My husband and I are considering going to GNP at the end of August. My question is about timing. I would imagine the most desirable times to go are also the most crowded. We are hoping that going before Labor day weekend we might avoid the very largest crowds. We considered waiting until after Labor day to visit, but heard that by then bears are more prevalent in the areas frequented by tourists, as they are preparing for winter.

We would love input and advice on when to come to best avoid the largest crowds and be more likely to avoid bears.

We are in our 50's and in reasonable shape, but not athletic enough to take off on some rough trail into the wilds alone. We would like to be able to go outside without feeling like we were putting ourselves in danger. We are mainly coming to enjoy beautiful scenery and get away from the hot humid weather of the south.

Your timing is perfect. The last week of August is when the crowds thin out as most families are preparing for back to school. Anytime after labor Day you will find lots of business closing for the season.
I would not be concerned about bears. We haven't had a problem IN the park since 1993. Being bear aware on the trails, making noise as you hike will scare bears away so as not to surprise them.
Stop in a visitor's center as you arrive, talk to a Ranger to get all the latest information on hikes, bear activity if any, weather, Ranger led activities, horseback rides, boat rides etc.
Beautiful scenery and cool dry nights are all there.

Thanks, John, that is super helpful!
Do you have any suggestions as to whether it is more desirable to stay on the west or east side of the park?

What we know we want to do is take the GTTSR drive and to do some short easy hikes. We'd love to stay somewhere scenic and relatively quiet.

If all the places inside the park are booked up, any suggestions about nearest desirable places to stay on the outskirts?

Assuming you are here for 5 days , I would stay on the east side for 3 days and the west side 2 days. Besides in park accommodations on the east side, there are a number of small independent motels in East Glacier. Google motels in East Glacier Montana for information.

On the west side besides in park, there are a number of chain motels in Kalispell and Whitefish Montana which are approximately 32 miles from the west entrance. Both towns have many restaurants both fast food and "sit down" with Kalispell being the shopping center of the county.

For hiking information, too numerous to mention here, stop in a visitors center in the park and talk to a Ranger who will have all the updated information on trail conditions etc.

For park information go to WWW.NPS.gov/glacier
Again, google Kalispell and or Whitefish motels for info.

Happy trails!!

The nicer place outside GNP on the west side is the Meadow Lake resort. They are in Columbia Falls. Some of their condos have hot tubs.
DW and I arrived on the Empire Builder and the van from Meadow Lake picked us up at the train station in Whitefish.

I don't know what your goals are. I've been to Glacier twice and if I go back I won't even bother with the west side.

Also, going to the Sun Road isn't a scenic as you would think. What you see is quite far and often the sun is in your eyes.

The best scenery is off the road somewhat. Along GTTS Rd you can stop at the main Visitors Center and do the Hidden Lake Overlook hike that starts behind the center. As you hike it look not only in front but where you're coming from. Spectacular. Also, there's a good chance to see mountain goats there.

To add some adventure, you can cross the highway to the side opposite the VC and do the first part of the Highline trail. If you're afraid of heights you can stop at the start of the "cable", otherwise go for another 15-30 minutes (assuming you've already done the Hidden Lake Overlook hike).

As far as I'm concerned the Many Glacier area is the place to be. If you're into photography you want to be at Fishercap Lake (park at the end of the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn parking lot and it's about a 15 minute walk to the lake) late in the afternoon to see the deer and moose come down for dinner. That is a special lake as it's very shallow and the animals can walk across bringing up food.

The Iceberg Lake hike starts there and other than a short uphill portion at the start it's just a long walk in the park. The scenery is spectacular right to the end.

There's more but you can see my photos taken at Glacier at: www.travelwalks.com

I forgot to mention, both times I've been there it was very early August. The first time we couldn't complete the Grinnell Glacier hike because of dangerous snow on the trail. Weather was great.

Thanks! Such thought provoking and interesting information, ya'll!

Our goals are to have a peaceful relaxing get away in a beautiful place. Sadly, we aren't in shape to do real "hikes." We are more given to short scenic walks... ambling would probably be an accurate description. ha! Another goal is to avoid getting eaten by a bear as we are out and about.

Tomfuller, the Meadow Lake resort is something I will check into, sounds nice!

Myer, so nice to hear from someone who has been to Glacier twice. I'm happy to hear about Hidden Lake Overlook hike. I'm curious to know why you don't consider the West side worth a repeat visit. Can you tell me more?

John, thank you for pointing out Kalispell and Whitefish as possible locations to find lodging outside of the park.

You just don't have the scenic views that are on the east side.

There was one small waterfall and we didn't have any real view of it. Quite a few nice waterfalls on the east side, Many Glacier and Two Medicine.

We went on one decent short hike but the scenery is nothing like on the east side.

If you do go on the Hidden Lake Overlook hike, you can go as far as you like and turn around if it's too long. It's about 1.3 miles each way. Saw a large group of mountain goats behind the VC and one stray at the Overlook.

Read as many of the posts as you can and you'll notice the same one or two people will keep mentioning things about the west side. Otherwise it's all on the east side.

Many Glacier is above the GTTS Rd on the east side. Look at a map.

Look at my photos and tell me what you think.

Hidden Lake Overlook is a 1.5 mile hike gaining 460 feet. On the west side, Avalanche Lake is a 4 mile round trip with a 500 foot gain and rolling trail. Another easy "stroll" on the west side is Rocky Point which is 1 mile with a 85 foot gain with great views of Lake McDonald area. Still another easy "stroll" on the west side is John's lake which is a three mile loop with 150 foot elevation gain and crosses McDonald Falls.

I disagree with Myer. GTTS road is spectacular which is the reason why we have over 2 million visitors each year.

The main visitors centers are at the west and east entrance. The VC that Myer refers to is at Logan Pass, the peak of GTTS road.

Feel free with further questions on "strolls' or more challenging hikes. I "visit' GP weekly

I wonder why Tom hasn't come back to push the west side.

I remember on my second trip to Glacier we stayed at Rising Sun on GTTS Rd (stayed there both times). There was a large tour group taking up a going part of the place.

In the morning two open top tour busses came and loaded them up. We passed them a few time along the road. At one viewpoint we stop and one of their buses was there. Only about half of the people got off the bus to get a better view. It was definitely worth getting off the bus.

I hope I didn't give the wrong impression. Glacier, Yellowstone/Grand Tetons and Banff/Jasper (Alberta) are my favorite national parks.

Glacier has spectacular scenery but in my opinion the best is not along GTTS Rd but along some of the hikes and Many Glacier to me is wildlife central.

Yellowstone doesn't play fair due to its size and varied features.

Banff / Jasper have more spectacular roadside scenery than park. There are a fair number of relatively short (under 3/4 mile) hikes with amazingly scenic payoffs.

So if I gave anybody the idea I was biased against Glacier, I hope I've dispelled that thought.

It's just that there are four areas; Many Glacier, GTTS Rd East, GTTS Rd west and Two Medicine. If you're there for 8-10 days, by all means spread them around.

I wanted to see for myself. So when it looked pretty cloudy at Rising Sun one morning we decided to go to Two Medicine.

On another day we got up early and drove to the west side. I think we wandered Trail of the Cedars and then the Avalanche Lake hike. It was decent.

Then we tried to find an unobstructed view of McDonald Falls but couldn't.

We looked for any kind of scenery and the best we did was passing an unnamed little waterfall back near the east side that had a rainbow.