a friend and I are currently considering making a trip to glacier natl park this summer and I was wondering if you had any recommendations for what to do there?
Oh do I!
If possible I definitely recommend staying on the east side of the park, somewhere near St Mary or East Glacier Park or Many Glacier. Any of those spots will put you closer to the east entrance of Going to the Sun Road (GTTS - this is the road that cuts all the way through the park) and closer to 2 other park entrances (Two Medicine and Many Glacier). The east side generally has a lot more hikes and more scenic/mountainous locations. West side has more places to stay so you might end up there just as a reality of booking late in the year. My friends and I stayed at Apgar last year and had a great time -- just be ready to drive 1+ hour to get to most hikes/activities that you want to do.
Also depending on when you go, the weather can get pretty variable in late September, and amenities start to close for winter so keep that in mind!
Hikes!
If you're there for a week or less you probably cant be doing something 5+ miles every day so my top highlights would be:
- Grinnell Glacier, Many Glacier, 10 mile round trip. A more moderately challenging hike with some exposed areas. Gorgeous views the whole time. Very popular and for good reason.
- Rockwell Falls, Two Medicine, 7 mile round trip. This is a nice flat hike through a valley and past a couple water falls. One of my favorite easy hikes in the park!
- St. Mary/Virginia Falls, off of GTTS road near St Mary. There are a few different routes you can take for this hike, the longest variation being 6 mile round trip. Another easy hike with great views, fun falls.
- Mt Oberlin, if you're game this is a 3.5 mile mountain climb that is mostly trailed the whole way, although not signed (you gotta hop 1 small fence from the path at Logan Pass to begin.. but the route is on all trails and very well traveled, it's not against the rules, NPS just tries to keep mountain routes hidden from the average tourist). This is a really awesome approachable hike that lots of people do, it's not totally sketchy but it can be easy to get lost. So I'd be a little hesitant to recommend it unless you have experience with route finding! But it's short so you can always just turn back if it becomes hopeless or feels wrong. Even without making it to the summit I think it's a worthwhile hike to attempt. And maybe you'll run into other hikers who can help you!
Some other solid hikes to look into: Scenic Point, Avalanche Lake, Iceberg Lake, Grinnell Lake.
Things other than hikes!
Rent kayaks or a canoe! There are several places you can do this in the park, my rec is Two Medicine Lake but Apgar is also a nice spot for it. Depending on time of year, whitewater rafting on the Flathead River is super fun too, you can do that on the west side of the park.
Scenic Drive of GTTS road. Driving the road start to finish takes like 90 minutes without stopping. There are lots of scenic pullouts for photos and short explorations. You could totally devote an entire day to this, but make sure it's a day with good weather and clear views! Depending on the time of year you go there may be traffic restrictions and there may be shuttle service available. Stop at Logan Pass and do the boardwalk trail to Hidden Lake overlook, it's only a couple miles.
Historic/Cultural sites. There are a few cool historic lodges around, you can go there to eat, visit gift shops, etc. My favorite is Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier Park (it's the biggest and oldest!), but the Many Glacier Hotel and Lake McDonald Lodge are worth visiting as well. There's a good restaurant in The Belton Chalet, on the west side.
Waterton, Alberta. If you have the time, go to Canada! Waterton Park is very cool, and the small town inside the park has some fun shops and restaurants. I think they charge like $10 to get in for the day. Hike Bear's Hump for awesome views!
That's about it! I looove Glacier it's so awesome and you'll have so much fun :-)
something is happening w my sisters grouphome provider so basically we're switching providers which means i'll quit and apply for whatever new provider we go with so I can keep working at her house WHICH MEANS I will have FIVE W2s on my 2026 tax return 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
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2 fun office things. 1) turns out this guy who regularly climbs at my gym works for the employer who shares the same building complex/cafeteria as my employer so we ran into each other at lunch the other day and he said YOU WORK HERE??? as soon as I walked outside lmao and then at the gym tonight we were like hiiii coworker 2) I attached some photos with my cringe "hi i'm jenni" meet the new person email to my department and one photo was from glacier natl park and a coworker came up and said hey I recognized that photo, that was taken on the top of mt oberlin right? Which is a fairly deep cut, I was impressed, and it turns out he's gone to glacier 8 times so we talked glacier for a while. I love it here.
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