Glacier National Park

[KoolBreeze]

Our family plans to vacation in Glacier National Park this July. We’re thinking about staying a night or 2 on the west side, driving the road to sun, then staying a night or 2 on the east side. Then maybe taking a road trip in a rental down to Billings for a night, probably do Devils Tower then on to Deadwood for a night or 2 around the Mt Rushmore area. Any tips, must see or do? I assume the roads will be in good condition that time or year?

We did Yellowstone a few years ago.

 

[snowymtnwolf]

Good trip. If you head north into Canada there’s Banff Natl Park and Lake Louise

July will be great time to travel


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[elkguide]

Glacier to me is the best national park in the US. Do you already have a reservation to drive the "Going to the Sun" highway? If you don't, you're probably too late for this year. Anywhere you go in Glacier is amazing. On the Canadian side is Banff and Lake Louise, also awesome views.

 

[Lee_R]

Double check to make sure the Going to the Sun road is open, last year it didn't open til after July 4. Get the reservations to go through early or you'll need to get lucky with the lottery. Do your research on where to stay on the east side as most are on the rez and kinda sketchy. I stayed in east glacier last year and it was ok. Check out many glacier road on the east side, it's a dead end, but there are usually some critters on it. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.

 

[timmymac24]

Goat Lick Overlook is worth the stop. It's been 25 years since I have been to the park but that stop was awesome. It's amazing to watch the critters work their way up and down the mountain ledges.

 

[kota]

Glacier is my favorite park and we go every other year. If you have reservations for a campground or activity in the park it may come with a reservation on going to the Sun road. Worth a double check anyway.

As mentioned, snow can be an issue in July, particularly on some of the hikes. It’s also a good time for the bear grass, which is pretty cool.

Were it me, I would skip the west side and spend all of my time on the east side. It’s a hiker’s paradise, especially around Logan pass and Many glacier.

Bring optics and bear spray. It’s generally easy to find animals, and often more comfortable viewing them from a distance

Waterton is the Canadian side of the park. It’s dog friendly and the ice cream in town is pretty good!

Shoot me a pm if you want more specifics.

 

[displacedtexan]

I also prefer the east side of Glacier.

Whitefish is a cool town.

I personally wouldn't go very far out of my way to see Mt Rushmore.

If you're making that drive the Little Bighorn Battlefield is a great stop.

 

[N.ID7803]

Stop in at Spearfish on your way to or from Deadwood. This place has good eats.

Steerfish Steak and Smoke
(605) 717-2485



https://g.co/kgs/Yuor9e

 

[MuleyFever]

Glacier to me is the best national park in the US. Do you already have a reservation to drive the "Going to the Sun" highway? If you don't, you're probably too late for this year. Anywhere you go in Glacier is amazing. On the Canadian side is Banff and Lake Louise, also awesome views.

Its not open for reservations yet. They open Feb 1. You also do not need a permit to drive it after 3pm.

 

[nodakian]

I think you can get in from the east without a permit, but double check.

If the crowd I witnessed on our trip last August was "normal", I'll never go there again in peak season. Complete zoo. The only parking was 3-4 stalls in one lot low on the east side. We intended to do some hiking, and we had two camp sites reserved, but the crowds and lack of access options turned us off, so we left. Maybe it was just an odd day, though. I hope you have better luck.

 

[Mrshort]

This will be a great trip! We hit Glacier NP in 2018 and had a similar travel plan. There are some incredible hikes you can do in Glacier! Get off the main road if at all possible. The trailheads will be PACKED in July, but as is the case with most NPs, as soon as you get a couple miles deep, the crowds will thin out.

Have a blast!

 

[Brillo]

Nothing to add except my wife and I were there in late May and it was AWESOME. Road To The Sun was closed to vehicle traffic so we hiked in a ways. Would love to have seen more but my wife was not feeling well the whole trip. Liked it way better than Yellowstone and we barely touched it. Bring patience for the crowds.

 

[Rich M]

Devils tower is neat. Mt rushmore is in a “busy area”.

 

[wesfromky]

If Glacier is crowed, you have the bob marshall wilderness just south that might not be as crowded. I enjoyed Glacier when I was there, but it has been close to 20 years, so sure it is much more of a zoo now.

The black hill are also amazing sylvan lake and the harney peak fire tower are worth checking out. You can do the fire tower hike from the backside for a longer, steeper trip.

And, depending on your route, Badlands national park is for sure worth at least the detour drive through.

 

[BBarnett13]

East Glacier > West Glacier for hikes and crowds (with the exception of the Many Glacier Hotel). Like stated above, the further you hike the smaller the crowds get.

Some noteworthy hikes:
1. Avalanche Lake all the way to the far end of the lake (fairly easy hike with good scenery throughout).
2. Logan's Pass to Hidden Lake (good opportunity to see goats and/or sheep, timing is important because crowds/parking is an issue)
3. Highline Trail (if doing the full trail, it is not for the faint of heart).
4. Grinnell Glacier, not just to the lake (there are ferry options to speed up the hike but again, timing due to crowds).
5. St. Mary & Virginia Falls.
6. Two Medicine Lake (do the complete loop from the lower end of the lake up to Upper Two Med then around the southern side to Aster Falls. We saw 3 moose on this hike including 2 that were about 60 yards away).

Take a decent pair of 10x binos and if you have it, a 200-600mm camera lens to capture a few pics of grizzlies on the mountainside near the Many Glacier Hotel (you'll know if they are out as everyone parks along the Many Glacier road and stands outside of their vehicle watching them). If hiking in remote areas, bear spray with a side arm suitable for grizzly. Don't buy a "bear bell", the only thing they are good for is ruining opportunities to see wildlife.

The free version of All Trails helped plan out hikes as well as provide trail routes.

 

[MuleyFever]

The wife and I are going up in late June. Rented a place in Lake Mary Ronan. Booked a rafting trip. Is it worth the effort to go to Wild Horse Island?

 

[Seeknelk]

The wife and I are going up in late June. Rented a place in Lake Mary Ronan. Booked a rafting trip. Is it worth the effort to go to Wild Horse Island?

Wildhorse is certainly worth it.

 

[Bluumoon]

Polebridge and Lake Kintla are on my list to return to.

 

[Backyard]

Consider going in from the east instead. Far less traffic going that direction. Just my experience from doing it. Bumper to bumper on the eastbound. Hardly any traffic at all going west. In July.


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[IDplumber]

As others have said it is getting busy. It is not far from us but we have no plans to go back. The kids usually have a soccer tournament once or twice a year in Kalispell and we always used to go into Glacier for a day or part of a couple days but the crowds and reservations have gotten crazy. We prefer to just get off the beaten path somewhere else in the general NW MT or panhandle area. For those that haven't been since COVID, it is WAY different than it was before. Busy. Now that the whole family has passports we are headed to Cananda this year. I've heard Banff is the same as Glacier though now as far as being a zoo.

As a side note, I have been in the park several times and have literally seen so few animals I can count them on my two hands. In yellowstone we see all the stuff, WT, MD, bison, elk, black and grizzly bears, coyotes, even wolves a couple times, goats, but in GNP I have only seen deer and a black bear. I swear I'm cursed at that NP. The scenery is unreal though.