is also a great hike and you can go as far as you like and make it the same length.

you'll want to spend some time a logan pass, take some of the trails around there they are mostly level and are very interesting.

Lake MacDonald Lodge is very nice but it is on the opposite side of the park from many glacier and the really nice hikes. you may want to stay at least two nights in many glacier and the many glacier hotel, then do one or two nights at lake macdonald to get the feel of the different parts of the park.

this could work well as on your way to the other side , you take going to the sun road and you can stop at logan pass for the hiking there.

the cabins at many glacier are almost wooden tents, but a little better but you have to go to a central bath house. swift current motor lodge has no personality. You might also want to consider staying at St. Mary's at the enterence to the east side of the park

you may want to consider going up to waterton in canada for the day from the many glacier area there are wonderful short hikes all around the area in waterton glacier park.

i would probably do 3 nights in many glacier so that you can get a day in at waterton. then head over going to the sun road stopping and spending a lot of time at logan pass, then a day at lake macdonald.

I did enjoy the town of bigfork when i visited last time but i had 2 weeks in the park. this is a little out of the way from Kalispell. i think you'd really enjoy it tho. hope this helps

Hi Pamela
We put everything we know about Glacier on our website. We loved the place.

www.AlandSueJohnson.com
Click on the Glacier link in one of the first couple of paragraphs. Many pictures too.

We loved Swiftcurrent. The scenery is beautiful. There's good trails there and they aren't all killer. We even liked the people staying and working there. You should consider the hike to Grinnell Glacier along with Iceberg. We tried to show pictures of how beautiful the trail is. None of Iceberg though. It was closed the entire week we were there.

We spent one night at Lake McDonald. It was nice but I much preferred Swiftcurrent. Different scenery and a different vibe about the place.

From Swiftcurrent you can also hike to Red Rock FAlls. Its also where the Iceberg trailhead is.

The only boatride we took was to cut distance off the Grinnell Glacier hike. We never really considered any others.

Now that I see that you're leaving from the West side, spend that last night at Lake McDonald. We spent a night there because we were driving to Seattle from Glacier.

Debbie, justme22, AlJ

Thanks for your input and Al, a special thanks for the link to your website - it is amazing and extremely helpful.

Pamela

We stayed in a cabin at Apgar Village Lodge Cabins. There are a variety of cabin sizes with kitchens. Our family always enjoys the Lake McDonald boat ride. Make your reservations for around Glacier early as reservations for August will fill fast.

Our family of four (hubby and I are in our early 50s) just returned from a fabulous vacation in the Rockies, one of the highlights being Glacier NP. We stayed 2 nights at Many Glacier Hotel, then 2 nights at Lake McDonald Lodge. Both are rustic (old) accomodations with much history and character, and we found them perfectly acceptable, albeit our cabin at Lake McDonald Lodge was a wee bit more rustic (more rustic than our stays in Zion NP or at Bryce, where we had stayed at Rubys Inn).

So many spectacular trails in Glacier NP! The 9 mile hile to Iceberg Lake took us about 6 hrs. where we saw moose, rabbits, squirrels and mountain goats. The real treat was Iceberg Lake, yes there are icebergs in the lake. About midway to the lake, there's a cool waterfall (Ptarmingan Falls) where we took a break. There were still patches of snow on the ground as we got closer to the lake, and yellow wildflowers greeted us... very striking.

We actually saw lots and lots of mountain goats up close and personal on our hike to Hidden Lake at Logan's Pass. Also big horn sheep and marmots.
This was a 6 mile hike, starts off walking on a wooden boardwalk, then trekking through snow for almost a quarter mile, then the beautiful hidden lake view. We hiked down to the lake, which was teeming with mountain goats.

Another memorable hike close to Many Glacier Hotel is the Apikuni Falls hike. It's a 1 mile hike that gains 700 feet in elevation, but took us
right up to the magnificent falls.

We also hiked the Sun Point trail
which leads to Baring Falls. Spectacular view from Sun Point.
It's 9 miles west of the St. Mary Visitor Ctr. and has a nice picnic area by the parking lot.

Closer to Lake McDonald Lodge is the Trail fo the Cedars and Avalanche Lake Trail.

Prior to Glacier NP we had been to Waterton NP and enjoyed the Red Rock parkway canyon trail and went kayaking in Cameron Lake--which was one of the most beautiful lakes I have been to.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

lake is possible, for all berries on the trail...
Avalanche is a nice 1/2 day hike, but go early to avoid the crowd...
In this part i'll try the Lake Mc Donald Lopdge, but it's a lottery : same rooms at same prices are from sizes totally different...A recent Insiders guide of the national lodge could be avisefull.
In Many Glacier, we lodged at the Swiftcurrent motel units'(room 23) just at the trailhead of swiftcurrent pass and icenberg lakes.
That's a peace of heaven : large rooms : 2 greats queenbeds/room, a large shower, WC and a lavabo.
No A/C, no phones and no TV, but you're note here for that.
We've' done-due to the interdiction of hiking Iceberg and Cracker for bears activities.., so we've done
Grinnel Glacier from the base, without the boat ride: fantastic hikes, grandiose site,and we saw, moutaingoats, bighorn sheeps and on the way back 2 bears swimming in Josephine Lake...
and Swifftcurrent pass to granite chalet : nice scenery, and also 4 bull mooses and bighorn sheeps, elk and deer and some hikers after us have seen also 2 bears in the Reckrock lake...
So, Iceberg and Cracker will be for another sejour...
There are other options of hikes(Peioa lake, Grinnel lake-more easy).
And with a few miles of road : Red Eagle lake and Okotomi lake.
Restaurant at swifftcurent is casual : pizzas, burgers, some pasta and salmons...The specials are not bad.The breakfast are cheap and good...
At the many glacier hotel ,same lottery that in Lake Mc Donald lodge and so same insiders guide.
We saw during our incursion there for a dinner one of the room(n°158) giving on the hallway corridor to restaurant, with lake view but spartiate : quite a military room...
The dinner there was ecellent(the svenaison's saucisse sampler is good and the trouts excellents..).
Good choice of wine by the glass.
SDo, at West glacier,try the Lake Mc Donald Lodge but insist on the quality of room you need,
In many Glacier the blocks of motel rooms 21-29 is a must for the swiftcurrent.
Sorry for the post in 2 parts and the first one without correction...
Erik

We're just back from a 2 week's sejour in Montana with 3 dys in West Glacier aand 3 in east glacier.
In WG, we lodged at the Belton Chalet, in the national registers of historic places : nice, full of charm,loby warm, but rooms not too large, but sufficient : a quennben of correct size, a small nighttable at one side a great table on the other side.
No closets but enough storage for the clothes.
A lavabo in thr room and a shower + WC. No A/C, no phones, no TV, but you are not here for civilisations...They give vouchers for a small but correct breakfast except for the coffee one of the worst we'd in US...
Restaurant is oriented itlian: not bad but not original...
Asiode the CVhalet, the highlands restaurant, repair of the locals...have excellent trouts and a good choice of microbrew's beers..
In the northern fork, Quartz Lakes loop is not to miss, departing from Bowman Lake, in the clockwise sens.For the courageous, a swimm in Upper Quartz Lake is.....
NB this is part one...
My computer get some caprices tonight or it's me with the jetlag...
Erik.