Glacier
THE AMERICAS · NATIONAL PARK · ALPINE
Glacier is what the Alps would look like without the villages — hanging valleys, turquoise lakes, mountain goats on the passes and a road across the top that is one of the great drives anywhere. It is also short-season: Going-to-the-Sun Road only fully opens for about ten weeks a year, and the whole park runs on that window.
The plan
Going-to-the-Sun Road
80km over Logan Pass with drop-offs and no guardrails. Vehicle reservations are required in season — book the moment they release.
Highline Trail
From Logan Pass along a ledge cut into the Garden Wall, with a cable to hold at the start. The park's signature hike.
Many Glacier
The best corner of the park: Grinnell Glacier, Iceberg Lake, and grizzlies on the hillsides most mornings.
Lake McDonald
Coloured pebbles under clear water on the west side, and the classic red Jammer bus tours leave from the lodge.
Two Medicine
The quiet southeast corner the Blackfeet call the park's heart, with a boat across to Twin Falls.
Book before you fly
Going-to-the-Sun vehicle reservation
Required in season on recreation.gov, released four months ahead plus a next-day drop at 7pm.
Many Glacier & Lake McDonald lodges
Open thirteen months ahead; Many Glacier is the hardest room in the park to get.
Red Jammer bus tours
The 1930s convertibles book weeks ahead in July.
Getting there
Fly Kalispell (FCA)
Glacier Park International, forty minutes from the west entrance, with direct summer flights from a dozen US cities.
Fly Missoula (MSO) or Great Falls (GTF)
Two and a half to three hours away, usually cheaper, and fine if you're already road-tripping Montana.
Take the Empire Builder
Amtrak stops at West Glacier and East Glacier right at the park gates — one of the few US parks you can reach without a car.
When to go
Best time to go
Mid-July to mid-September, when Going-to-the-Sun Road is fully open and the high trails are clear of snow.
Cheapest months
May and late September to October — the road is partly closed but rooms are half price and the larches turn gold.
If you've got one day
Morning
Going-to-the-Sun Road
Late morning
Highline Trail
Lunch
Polebridge Mercantile
Afternoon
Many Glacier
Evening
Dinner at Ptarmigan Dining Room, then Lake McDonald
If you've got a week
Day 1
Arrive, settle in around Many Glacier Hotel, and take it slowly — Polebridge Mercantile for dinner.
Day 2
Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Day 3
Highline Trail. Dinner at Ptarmigan Dining Room.
Day 4
Day trip — Whitefish.
Day 5
Many Glacier. Tupelo Grille, Whitefish at some point.
Day 6
Lake McDonald.
Day 7
Two Medicine. Finish with Eddie's Café, Apgar.
Staying longer?
Nearby & day trips
Whitefish
Forty minutes west, a ski town with real restaurants and the airport most people use.
Waterton Lakes, Canada
Across the border and joined to Glacier as an international peace park. Bring your passport.
Flathead Lake
An hour south, the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, and cherry stands all along it.
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