Montana
 

Hie!
We plan next year a trip in Montana(this year we will be in South Dakota for 2 weeks with kids...).
As it's long way from home and to have good vacations I would be sure my programm is good to begin to think of it or to change if
necessary.
Day 1 : Arrival a Saturday night in Billings, late because we arrive from France.
Night in Billings.

Day 2 : going to Little Big Horn battlefield and back by Fort Smith. Night in Billings

Day 3: museum on the morning in Billings and then drive to Helena and a hike in Helena nat'l forest.Night in Helena

Day 4 : another hike and museums.Night in Helena.

Day 5 : Drive to Many Glacier hotel on morning and hike in the afternoon.Night at
many Glacier hotel.

Day 6 : Hike in the east part of Gl.Nat'l Park.Night at many Glacier Hotel.

Day 7 : Drive to lake mc Donald Lodge with 2 half days hike(one on east part, other on west park...or if traffic is heavy, drive to the west part of the park and all day hike).
Night at Lake Mc Donald lodge.

Day 8 : All day hike.Night at lake Mc Donald lodge.

Day 9,10,11 : Drive to Ovando to go to a dude ranch for 3 days of horseback rides.
Nights in the ranch.

Day 12 : drive to Butte and Pindler scenic route.Night in Butte.

Day 13 : Big Hole valley and ghost towns(virginia city,...).Night in Butte.

Day 14 : drive back to Billings with hikes or shopping or mseums not done on day 1/2..
Night in Billings

Day 15 : Back flight to France.

Is this feasable??
Are drives not too long ??
How much timesd in advance to reserve hotels, lodges,...(for ranch I know I have to make early because we go every yera in dude ranches...).

Thank for your advice.
Erik.

ttt

Always nobody answering or with advice ??

Eric, I would substitute Yellowstone for your nights in Helena and Butte. I would not stay as long in Glacier, 2 nights was long enough for us but we're not hikers. Yellowstone is a national treasure and should not be missed. I would come up with a driving loop that includes Yellowstone and the Tetons if possible. We've driven to Billings airport from Yellowstone to fly home and it was an easy trip. My suggestion: Drive from Billings to Yellowstone, stay there 2-3-4 nights, if possible visit the tetons for a night. Then drive North to Glacier for 2 nights, then to your Dude Ranch. Then back to Billings to fly home. I'm not big on museums when I have the beautiful scenery outdoors to see. Helena is charming but not a major tourist attraction. I've not been to butte. For lodging in Yellowstone, I think its Xanterra.com, for the Grand tetons gtlc.com

PS, people on this board are very knowledgeable about Yellowstone and the western states. Keep posting for advice and ideas. I would also recommend you buy Fodors/Frommers guide books on Yellowstone / Tetons, Montana and Wyoming. In Yellowstone, I would recommend you split your time between at least 2 lodges, Old Faithful Lodge or the Snow lodge, then either Canyon or the Lake lodge. Yellowstone is huge. Make your reservations 6-9 months in advance for park lodges. Yellowstone and the Tetons are my favorite parks and I really hope you visit them.

Driving distances are vast but highways speeds are very fast. From Billings to yellowstone there are several routes, I would estimate 2.5 to 3 hours each way. People rave about going through Red Lodge, we drove through Cody then up to BIllings. From West Yellowstone to Glacier 5 hours. The Grand Tetons are next to yellowstone, about an hour to the South. I'm thrilled you're coming to America and want you to see our national parks.

Yellowstone is a must do, I cannot emphasize this enough

We're Americans but when we go out west we always book multicity airline. For yellowstone, we've flown into Billings Montana and out of Bozeman. We've flown into Jackson Wyoming, toured the tetons Yellowstone , Glacier then we flew home from Kalispell Montana near Glacier. Northwest Airlines serves all these cities.

Erik, you might get a few more responses if you repost this with Glacier National Park in the title. I wish I could help, but I am trying to plan the same trip. I am mainly learning that the lodging in Glacier is not very good and overpriced. Good luck!

Don't let anyone talk you into spending only 2 nights (only 1 day!) in Glacier. That may be enough for those people that just like to snap a picture and then drive on, but you are obviously hikers, and there are so many beautiful places to see and hikes to take in Glacier. Reserve your lodging in the National Parks as far in advance as you can.

I agree that Yellowstone and the Tetons are wonderful, and could be incorporated into a 2 week trip with Glacier. The drive over the Beartooth Highway (highway 212) is incredibly scenic, and not too much out of your way, so you might consider at seeing the northern part of Yellowstone and then heading back into Montana.

But, you seem to have some very specific things you would like to see, and it looks like you prefer to take your time, rather than trying to cram in too much. In that case, even if you skip Yellowstone, I think your trip will be great.

2 nights in Glacier would not be enough for me. Its one of the most beautiful places in the US.

Thank for responses.
In fact, Yellowstone and Tetons were
voluntary skipped from the programm to be included in a specific travel in Wyoming with "similar programm"(hikes,
indian and cow boy cultures, dude ranch, museums,...).
I was thinking to do the Wyoming's project "out of high season" in June or September to avoid summer crowds...
The reason to have 4 nights in Glacier
was to have enough times to hike(minimum
of 3-4 hikes...).We are good hikers and find when it's physically possible that
it's the best way to discover parks
away from too much people.
Questions could be :
Are Butte and ghost cities, Big Hole Valey and Pindler scenic route worth it or should we go to the north part of Yellowstone ?
Would it be not too crowded if we take this option ??
I've Frommers and Moon guide and I
begin to read reviews on Fodors and
Tripadvisor and effectively lodging in Glacier park seems not so good...
Is traffic not too heavy in the morning if we choose options of simple but clean
motels outside Glacier or B&B in small towns or Kalispell ??
Are Lodges so bad than described in the reviews ??
For this travel, we have choice of early July or Late august : which period will be the best ??
Are they some rodeos and indian fairs ??
Erik.

Yellowstone is definitely a beautiful place, but Glacier Park is spectacular! I am embarrassed to say that it has been almost 20 years since I have been there, so I unfortunately don't have any specific answers to your questions.

My only advice is to be on alert for the bears! :) I had close encounters with both a "big" black bear and a mountain goat while I was there, and I wasn't even hiking!

I am sure you will have a wonderful time. Glacier Park is awesome! I agree with Austin..."It is one of the most beautiful places in the US." I can't wait to go back there myself...

It sounds like you are really doing a lot of research. Glacier Lodging: we stayed at Glacier Lodge Eastern edge of the park, beautiful grounds but very basic badly in need of update rooms. Lake McDonald Lodge is in a prettier area but I dont know what the rooms are like. In the National parks, location is everything so we made do. Kalispell is 45? minutes away from the Western edge of the park. Everyone who hikes says Glacier is the best park for this, we're not hikers. Glad to hear you're doing another trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons, which IMO is the top area in the continental US. Yellowstone is so big, crowds congregate at Old Faithful but Northern Yellowstone is not crowded. High season there begins the 4th of July. Mid to late June is a good time to visit, you could hit a snowy day but generally the weather is nice. If you want rodeo, consider Cody Wyoming.

I would choose late August-in early July, there may still be snow on some trails. I haven't stayed in the lodges in Glacier, but I have stayed in other lodges in National Parks that are not the best accomodations. But, I think the location makes up for a lot-I would rather have a mediocre room in a great location where I didn't have to drive an hour into the park, than stay someplace nicer but farther away. Of course, something else to think about is the food. If you stay in town, you will have more choices for restaurants, while the food tends to be bad in National Park lodges.

If you are planning to visit Wyoming another time, then you might not want to change your itinerary to see northern Yellowstone. But, the Beartooth Highway has some fantastic mountain scenery, so if you feel like you would like to add more of that to your itinerary, then it might be worth it. I wouldn't worry about crowds on this route-crowds in Yellowstone cluster around the very famous sights, and that section of road, through the Lamar Valley, isn't as traveled.

I hope this wasn't too unhelpful-this was a pretty ambivalent post!

We stopped at Little Bighorn Battlefield (Greasy Grass to Native Americans) 2 years ago. It is definately hallowed ground. I found it to be very moving. It was also about 110 degrees in the shade....bring water!! The Park Rangers and the Native Americans were doing a very careful "dance" around each other as to the history of the place. I hope you find it as worthwhile as I did!
Glacier is gorgeous and I saw my first mountain goats there...even babies!! It was very cold at night (we tented one night), so pack accordingly. Happy Trails!!

monpetit,

I'm so glad to hear you're not skipping yellowstone and tetons altogether and that you will come back to do that trip another time. It really is beautiful there and plenty of hiking to do.

IF you do find some extra time, then the beartooth hwy is supposed to be a spectacular ride and the lamar valley of yellowstone is really nice.

Yellowstone is huge and this will just be something you've already done when you come back for that trip (and you should really add tetons to it too).

Enjoy! Let us know how Glacier went. I want to make it there someday soon too.

Incidentally, for your next trip, incorporate a great white water rafting adventure at the snake river by the tetons.

monpetit,
I think you are trying to cover too much territory to enjoy yourselves. From Billings I'd drive through Red Lodge and the Beartooth Hiway. If you aren't tent camping (backpacking) then stay in Red Lodge overnight. Get up early and on the way to Yellowstone get off the road at Island Lakes campground. There is a trail past Night lake, Beauty lake and numerous others. At three miles in you will find few people but pristine wilderness. Be sure to pack your day pack carefully as weather can change quickly. Think warm/dry and safety. Don't forget your corkscrew!

I was in glacier for 8 nights this past summer. It is an amazing place, in my opinion probably the best park in the country. People are big on yellowstone but if you are someone who likes hiking and big mountains, Glacier is the place to be. Yellowstone is good, dont' get me wrong but it's more of a place that you can drive right to things and see them, fairly crowded too. So if you really enjoy hiking you could spend 10 nights in glacier and it wouldn't be enough whereas in yellowstone you would probably get bored.

I would recommend Bozeman rather than Butte. We stayed in Bozeman several years ago on a loop through western Montana. Butte is an old mining and industrial town, and we did not find much of interest to us - visited the copper mine and an old house museum downtown, but that was it, really, and we had a difficult time to find a nice place for lunch and an even more difficult time to find a decent place to stay. Bozeman, on the other hand, is a prettier town with some nice restaurants and shops downtown, a selection of newer hotels (although out along the highway) and a university campus with a very interesting natural history museum (much work has been done here on the dinosaur).

We used Bozeman as our base for a day trip (a very easy and scenic drive) over to Virginia City - speed limits on Montana highways are 70 to 75 miles per hour (115 to 130 Km/h). It may be a bit farther from Bozeman to Virginia City, but worth the extra distance.


Of course, if not on this trip, then on another trip, you should definitely plan a visit to Yellowstone National Park. It is unlike any other place you will ever see. Yes, accomodations in the Park can be difficult in the SUmmer, but not impossible if you are flexible. We waited until the last 2 weeks of August, because many American school children must return to school by August 15, so there are not quite so many families travelling in the last 2 weeks of August.