Help on a Glacier Vacation with Kids

[2ski]

Tamarack Brewing or the Top Hat for good Kettlehouse, Draught Works, Great Burn, Missoula Brewing, Bayern... all good breweries to hang out and tell lies about your fishing trip. If you like dark beer, try Cold Smoke scotch ale by Kettlehouse. You'll thank me later.

If you want to go unique do the White Stout at Kettlehouse. Looks light but its creamy and dark tasting. Great beer. Also do Cold Smoke.

Also Imagine Nation Brewing.

 

[Speyforsteel]

Lots of great advice here. The Bison range would be a must with kids.

Not sure on guide services but I’ve always had good luck with the Grizzly Hackle shop in Missoula. It was years ago, but they turned me on to some places close to Missoula and were welcoming every time I stopped in.

As far as food and beer, Kettlehouse brewing in Missoula had good beer. As someone else said, Lolo Creek Steakhouse is a great place for a nice meal. The food is good and the mounts on the walls are impressive.

 

[Carpet Capital Shyster]

I agree with others to hit the Bison Range on the drive up from Missoula. The kids will get a kick out of seeing bison, antelope and elk from the car.

If you really want to hit Glacier hard, you are going to have long days driving in from Whitefish every day. As others have mentioned, Avalanche Lake from the west side and Hidden Lake from Logans Pass are two of the easier, more scenic hikes in the park that are great for kids. For this reason, they are also the most crowded so get there early.

I prefer the east side of the park to the west side. Many Glacier and Two Medicine are neat areas with lots of great hikes. Most hikes are probably farther than your kids will want to do. If they are up for some longer distance though, Check out Cracker Lake or Iceberg Lake. Bring bear spray.

Take hwy 83 through the Swan on your way back to Missoula. Holland, Rainy, Alva, Seeley and Placid are all neat lakes to check out.

I wouldn't be too quick to decide which river you want to fish. Book a guide, and let them decide what river is fishing the best based on current conditions. They fish the area every day. The Blackfoot, Clark Fork, and Bitterroot are all good, but can vary based on water levels, temperature and hatches. Rock Creek is tons of fun, but no floating is allowed after June so your guide will most likely steer you towards a river that he can row you down. If you can ever swing a separate trip dedicated towards fishing, book a guide on Rock Creek first week of June during the salmonfly hatch. Blackfoot River Outfitters, Grizzly Hackle, Kingfisher and Missoulian Angler are all great fly shops to book through.

Missoula will be good for breweries and food. Notorious P.I.G. bbq and Big Dipper ice cream are what I would hit first. Tamarack Brewing or the Top Hat for good burger/pub food. Lolo Creek Steakhouse if you want to splurge for a nice steak. It has lots of cool animal mounts on the walls for you and the kids to check out. Kettlehouse, Draught Works, Great Burn, Missoula Brewing, Bayern... all good breweries to hang out and tell lies about your fishing trip. If you like dark beer, try Cold Smoke scotch ale by Kettlehouse. You'll thank me later.

Thanks to everyone for all of the great info. At this point, I’ve booked most of the trip and we will be driving straight from the Missoula airport to Whitefish (again, it was substantially cheaper to fly 4 of us to Missoula instead of Kalispell during the time we wanted). I have not booked the final two nights. Should we book the last two nights in Missoula to soak it in, or would I be better off spending a night somewhere like Holland lake lodge or over on one of the Flathead Lake Resorts, or even stretching it up to Many Glacier for the second to last night? Of course, this won’t leave us much time at all in Missoula....

 

[vectordawg]

Thanks to everyone for all of the great info. At this point, I’ve booked most of the trip and we will be driving straight from the Missoula airport to Whitefish (again, it was substantially cheaper to fly 4 of us to Missoula instead of Kalispell during the time we wanted). I have not booked the final two nights. Should we book the last two nights in Missoula to soak it in, or would I be better off spending a night somewhere like Holland lake lodge or over on one of the Flathead Lake Resorts, or even stretching it up to Many Glacier for the second to last night? Of course, this won’t leave us much time at all in Missoula....

Many Glacier.

 

[vectordawg]

Many Glacier.

PM me. I know of another place you might be able to stay. I tried to PM you but couldn't.

 

[Goatie]

I second spending more time in the glacier area. Definitely check out the little town of Polebridge on west side of the park. There are a couple lakes out that way you can drive to and hike around which are incredible. The mercantile in the town is awesome as well. Be aware glacier is insane during the summer. If you want guaranteed parking at trailheads you need to get there very early. Also, the east side of the park was closed last summer due to covid and the Indian reservation not letting people in. I dont know if I would plan on it being open this summer.

For your guys trip, if your not set on glacier and are in decent shape I would recommend doing the Beaten Path. It is a trail that goes from Red Lodge to Cooke City. You can do it in 4 days and the backcountry fishing is outstanding. If you do your research you can have chance at Golden trout and huge brookies. Along with bows and cutty. I did this backpack trip a couple summers ago with my old high school friends and it was probably one of the better trips we have taken in the state.

Pll