“Far away in Montana, hidden from view by clustering mountain-peaks, lies an unmapped
George Bird Grinnell
After days of driving through the arid deserts of Arizona and Utah, we finally started to get into the fantastic scenery of Montana. Glacier National Park was the peak of our road trip. Luckily Glacier National Park turned out to be just as impressive as all the pictures had made it seem. We traveled here during Covid 2020, so the only entrance was the west entrance. The views left us in awe of the towering mountains and glaciers surrounding us. So tall that you couldn’t see the tops through the windshield without sticking your head out the window. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. This was Glacier National Park.
Top Things To Do In Glacier National Park
1. Going to the Sun Road
This is Glacier’s most accessible and probably most popular attraction. It’s not any one spot in particular. As the name suggests, it’s simply a road. However, it’s not just any road. This road takes you from the bottom of the valley floor up and over the vast surrounding mountains at Logan’s Pass.
During our drive through the park in late August, we were met with views of stunning vistas (luckily, the road has lots of turnoffs), beautiful wildflowers, and tons of waterfalls. If you only have a small amount of time to spend in Glacier National Park, this needs to be on your list. Be sure to check the road conditions. Most of the year, this road is closed due to snowpack (even in the summer). This road runs through the entirety of the park. However, when we visited, due to Coronavirus, the road was closed at the end of St. Mary’s Lake. The park entrance to the lake took us well over an hour while stopping for pictures along the way. It’s quite the drive, but the time flew by as there was always a fantastic view to see.
We stopped for a swim at St. Mary’s Lake (Who can resist swimming in a teal blue glacial lake?), and it was freezing (obviously) but also invigorating. After my swim, I felt refreshed and ready to take on all the hiking in the coming days.
2. Avalanche Lake / Trail of Cedars
This is a short and sweet hike. The Trail of Cedars is accessible to everyone. Along the trail are beautiful wooden bridges leading you through towering trees, all of which encompass the short 30-minute loop. Due to the accessibility of this portion of the trail, it’s pretty busy, and parking can be hard to come by.
You can break from the Trail of Cedars Loop for those that are more adventurous and continue uphill to Avalance Lake. It’s about 30 minutes, mostly uphill, to the lake from the Trail of Cedars, but you are going to be glad that you did it. It’s not a challenging hike by any means, but you may need to pace yourself and take your time. The payoff at the end is impressive. At the end of the trail, you come across a stunning view of high mountains, flowing waterfalls, and a beautiful teal-green glacial lake.
If I had known ahead of time, I would have brought my swimming trunks and gone for a dip. If you choose to swim, make sure you continue along the edge of the lake so that you aren’t the person swimming in everyone’s pictures. You can follow the trail along the shore of the lake. Continuing on the path is essential if you want a little peace with nature. If you stop right where the trail opens up to the lake, you will be hanging out with about 100+ other people. We found our little quiet spot on the side of the lake and took in the fantastic views. This is easily one of the best hikes in Glacier National Park
3. St. Mary’s Falls / Virginia Falls
I’ve never seen a Grizzly Bear in the wild. One of my main goals for this trip was to see one in person, at a safe distance, of course. The park service posts Grizzly Sightings at the Logan Pass Visitor Center. The sign said there had been a Grizzly Sighting at this trail, so we thought we’d give it a shot to see one of these elusive bears.
During the time we went, the park shuttle was not running. Typically there is a stop right at the trailhead, but we had to do a bit of a walk to get to the trail. There’s plenty of parking along the road. The beginning of this trail is quite open, and there isn’t a lot of shade. Most of the trees look like they had burned down in a fire, so maybe someday the tree coverage will come back. The positive to this was you could see St. Mary’s lake. We happened to be hiking when a giant male moose was making his way across the lake!
Eventually, you will come across St. Mary’s Falls. The trail to the waterfalls is pretty simple and mostly flat. It was just sweltering the day we went. I wish I had my bathing suit for this hike. People were jumping off the bridge into the pools of water below. We sat in the shade and relaxed for a bit in the shade watching all of the brave folks make the jump. After we had our fill, we continued towards Virginia Falls.
The Hike to Virginia Falls
The hike to Virginia Falls is mostly uphill from St. Mary’s Falls, but again the views are worth the trek. We almost turned around a couple of times because we thought one of the handful of waterfalls on the way up was it, but we continued. You’ll know when you make it to the right falls because there are plenty of signs. Luckily for us, there was only one other group of two people that had hiked up. We came at the perfect time of day. The sun was shining through the trees above the falls. The mist from the water provided some heavenly sun-rays. It was relaxing to lie at the bottom of the falls and watch the sun set behind the trees. Unfortunately, the grizzly bear was elusive yet again, and we just missed it.
4. Hidden Lake
This hike begins at the Logan’s Pass Visitor Center. This parking lot fills up very early and very quickly. We left our campsite well before the sun was up and the lot was almost full at 7 am. Once the lot fills up, you can park up and down the road, but you’ll have to hike in. Surprisingly, this trail has an “opening time.” We got to the trailhead and noticed a sign that said it would open at 8 am as park rangers were scouting the trail for bears.
We decided this would be an excellent time to eat some of our breakfast and check out the area before our hike. It was a relatively cold morning, and not a cloud in the sky. Within a matter of 15 minutes, the sky grew DARK, and it started to pour rain. Luckily there was plenty of shelter to huddle under, but we were glad we hadn’t started our hike just yet.
Starting the Hike
Eventually, the time came, and we set off on our hike. The trail gains elevation pretty quickly, and there are lots of wooden stairs to climb. After the rain, the steps were slick, so we took it slow and steady. On the way up, there were fields of wildflowers everywhere, so we used these little photo breaks as rest stops. At the top of the hill, you reach Hidden Lake Overlook. It’s a reasonably large platform but can get very crowded. Unfortunately, this is where our journey came to an end; the rest of the trail was blocked off due to an “Aggressive grizzly bear.” Guess we won’t risk that.
Ended Short
Instead, we hung out at the overlook and took in the view while eating a few snacks. While we were snacking, there was a large group of people pointing off in the distance. We thought they might see the bear, but no, they saw a herd of Mountain Goats. We started to head back to the beginning and were met with our own herd of goats, including a little baby. The path was narrow, and we gave them all the room we could, but they got within a couple of feet of us!
5. Firebrand Pass
We did this on our last day at the park. Everywhere we read said there was a good chance for a grizzly sighting, so we were excited for the hike as it was our last shot. This trailhead starts outside the park, and you hike in. This hike is strenuous. My sister did not think she was going to make it up. It was tough, but we got her to the top. At the top, there were sprawling views of the surrounding valleys. We stopped and relaxed at the top, and I think I may have even dozed off. It wound up being an all-day hike, and I thought it was well worth it. I packed 3.5L of water, and for the last 30 or so minutes, I was out of water, so plan accordingly. On a hot day, it could have been much worse.
Where To Stay Near Glacier National Park
Camping
The cheaper and my preferred method is camping. The park has campsites, but when we went, the availability was first come, first served. They usually have campsites that can be reserved. We camped outside the park, and it was unreal. Waking up to sunrises over the lake was one of the highlights of the trip for me.
Hotel / Motel
There are plenty of options in and around Glacier National Park. It all comes down to personal preference. The closest hotel you are going to find is actually in the park. During our trip (August – 2020), the lodge was closed and not accepting reservations. Outside of the park, there are also many hotels and lodges to stay in, but they can be pretty pricey.
Things To Remember In Glacier National Park
1. Hydration
- The cool weather can always be a bit deceiving. You may not think you are going through a lot of water until you realize that you are out!
2. Follow the signs
- If the signs tell you to stay on the trail, you should stay on the path. Make sure that future generations will be able to experience incredible sights as well.
- If a sign says, “don’t feed the animals,” then don’t. Feeding wild animals harms their overall health. It also makes animals more likely to come up to cars, which leads to more animals getting killed by cars.
3. Leave your four-legged friends at home
- While dogs are allowed in the campground, dogs are not permitted on the trails. If a ranger sees you trying to take your dog on a trail, they will turn you around.
4. Leave No Trace
- As the saying goes, “Leave only Footsteps.” Don’t spoil the landscape with your trash. It wasn’t there when you got there, so pack it out with you. Leave no trace also means that you should leave the environment as it is. It is illegal to remove anything from the park, including plants, artifacts, and even rocks. Glacier National Park is a place of natural beauty, so make sure you leave it cleaner than you found it.
5. Be sure to wear clothing and footwear suitable for your adventure.
- Make sure your shoes still have traction, as the sand and stone combination can be rather slippery.
- Dress in layers. The mornings can be freezing, and you’ll have to bulk up your jackets, but the temperatures can be pretty pleasant by mid-day.
6. You are in bear country
- Invest in some good bear spray and a bear bell for your hikes. These items are essential if you are hiking on the less traveled trails. You’ll be by yourself quite often, and you don’t want to come across a grumpy grizzly bear.
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TL;DR
Top Things To Do:
- Going to the Sun Road
- Avalanche Lake / Trail of Cedars
- St. Mary’s Falls / Virginia Falls
- Hidden Lake
- Firebrand Pass
Get More Info
Get more info from the source at https://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm
Check out my other nearby blog reviews of Utah!
