Dumb luck makes for happy traveling, but the if-we-had-only-knowns of road life cannot be avoided entirely. Guidebooks are helpful, but they rarely cover the
mundane details, like where to buy milk or which road has the fewest potholes. To fill the gap and help anyone planning a trip
to the places he have been, I am compiling a list of tips for each park. Think of it as
learning from our happy discoveries and mistakes.
Getting There
If you are driving up from Missoula, go around Flathead Lake
on the east side, not the west. The
road to the east travels along fewer subdivisions and better scenery. It’s also
fewer miles and less traffic.
If you are driving to Many Glacier from the west side of the
park, US Hwy 2 is a good, fast road. Do not take either state road 49 or US Hwy
89 from East Glacier Park village to Many Glacier—unless you want a long slow,
ride. If you are towing anything at all, take Hwy 2 to Browning, then north and
west on state road 464. Not only is it a good road, but the prairie vistas it
navigates are worth seeing.
Where to Stay
There are good reasons for all park visitors but especially
hikers to use an east-side base. The west is more congested and the most
popular day hikes are more easily accessed on the east side. If you can get
into Many Glacier campground, stay as long as you can—it is an idyllic setting
with easy access to lots of good ranger talks and hikes. Two Medicine is short
on people but has plenty of scenery, good hikes, or other fun things to do.
Choose this spot if you need a little elbow room and quiet to fully enjoy
nature.
Supplies
There is no diesel in West or East Glacier or Babb. There is
a station selling diesel just outside the St. Mary’s entrance. There is also
diesel in the town of Browning. On the west side of the park, better fill up
with ruby red in Hungry Horse.
The best grocery store we found was Canyon Foods in Hungry
Horse. The supermarket (as well as the gas station and outfitter) just outside
the St. Mary’s entrance is run by a park concessionaire. They charge only
slight inflated prices for fuel, which is to be expected, but they offer just the barest of essentials in their grocery and Cheerios are $9 a box. The stores
in East and West Glacier are somewhat better. Babb also has a respectable
general store, but overall, stock up before you get to the park.
If possible, make it a point to be in Babb at 5 p.m. on a
Wednesday. At that hour, a group of Hutterites parks in front of the general
store with a truck full of the freshest, most
beautiful regional fruits and veggies, as well as baked and canned goods, all
at ridiculously low prices. It is hard to find quality fresh produce—let alone
local products—when traveling around the national parks, so this a godsend. I
was only there once, so a call to the Babb post office to confirm would be
wise.
What to Do
No matter what, walk a little. The hiking is
absolutely the best in Glacier. If a visitor never sets foot on a trail, she
misses the best that the park has to offer. Just go as far up the trail as you
can—you can always turn around. The experience is completely different when
walking as compared to standing at a scenic overlook.
Almost everyone can and should walk the 1.5 miles to Hidden
Lake from Logan Pass, totaling 3 miles of hiking. It is a boardwalk, meaning
the footing is smooth and sure. There are some challenging steps, but at a slow
pace and with a friend’s hand, it can be done by a toddler or an 90-year-old.
If you’re a long-distance hiker who avoids “nature trails,” you are cheating
yourself if you miss this one. But get out on the trail early—no later than 8
a.m. It’s total pandemonium thereafter.
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| Coming down from Hidden Lake |
We were mostly impressed with Glacier Boat Company, which
runs boat tours and canoe/kayak rentals on all park lakes. The young people
that work for this family owned company seem to really like their jobs. Two
Medicine and Swiftcurrent Lakes are excellent flat-water options for canoeing
(assuming the wind is in check) and the boat tours are fun and
informative.
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| Picnic at Two Medicine Lake |
A word about using the boat tours as a way to shorten day
hikes: Be warned that the return trip requires one to be very patient or very
aggressive, as there is always a crush of hikers waiting to return and no
orderly process for determining who gets on the next boat and who gets left
behind. If I had it to do over again, I would buy a one-way ticket, taking the
boat to the top of the lake at the beginning of the hike, but walking myself
back all the way to the trail head at the end of the day. There’s nothing more
disappointing after a mind-blowing day in the most amazing of God’s creation
than to be smacked back into reality by mob rule at the bottom of the hill.
Bikers, Logan Pass is popular, and I am surprised at the
number of people who make the climb in spite of the traffic, which, admittedly, moves slowly. It’s terribly inspiring to watch bikers come up the
pass, and if you have any inkling at all, do it! Also, check out Chief Mountain
Road to the Piegan Port of Entry and on to Waterton Lakes. The shoulder on
this road is narrow, but the speed limit is 45 mph or less on the U.S. side and
50 kph in Canada. The route affords wonderful views, includes many roomy pullouts,
and offers fun curves as well as challenging up-and-downs. Take your passport
and watch for free-range cattle on the U.S. side.
Waterton Lakes, the Canadian national park opposite of
Glacier, is certainly worth your time, even if just for the day. Walk inside
the Prince of Wales Hotel, stroll the walking and biking trails around the
lake, and check out the shops at the town site. Allow 45 minutes to cross the
border each way, although it only took us only 30 when crossing back into the
U.S. during mid-afternoon.
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| Waterton Lake and Prince of Wales Hotel |
Places to Camp
The season is short and the demand is high, so be prepared
for price shock. One-room cabins with no plumbing go for a minimum of $80 per
night, $120 if your want running water and a bathroom. The KOAs get $43 for a
tent site, plus tax. Because the park abuts national forests on the west and
south, you can find free spots off Hwy 2 but only for cars and small vans, and there
is a lot of private land mixed in, so watch for “no trespassing” signs. There
are also two forest-service campgrounds on the southeast side of the national
park off Hwy 2. They ask $15 per night.
For RVers, our best finds were YR RV Park in East Glacier
and Blackfoot Outfitters four miles north of Babb. Both are very reasonably priced ($25 and $35
for full hookups, respectively), and their utilities work well. These are
no-frills spots, mind you, but if you don’t want to pay for hot tub, pool,
on-site restaurant, etc., these are your places. Both have lovely views. YR has a clean laundry mat on site. Roz, the owner, lives in the big house on the
property. Alger, the owner/operator of
Blackfeet Outfitters, also lives on site, but he often guides hunting and
fishing trips during the day. If no one is around at either place, just park
and settle up later. There are also two cabins on Alger’s property, but they
seem to be popular, so you should call ahead for those if possible. And don’t
be intimated by Alger’s close proximity to the highway—there is no traffic once
the border closes. Both YR and Blackfeet are very peaceful, quiet places.
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| Sunlit view of mountains, from Blackfeet Outfitters near Babb, MT |
Posher Accommodations
There's no shame in staying at one of the classic lodges! Based on our lobby tours of all of the Glacier hotels, East Glacier Hotel must the best. Whether or not you book a room, go have it look. It's worth it, and lots of people do. It's also a good way to learn about the (white) history of the park, as the hotels offer tours and very informative lobby displays.
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| Front Lawn at East Glacier Hotel; Amtrak station in the distance |
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| Lobby at the East Glacier lodge |
Communications
Montana seems to be ahead of the curve in cellular
technology; we accessed 4G almost everywhere. There is, however, no cell-phone signal
along Hwy 2 between West and East Glacier.
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