stan678

Where's a nice place to stay near Glacier National Park for June/July this year? We realize the park lodging is probably full already but what about in Whitefish area or somewhere else? Traveling with 2 seniors in good health, 9 year old boy, and myself.

justme22

depends on what side of the park you want to stay on. there is a large motel in st. mary's (east side) that may still have room, (IMHO the prettier side of the park and definately great day hiking even some nice low key trails) but if you are going to stay on the west side, you could stay in white fish, columbia falls, or even kalispell they are not that far a drive to the park. there are many privately owned places closer to the park than the chain hotels in kalispell. In the end tho i would go on line and check out St. Mary's lodge that sounds like it would work for your group it's in St. Mary and the lodge is on the road that accesses going to the sun road. while you are on that side you would also be able to visit waterton np in canada (bring your id) which has a very cute town and nice easy hikes all over the place. i recommend red rock canyon
highway up there. there are also hotels there, and the dollar still goes a little farther in canada, just check out waterton np. you couldn't have picked a prettier place to go. enjoy.

bob_brown

The best lodges are in Waterton.
There is also a small town inside the park because people live there all year.

If you plan on going there, I suggest taking your passports if you have them because border crossing is not what it used to be. It has gotten to be a chore!

stan678

We are also thinking about driving up to Banff area because we've never been there and may not come back to this area anytime soon. We are flying in to Kalispell and renting a car. About how long do you think it would take to drive there from Glacier NP? Thanks.

bob_brown

From Kalispell to the west entrance of Glacier is about 25 miles from the airport and about 35 miles from Kalispell itself.

The drive across the park on the Sun Rod is about 56 miles, and it can be rather slow.

Be inquisitive about the rental cars out there. The last time I wanted to rent one, the prices were high and there was a daily milage cap,with a stiff charge for extra miles.

The first time I tried Rent a Wreck and ended up with a relatively new Chevrolet something or other. Not a bad car, but I had a 150 mile a day cap before extra charges per mile were applied.

From Glacier to Banff is not a short drive.

bob_brown

Make that Sun Road.
You did not say when you were going.
The Sun Road often does not open until the first or second week in June.

There are web sites, but right now I don't think there is a projected opening date.

John

Kalispell to Banff is approx. 4 1/2 hours drive.

justme22

banff is also beautiful, canadian rockies can't be beat but it depends on your time. you will want at least 10 days to do this, i did glacier banff and jasper with 2 weeks but didn't have enough time in glacier/waterton banff is very upscale town, you may want to look into staying in canmore instead. drive is very pretty. as to rental car i think i used avis last sept. and got a good price, definately go on line and compare prices on a site like orbitz but then make sure you go to the home site of the rental companies you can almost always save booking direct, or try priceline, i've never used but folks here on this board seem to have good luck with it. the main thing is the larger vehicles may go quick so you should already make your car reservation. for a sept. vacation i made my res in march. Waterton does have the nicest amenities it takes just under an hour to get there from glacier's east side. depending on how early you get into Kalispell, drive to the east side that sounds like it will work for you. for the price of two hotel rooms you might want to consider cabin rental. this is available on the east side and at castle mountain near banff. just search these areas for lodging on the web. good luck.

wanderluster

If they have availability (check often for cancellations) stay at The Prince Of Wales in Waterton.
Expensive but worth it IMO.
If you don't stay there, do stop and check it out.
You will probably see bears and there are good photo ops, too.