The wildest and most rugged of all the Rocky Mountain national parks, Glacier National Park protects some 1,500 square miles of high-altitude scenery, including the glaciers for which the park is named, more than 200 lakes, and countless rivers and streams. Knifelike ridges of colorful sedimentary rock rise to over 10,000 feet, looming high above elongated glacier-carved valleys. Grizzly bears, black bears, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, and wolves roam the park’s wild backcountry, which is criss-crossed by some 700 miles of hiking and riding trails.
The park’s main features are reached via 50-mile-long Going-to-the-Sun Road, a magnificent serpentine highway that is arguably the most scenic route on this planet. Climbing up from dense forests to the west and prairie grasslands to the east, this narrow road (built in 1932, and rebuilt in 2005) is the only route across the park’s million acres. Note that the road’s middle section—everything east of Lake McDonald, basically—is usually closed by snow from late October until early June. In May, before the road is open, the park service hosts “Show Me Day,” when shuttle buses bring interested visitors near to where the snowplows are working, shooting the fluffy stuff hundreds of feet through the air. RV drivers note: No vehicles or combinations over 21 feet are allowed on the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
On the west side of the park, lovely Lake McDonald is Glacier’s largest lake, and also the most developed area, with an attractive lodge, two restaurants, a gas station, and a nice campground. A boat offers hour-long narrated cruises throughout the summer. Between the lake and Logan Pass, five miles east of the Lake McDonald Lodge, Avalanche Creek is the most beautiful short hike in the park, winding through dense groves of cedar and fir alongside a creek that cascades noisily down a sharp cleft in the deep red rock. The two-mile trail ends up at Avalanche Lake, hemmed in by 1,500-foot-high cliffs.
The heart of the park is Logan Pass, a 6,680-foot saddle straddling the Continental Divide, which comes alive when the snow melts to reveal a rainbow of brightly colored wildflowers. Two very popular trails run from the large visitors center: The shorter but more strenuous one heads south on a wooden boardwalk across an alpine meadow to a viewpoint overlooking Hidden Lake, while the fairly flat High Line Trail runs north, high above the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Along with the extensive facilities along US-2 at West Glacier, East Glacier, and St. Mary, you’ll find a couple of rustic lodges and motels within the park. All lodging (and everything else) in Glacier National Park is run by the same concessionaire (406/892-2525); rooms start around $100 a night. The nicest place to stay is the intimate, comfortable, Lake McDonald Lodge, with a lovely lobby filled with comfy chairs arrayed around a fireplace, and lots of bearskin and buffalo rugs; it also serves the park’s best food. In the park’s northeast corner, the Many Glacier Lodge is a circa-1917 pseudo-Swiss chalet on the shores of Swiftcurrent Lake, looking up at Grinnell Glacier. There are over a dozen campgrounds in Glacier, but they fill up fast.
Besides the grand lodges, a few other relics of Glacier Park’s early days as a “Grand Tour” destination still survive: bright red, open-top 1920s vintage touring cars (recently and expensively overhauled to be as eco-friendly as possible) run along the Going-to-the-Sun Road, providing enjoyable guided tours as well as a shuttle service for hikers.
Admission to the park is $20 per car for a seven-day pass, and the required backcountry camping permits are an additional $4 per person per night. For a more complete overview of the park, stop in at one of three main visitors centers, located in West Glacier, at Logan Pass (summer only), and at the eastern entrance in the town of St. Mary. For information in advance, call the park headquarters (406/888-7800).
