panecott

I enjoyed the Many Glacier Hotel. Yes, it's old and the rooms are small but I like the feel of the old NP lodges. I asked for a room with a view of the lake and mts. with a balcony and they sure delivered!

The lobby is nice and relaxing with a large fireplace and lots of seating. I didn't care for the restaurant at MG and wound up eating at a nearby diner.

I flew in and out of Kalispell and stopped first at Apgar Village (the motel facing the lake is comfortable and has gorgeous views); then Lake McDonald. The lodge there has a wonderful restaurant. I got a cabin facing the lake (booked last minute). It was very nice altho' I would have preferred the lodge. Then on to MG, via the GTTSR.

I took at least one ranger guided hike in each area.

I drove back to Kalispell from MG to catch my flight home and everything worked out just fine.

Waterton was a nice day trip from MG.

spirobulldog

wave725,

Have you hike Highline Trail? I am debating on which hikes I plan on doing. You like Iceberg and Grinnel Glacier over Highline? Thanks

smcgown

WOW !!! You have all given me such great thoughts & I really appreciate everyone's help. Am rethinking...monpetit we could fly to Kalispell, spent night 1 at Village Inn Apgar Then 2 more stops, Rising Sun and Swiftcurrent, then back to Kalispell, total of 6 nights in the park. In what order would you go? How long a drive back to Kalispell airport fron either one? Maybe best to spend night before departure at hotel near airport as early flights are plentiful and we could arrive in the evening, more time in the park. Thanks so much for your guidance. I would like to get hotel reservations done this week for August 2013. Am I ok? Is weather dicey at end of August?

monpetit

From rising sun to kalispell it's a 3h drive, a little bit more from swiftcurent.
For me :
- first night at apgar,
- then rising sun
- and end at swiftcurrent.
For the last day, an option could be : apikuni falls then drive by going to the sun road and you can stop at avalanche or only to have a lunch at apgar, depending/ traffic and be on time at Kalispell.
Or, swiftcurent to Two medecine lake and a small hike here( south shore , some falls) , and back by highway 2.
This year we do : apikuni fals, gtsr with lunch at apgar where Anny swimms and then back to Missoula by the east shore of flatehead lake. we were at Missoula at 6 pm...

For Spirobulldog : those 2 hikes are ally very different.
Highline from Logan pass to Granite park has only 200 feet elevation gain but is long about 7 miles.then back by the same trail or by the "loop" which is not very pleasant and you have to take a shuttle from loop to Logan. But the garden wall worth the miles++++wildlife : marmots, mountain goats+++ bighorn sheeps, sometimes a bear.
iceberg is a one way trail and you come back by the same trail. Three parts : open slop from trailhead for 30/45 minutes, then wood with ptarmigan fals in the middle and then the last part for one hour is incredible of beauty : you dominate a large valley with falls and there are wildflowers+++. Final part to the lake is splendid and the lake also. Often wildlife( bears, mountain goats, sometimes bighorn sheeps and mooses). Shorter but more elevation gain but nothing too strenous.
Both are to hike if you have time...
Erik

Myer

spiro,
Grinnell & Iceberg vs Highline are very different. Do you really have to choose? What's your timing like? Try to get them all in.

Sometimes I think the scenery in Many Glacier is more spectacular. But maybe it's just different.

The site of that cable, that part of the trail with the road below is amazing. I'm not sure which is better, amazing or spectacular. A tough choice of words.

We didn't do that much of the Highline trail. I felt we saw mountain goats posing for us near the start, we hiked thru the area of the cable which though amazing sight-wise was nowhere near as scary as I thought it would be and we saw some of the scenery that didn't look like it would change that much (could be wrong). Heights would normally freak me out a bit but this was wider than I expected.

I don't hike for the exercise or challenge. I hike as a means to see scenery, wildlife and waterfalls.

To give you an idea of my thinking, this is what I'll try to do next year when I'm there for more days.

Many Glacier. Grinnell Glacier again though on day two instead of day one. We couldn't complete it due to a dangerous snowfield.

Iceberg Lake again as it wasn't difficult and for the scenery.

Apikuni Falls because Erik encouraged me to do it and take my time due to the steepness. And I like waterfalls.

Fishercap Lake (and Redrock Falls once) several times. We went 3 times and saw major wildlife each time. And it's only about 15 minutes from the Swiftcurrent Pass trailhead. We'll do this before and/or after each of the other hikes in MG.

St Mary. Didn't go to Baring Falls but St Mary and Virginia Falls were way nicer than I thought. They each had their own character. And I've been to Yellowstone and Yosemite when the falls were roaring.

Logan Pass. Highline again and probably go further. I'm conflicted about Hidden Lake Overlook. See Later.

Erik has encourage me to do another in this area. I'll see our timing.

Also, the little known Lunch Creek is a beautiful cascading waterfall. Apparently it goes up a lot more than the few yards we did. May go up a bit more.

Two Medicine. Haven't decided but most likely will include Rockwell Falls and something else maybe.

The hikes that I found the most difficult may be very different from what you might.

The most difficult hike for me was Bears Hump in Waterton. This is a relatively short hike. Not only is it steep but it's almost all made up of high log, rock and earth stairs. Although I had knees surgery 6-7 years ago, I don't really have knee problems. I just found all those stairs an issue.

For the same reason I found Hidden Lake Overlook more difficult than Iceberg Lake. All those man-made stairs on the boardwalk.

Grinnell Glacier. Partly because it's relatively steep and has many rock stairs and partly because we did it on the first day. I'll move it to day 2 and hope I survive it.

As you can see, there's little we did that I wouldn't be happy doing again. I'll add several things I didn't do.

The park is that beautiful.

smcgown

A HUGE big thank you to all my Fodorite friends! Your many thoughtful and detailed suggestions were greatly appreciated. The theme I kept hearing was "make your reservations" so I did!!! Fly in & out of Kalispell partly because it is a one stop trip with several flight choices. Day 1 at Village Inn Apgar, next 3 nights at Rising Sun, 2 nights at Swiftcurrent, last night a hotel near airport. I have worked in times for jammer tours, hikes, boat rides, scenic drives. Needless to say I am really excited. Texas in August is not where you should be & even if it rains in Montana we will be so happy!!!! Thanks again. Any tour or dinner suggestions would be great.

monpetit

In Apgar, Eddies has good trout and steak . Another option is the Highland grill on Highway 2 just in font of the park's entrance : locals eat here and they have also nice steaks, trout and berries pies+++.
in Rising sun, the two flats dog grill is correct with view+++. in St Mary there is a very small "family" restaurant, the park cafe, with usual salads,...and their pies are divine...
In Many Glacier, the italian garden at swiftcurrent motor inn has good pizza, nice salads and steak. Their breakfast are not at top( while arriving from rising sun, take a whole pie at park cafe and it would be your breakfast in swiftcurrent...).
We try always to have a dinner at the Ptarmigan restaurant in Many Glacier Hotel. Sometimes the waiting times could be 30 mn but with an hucklebery margarita and views on lake and mountains it' s not too long.
While on trail don't forget pic nic lunch...
At Apgar Eddies sold this year home smoked salmon and trout which were perfect and make some unforgettable pic nic...
And buy bear spray : small chance to use it but you will hike in security.
While in Many Glacier at the end of August, some trails could be closed due to bear activities and notably " berries eating" . There are 4 main trails here and the 4 have never been closed together..
Those are Cracker lake, Grinnel glacier, Iceberg lake and Swiftcurent pass( for this last you can stop where you want since the trail to bullhead lake itself is a must...).
If you take the option to drive back with a detour by Two Medecine, a pic nic on the two medecine lake's is a good choice...
Erik

John

Highline trail from Logan Pass tp Granite Park chalet has an elevation gain of 800 feet NOT 200 feet

monpetit

Here is a link/trails in Glacier :
http://www.hikinginglacier.com/glaci...ark-trails.htm
Elevation gain varies depending guide...
Logan pass : elevation 6646 feet,
Granite Park chalet elevationn 6694 feet.
I don't think Haystack butte has a denivelation of 800 feet...
So it's 200 feet +/-100, but perhaps some guide add to the denivelation the spur trail to Grinnel Glacier overlook and it's effectively 800 feet(and 650 of those feet are from this spur trailhead to the overlook and in 0.6 miles so very steep...).
Erik

John

Using the official GNP guide that is passed out to all visitors, the Park says 800 feet

monpetit

But on hiking the trail, elevation and lenght "varies" and from Logan pass 200 feet.
To have hiked the 3 trails loop, highline and swiftcurrent pass, highline is the easiest and except the short ascent of haystake butte it's quasi flat...Long but flat.
Erik

monpetit

Here is the link
http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisi...gthetrails.htm
Erik

CindyA

Bookmarking

poseypatch

excellent information for my trip next year!

John

POSEYPATCH This orginal post is a year old. Best to recheck facts again

monpetit

As Glacier Park have not had lot of change this post has always good information...
Change will be next year as concessionnaire changed...Glacier Park inc has not been reconducted and Xanterra has the concession now...
I don't know how they will schedule the renovation of some rooms which was part of the contract...
So make reservations as soon you can know your vacation's schedule...
We just end our trip here and will be back next year..
I don't think change of concessionnaire will change comfort or service but what about the prices?
Prices in Yellowstone didńt seem higher that one in glacier if i remember well but we'll see.
Erik

wave725

Glacier Park Inc. will still handle Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier, St. Mary Lodge in St. Mary and Prince of Whales in Waterton. Xanterra is picking up all the properties inside Glacier. This will definitely cause some confusion for first-time visitors to Glacier who are not familiar with the hotels.

http://hikinginglacier.blogspot.com/...intain_16.html

monpetit

They have also Grouse Complex in Whitefish and some 34 rooms near Mc Donald Lodge.
So effectively lot of possible confusion for 1st time visitors.
And i think they will work hard about contracts for red bus tours which will visit their gems, Glacier park lodge and Prince of Wales...
But i hope both will work in intelligence Glacier nat'l park, Glacier park inc and Xanterra to satisfy visitors. It´s their interest , no ?
Erik