Tropical_gal

Our driving trip from Missouri to Seattle via Mt Rushmore, Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier NP is gradually taking shape, thanks to suggestions from other forum members. My problem now is that I would like to know which route to take from West Glacier (Mt) to Seattle.

We are Australian and have little knowledge of this terrain - although I am learning a lot via the forum and research!

I have mapped out a route on Google which goes from West Glacier via Kalispell to Spokane - where I thought we could stay the night - and then from there to Seattle.

However, I am told that the route to the north is beautiful and I have read of the Selkirk loop - so the google map tells me West Glacier to Sandpoint then to Metaline Falls, on to Sherman Pass Scenic Byway and on to Seattle.

Is this the route to take and where should we stay along the way?

Time is not really a problem. We have three weeks and a half weeks to get from St Louis to Seattle. Now I have to fill in the spaces!

Many thanks for any suggestions

tomfuller

US 89 north out of Yellowstone all the way to Great Falls.
From Great Falls I-15 north to Shelby. Get on US 2 West.
Make a stop in Browning to see the Museum of the Plains Indian.
US Route 2 follows the southern edge of Glacier NP.
When you are done in Glacier you will take US 2 west as far as Spokane. From Spokane you have the choice of the fast route of I-90 or the slower scenic route US 2 all the way to Everett WA which is just north of Seattle. The very interesting town on US 2 is Leavenworth which looks like a Bavarian town.
When do you plan to visit Glacier? If you hit at the right time of year, you should try to go over the Going to the Sun Road and maybe see Many Glacier on the east side.

Gardyloo

If you have enough time (and it sounds like you do) then I wouldn't agonize for a moment, just head north from Glacier to Banff and Jasper NPs in Canada. Glacier NP, Yellowstone and the Tetons are marvelous, but the Canadian Rockies are... gobsmacking.

Take a couple of days to tour Banff and Jasper, then head west to Revelstoke, then south to Nelson BC (a very cute town in the Kootenay region). Thence west on BC Hwy 3 across the Cascades and through Manning Park to Hope BC, cross the border at Abbotsford, then follow Washington Hwy 9 south to US 2, then to I-5 and into Seattle.

BC3 is a fascinating road, and being able to add the Canadian parks to your itinerary is an opportunity I wouldn't waste.

Tropical_gal

Thank you, Tomfuller - great idea to see the Museum of the Plains Indian so Browning will certainly be on the itinerary. We plan to be at Glacier in the first week of October, so I am told that the Going to the Sun road will be closed in all probability. As we plan to "wing it" (in other words without reservations anywhere) we will have to wait until nearer the time to see if we can do that road - or at least part of it.

Gardyloo I LOVE your idea of the Canadian parks - we have actually been to Banff and Jasper but we haven't seen them in the fall, so that could be a possibility as well -

Now back to the maps..........thank you both so much.

Lynne7

I ditto Gardyloo's comments. Banff and Jasper are real gems. Much different than the US Rockies. If Jasper is too far, at least drive from Banff to the Columbia Ice Field. Once your in Alberta, British Columbia or WA, it's all beautiful!

Save time for the area around Seattle - Olympic National Park, San Jaun Islands, Cascade N.P., Mt Rainer...tons of places to see and enjoy! You could easily spend 3 weeks in the Seattle area!

Have a great trip!

Tropical_gal

Thank you Lynne - we would love to spend lots of time in the Seattle area - unfortunately this trip it will only be 3 days. There is so much to see in the States and it is all so varied - the journey is what is so exciting for us.

NorthwestMale

Because your query mentions the West Glacier-to-Seattle segment, I suggest you at least read up at the website

glaciallakemissoula.org


For your potentially going along some of that path anyway, you might easily be able to incorporate some of nature's oddities which can be found in semi-remote-ish areas dotted all over the local area. That website even explains the presence of LOTS of large boulders strewn near the sides of some roads in central Washington, despite no hills nearby.

By the way, I loved West Glacier as a town in which to stay overnight, if that happens to fit your plans.

Tropical_gal

The website you linked, NorthwestMale, is fascinating. Thank you so much. It seems there is so much to see in this area, we will obviously have to devote more days here. I just hope that the weather will not stop some of our plans - we anticipate being there at the beginning of October.

I had planned an overnight stay in West Glacier - so it is encouraging that you love it as a town. A very positive comment for us. I will let you all know what we eventually decide on later on!

From Deep Down Under - many thanks!

tomfuller

DW and I spent our 30th anniversary at the Meadow Lake resort just outside Columbia Falls, MT. It is quite a ways from Browning. Coming from Yellowstone, you may only want to go as far as East Glacier after the museum in Browning.
If you stay at East Glacier you can go up past Two Medicine then to Many Glacier and back to St. Mary for your trip over the GTTS road to Lake McDonald.
Let's hope the road is not snowed shut by the time you get there.

Tropical_gal

Thank you tomfuller - your suggestion re staying in East Glacier is excellent as we would love to spend time in the museum at Browning. As you say, we could go up to Many Glacier and then to St Mary and hopefully go on the GTTS road. Finally staying at West Glacier and then head north to the Canadian border.

I am having lots of fun researching and finding different websites - and most of that is thanks to posters on this forum. Thank you again.

tomfuller

My DW and I left Cut Bank early on June 1. We drove to St. Mary and then we drove up the GTTS road for 17 miles. We were told that we could have walked another mile up from the gate.
We saw a picture that had been taken 2 days before about a mile from Logan Pass where the person in the foreground was dwarfed by a 10 foot snowdrift.
The road finally opened about June 15. You might luck out in October but the road will certainly be closed by November 1.

Tropical_gal

Keep your fingers crossed - we expect to be there around 3rd October! I hear you are having heatwaves and unseasonably hot weather in parts of the country, so I hope that means late snow for everywhere else!

sludick

We've done the route Gardyloo suggested. Although it sounds as though you may be taking a different route, here's some additions to Gardyloo's comments:

Driving from Revelstoke to Nelson, the road just ends at a lake, and you catch a (free) ferry that takes you across and delivers you to the road on the other side - fun! Last time we were there, there was a food truck at the lake side, and there are picnic tables & restrooms.

From there, the road is scenic but twisty. We stay at the Hume in Nelson, a historic hotel. (I hear Bob Hope stayed here and commented that it was nice to stay someplace that was older than himself). The "Library" in the hotel is lovely, and a good place for a drink, or dinner later in the evening.

And of course, Nelson is where the Steve Martin movie "Roxanne" was filmed. If you go on the walking tour, be warned that there are some very steep sidewalks, it is a hilly town.

Leaving Nelson, by Castlegar, there is the Doukhobor Discovery Center. Interesting stop, good for about an hour.

Tropical_gal

Your comments, sludick, are very interesting and I have plotted the route on the Googlemaps - it seems a fair few more kilometres but worth thinking about, and I like the idea of the ferry.

Back to the planning! Many thanks....