Montana and Glacier Park
 

May 26 - 31 what will likely be our weather? Our dates are locked in and we cannot travel later. Wonder if GTTS will even be open? Will we have to worry about crowds? Am making reservations now so will take any and all recommendations. We'll be coming from Bozeman.

It could be nice and it could likely snow. It is very unlikely GTTS will be open.

I don't think any of the lodging opens until June(I think Grouse Mountain Lodge is the only thing open). You won't have to worry about crowds, because nobody is going to be there.
I'm fairly sure that the GTSR has never opened at that early of a date.
I'm just being brutally honest.

Do be aware that last year Glacier Park Inc ran all the lodging. Now Xantera runs most of the lodging that is truly "in park".

http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gtsrtop10.htm

Click on link above. Scroll down. The earliest the GTSR will open is June 20, 2014. This means Weather and Road Permitting it would open that day.

One more post. If you like to ski or snowshoe through the park, then you might consider Belton Chalet or Izaak Walton Inn. I think they might be open. I don't think the road to Eastern Area/Many Glacier Area will be open then(I could be wrong).

I can guarantee GTTS road will NOT be open that early. Many Glacier area also will NOT be open that early. Though we are having a fairly mild winter snow wise, much work has to be done before the road opens. Busting through drifts, clearing avalanche debris, re installing guard rails that have been removed for winter etc.etc.
The road IS open 24/7 ,365 days on the east side from Apgar to McDonald lodge ,though the lodge is not open, and from there you can snowshoe or ski as far as you care to go. With some luck and warm weather, the road COULD be open to Avalanche Creek.
Belton Chalet will open May 24 and is just outside the east entrance to the park, www.beltonchalet.com Izaak Walton inn is open year round and has miles of cc skiing,www.izaakwaltoninn.com IZ inn is located at the very southern tip of the park.

I drove up the GTTS road 17 miles up from St. Mary on June 1, 2012. This was within 3 miles of Logan Pass summit. At about 2000 feet lower elevation, there was very little snow. I did take a short walk to get a great photo without getting my feet wet. Depending on where you are coming from, arriving in the area on the Amtrak Empire Builder and then renting a car would be a good option.
If you take the Empire Builder to Essex the folks from the Isaac Walton Lodge come to pick you up.

Thank you all. It sounds cold and not "ready" for the season. I am re-thinking my whole trip!

For end of May, I like Yosemite(super super crowded on Mem. Day weekend though, I would imagine), any of the Utah Parks, Mesa Verda/Durango, Smoky Mountains, or Shenandoah. We are going to do Black Hills/Badlands/Custer/Wind Cave/Jewel Cave over Memorial Day weekend this year. Hopeful that it won't be as crowded as I think it might be.

As cold and not ready as it sounds, I will be making this trip about 5 days earlier. I've skipped this area too many times and who knows when I'll get across country again. I don't hike much and scenery is the main reason for going. Will there be anything on the East side accessible to take pictures of? Is it worth driving to the East and West side of the park if coming from Yellowstone? I've made reservations at Dancing Bear.

Check the park service website a day or two before to see how far up you can go from St. Mary. Beautiful scenery on both sides. On my first trip I went up to the Lake McDonald Lodge and took a picture from the spot that Ansel Adams took one of his famous pictures over Lake McDonald.
Don't forget to get to Two Medicine Lake. The pillar at the top of Marias Pass on US 2 is worth a stop too.

If you go to Glacier,definitely make the trip to Poleridge which has a delicious bakery. It will be open. Also the hike around Bowman Lake is very worthwhile.

With GTTS being closed, does anyone have recommendations of things to do around Glacier at this time of year instead? I'm guessing route 2 road is open. Is the N fork rd open to get to Polebridge? Are any hikes accessible without snow shoes or skis?

The parts of the park that I drove through on June 1 2012 had been open for more than a week. The trail that I hiked was a bit wet but there was no snow next to it. There is a slim chance that the GTTS road will be open all the way through.
The Two Medicine area was nice and not snowed in.
There is a museum of the Plains Indian in Browning that is quite interesting.
The visitor center about a mile out of St. Mary can give you up to date road and trail information.

As noted earlier, GTTS road will DEFINETLY not open until June 20 AT THE EARLIEST due to ongoing road construction. And that date is weather dependent. The last few days we have seen heavy snow in the higher elevations however milder temps are forecasted the next few days.