I need help to make a decision

My original plan involved travelling down from Banff to the west side of Glacier NP in 1 day?,spend 1 day in Glacier park, then spend two days travelling down the scenic route, road 89? from the east side of the park to Bozeman/Yellowstone.

Is this the best thing to do? or should I stay in the Glacier park 1 more day and travel the quickest but not the scenic route to Bozeman using the interstate in 1 day.

I need to book up accomadation soon but I cant decide what's best to do

Any suggestions would be appreciated

Tracey

I have driven the routes you mention, and I have visited the places you mention. The time of year makes a big difference because by now the Sun Road through Glacier is probably closed.
When are you going?

Banff to Jasper is 5 hours drive. Again unless it's the middle of summer the Waterton crossing might be closed and certainly the "Going To the Sun Highway" is only open in July & August. You really want a full day in Waterton if it's between May-October so please allow for that. Beatiful lakes inluding Cameron (just about 20K from the townsite). Lots of things to do in the area.We did do Waterton to Yellowstone in 1 day but it was exhausting and took a full 12 hours with no delays and one brief stop for lunch. And that was in the middle of summer.

Me again. If staying in Waterton there is only one really good place. It's the Kilmorey Lodge. Great food, nice rooms and lots of character. They also have the best Hot Chocolate with Schnapps and Strawberry Dacquiries in the world. You can take my word on that.

Hi Bob

We will be travelling next July.
Any suggestions/recommendations on accomadation would also be great, in or outside of Glacier NP. I've seen on the net a few nice looking B&B's in Columbia falls i.e. Badrock B&B but again dont know whether its better to stay in the park.

Thanks for your help

Hi Tracey. I like Glacier and Waterton parks; together they form an International Peace Park. The drive from Banff to Waterton can be scenic.
Call Travel Alberta at 1-800-661-8888 in a few weeks and ask for a new map of Alberta and a copy of the Accommodation Guide, plus anything else you might want in the way of travel literature. The folks there in the past have been extremely helpful.

From Banff to Waterton Lakes , here is my favorite route: Take the TransCanada from Banff to the exit for Alberta Route
40, which takes you past the entrance to Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. (Nice place.) Follow 40 until it intersects with (actually it becomes) route 541 to Longview. From Longview go suth on route 22. It is now paved all the way.
When you intersect with Route 3, turn east (right) to Pincher Creek. At Pincher Creek, take Route 6 to the front door of Waterton. There are several nice places in Waterton, including the Kilmorey. The Aspen Windflower and Crandell Mountain Lodge are nice. There are also the Bayshore and the famous Prince of Wales Hotel. Rooms in Waterton are not cheap, mind you. Last time through, we stayed at a motel in Cardston called the Flamingo.

Accommodations in the Glacier National Park, per se, strike me as being below the accommodation Mendoza Line. I have stayed at several of them, but not at Lake McDonald Lodge. There are good commercial accommodations in Hungry Horse and Columbia Falls. Last summer,when we drove up from Yellowstone, we stayed at a motel in Big Fork.

The tough question is how much time to spend there. I think 1 day is not really sufficient because to see the park you have to hike. I know, you can drive over the Sun Road and say "I went to Glacier." But, the best of it is hidden from you. For a short walk, not too much up and down, take the Highline trail north from Logan Pass. This is an open ended trail because you could follow it north for a very long ways. You will have to be the judge of where to cut your walking and head back.
Also, the boat trip in Waterton south to Goat Haunt on the Montana side is a very scenic ride. I have taken it twice. At the Goat Haunt site, there is a flat trail south to a wide place in the stream where you can view the mountains and have a leisurely lunch and return in time to catch the boat back to Waterton. One time we were there at ate lunch with 3 moostresses -- no moosters in sight. They ate stream moss; we had our sandwiches. They were very good dinner companions.
As for the run from Glacier to Yellowstone, it depends upon your point of origin. If you leave from the east side of the park, take US 89 south to the junction with Montana 44 and cut over to I 15.
In Great Falls, you can either stay on I 15 through Helena and turn at the junction with route 69. Follow 69 to I 80 which you can take on in to Bozeman.

Or you can turn off I 15 in Great Falls and take US 87 - 89 out of town to the point where US 89 goes south.

I think the route on 89 through the Little Belt mountains is ok, scenic and all. But I 15 is scenic also, surprisingly so I might add.
The run south from Bozeman to West Yellowstone is also scenic, but somethat slow because it is heavily travelled in the summer. We have driven all of those routes in the past.

If you leave from the west side, there is no really good way to get to I 80.
There are several options,but going from Kalispell to Polson is perhaps the lesser of the evils. A really scenic route, however, is a little longer, which goes south east out of Big Fork.
This route does not really go anywhere, so to speak. If you look at a Montana map you will see what I mean. It could take you to Helena, or through the woods to Avon (wide place in the road) and there you could pick up US 12 WEST back to I 80 and then to Bozeman.
I don't pretend to tell you what to do, but I think 1 day in Glacier does not do the park justice. Of course if you are trading time in Glacier against time in Yellowstone, that is another consideration. I love both parks, and hope to return to Yellowstone again very soon.
Hope this helps. Ask me more if need be. As I said, I drove most of that last summer, and in years past we have made the trip between Glacier and Yellowstone several times.

Double OOOOPPPPS and Whoa. If you are headed south on Alberta Route 22, you do indeed turn EAST when you intersect with Route 3. But it will be to your LEFT.
It is quite hard to go east by turning
right when headed south -- unless you do it 3 times at 90 degrees per turn! At any rate, head for Pincher Creek, and then continue south to Waterton.

The route I described above traverses the highest motor route in Alberta.
It is quite passable in the summer.

You will be there in prime time, so plan your lodgings in the parks accordingly.
If you want to stay overnight in Yellowstone, move soon to get your choice of places and dates.

Tracey,
I've stayed in various G park lodges and would not recommend it unless all you want is a place you lay your head and get a shower. We stayed at Badrock B&B two years ago. It's a great B&B, very, very clean with wonderful host and hostess. Their breakfasts were very delicious and filling! We didn't eat again until dinner. They have a outdoor hot tub and you reserve your own 1/2 time. They give you robes and slippers for the hot tub and your privacy. I would definitely stay there again.

One day in Glacier is cutting it short. We saw a lot more wildlife in G than Yellowstone. The scenery in G is the best, but if your from Banff you know what great scenery is!

Hi Bob, Sue and Lynne

Thanks very much for your helpful replies.

I have finally decided to travel the route from Banff that Bob mentioned. I have a very detailed map of the area so could see the exact route that was decribed. I have also chosen to stay two days in the area and spend one day travelling from Glacier to Bozeman. Obviously some of which will be on the Interstate. I have booked accomadation in Kilmorey Lodge (it was the hot chocolate that did it!) and at Rising Sun Lodge. I appreciate I'm not going to be in the area long enough to really get a feel for it but its the best I can do in the time I have. I would have liked to have stayed at Badrock but I will be on the wrong side of Glacier NP - maybe next time. I've tried to book up Yellowstone but its thanksgiving weekend? and the office was closed.

Anyway, Thanks once again for your help and for your interest I'm from the UK, will be on my honeymoon and will be travelling in a loop from Vancouver - Golden - Banff - Glacier -Yellowstone - Tetons - Seattle - Vancouver .... All in three weeks.

Tracey

You are taking a very scenic route indeed. One Canadian National Park that you should consider is Glacier. The Trans Canada goes through the park as it crosses Rogers Pass a few miles west of Golden. The trails in Glacier (Canadian) are quite steep, but the views from the highway are very good on a clear day. Also, as you approach Lake Louise, you drive through Yoho National Park which has several scenic areas close to highway: Emerald Lake and Takkakaw Falls. Three weeks should give you enough time to do the sights justice.