Shortly after visiting Yosemite National Park, we headed north to Montana and Glacier National Park. For proximity, we stayed at West Glacier RV, which is an easy walk to Glacier village and as near as you can get to the main entrance. This enabled us to easily pop into the park, along with seemingly hundreds of other intrepid visitors, prior to the timed entry windows when one needs a ticket to enter.
First order of business was to drive the length of the park west-to-east on Going-to-the-Sun Road from Apgar to St. Mary, giving us a chance to see which areas at which we might want to spend more time. The one thing we missed that we’d have liked to see was Many Glacier, whose entrance is north of St. Mary and tends to be a little less crowded and from what we hear, most definitely worth your time. But it’s a trek to get there unless you’re already on the eastern side of the park. Next time.
On this visit though, there was no lack of eye-popping scenery and fun-to-watch wildlife. Near Weeping Wall early one morning Bill spied a pair of black bears jogging behind a waterfall cascading down Mt. Gould. You might have already seen the photos of the incredibly cute baby goats and their mama in our Glacier National Park photo gallery, but if you haven’t, here you go. While initially shy, the kids warmed up to us and started frolicking on the nearby boulders, jumping over one another and generally showing off. The herd lives in the Clements Mountain/Mt. Oberlin cliffs and are often visible just a bit west of the Logan Pass visitor center.
Along Going-to-the-Sun Road there’s really no sense in hurrying, and as if to emphasize that, peak visiting times can be downright crowded, so watch that you don’t bump into the car in front of you. Here’s a sneak peak of a couple of views you’ll see. The B&W images are from Macdonald Lake, just north of the Apgar entry station and visitor center.
The vertical color image above is a view northwest of The Loop, a tight turn leading up to Logan Pass. The horizontal color image is the view south between The Loop and Weeping Wall. You’ll definitely want to pass (through, when it’s springtime) by the wall, which is a cascade of snow runoff falling onto the road. If you’re heading south from St. Mary, you can drive underneath it for a quick car wash.
St. Mary Lake is roughly the same size as Lake Macdonald but is full of incredibly, unbelievably, and beautifully turquoise water. You can also see in the photo where past wildfires have scarred trees and made room for new growth.
In contrast to St Marys, the area south of the main road around Hidden, Avalanche, and Snyder Lakes are rainforest and are almost never subject to wildfires. This leads to incredibly dense and lush vegetation, which you can see on the quick Trail of the Cedars nature trail or, for a more robust but still moderate 4-mile hike, along Avalanche Creek up to Avalanche Lake.
This is among the most popular hikes in the park, and parking can be a challenge, so going at off times like very early morning or late afternoon can help. But bring your bear spray and have a sing-along or otherwise make some noise as you go. There are many grizzly bears in the area and it’s better to alert them early of your presence rather than inadvertently startling them and risking an attack. The only bears we saw were the aforementioned black bears but it’s still good to be prepared.
Bill hiked up by himself one morning and enjoyed it so much he brought Anne later that afternoon for a repeat performance. Generally speaking, it’s safer to hike in groups of three or more for bear protection, despite Bill’s questionable judgement earlier.
The lake’s absolutely lovely and clear, and a wonderful spot for a picnic with ducklings.
At the lake, and along the route up and back, you’ll notice an abundance of fallen logs. True to its name, Avalanche Lake and Creek contain multitudes of trees ripped up and tossed around down the mountain during various avalanches over the years. It’s quite a sight.
Avalanche Creek feeds into Macdonald Creek. The creek part’s a bit of an understatement with the abundant rushing water heading toward the more sedate Macdonald lake.
The Apgar visitor center is at the very south end of the lake and is where most visitors stay when in the park. It’s coincidentally where you can get some really tasty ice cream to cool off after a long afternoon hike. There are campgrounds along the southeastern edge of the lake too. Get your reservations early, as they fill up quickly. The water in the lake, not surprisingly, is super clear, making it easy to see all the stones carried in by the creek.
Pro tip, for smooth, glassy water, visit early in the morning while the wind’s still calm. We took this with our iPhone in one hand and an ice cream cone in the other. That’s the way we like to multitask in the Holland household.
Also along the lake, taking off from the Lake Macdonald Lodge, are the historic red bus tours. Like the campsites, book your reservations early. They’re really enjoyable and even more fun when it’s nice and the driver removes the canvas roof for better views. Bring layers though, as it can get chilly!
One area we visited only briefly was up near Polebridge, a much less popular area. There are single-lane fire roads throughout, leading to hiking trails leading to finger lakes along the park’s western edge. If you’re into some backcountry camping, Kintla and Bowman Lakes are both great choices.
It’s easy to see how Glacier’s such a well-visited national park. And while we only had a few days there, we loved it and look forward to returning again soon.
As a bonus while in the area, we got to visit some old photographer friends Kent & Geri who now live near Kalispell and were kind enough to take this image of us in Ellie. It was great seeing them again after so long!
