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Monday, April 24, 2023

Things To Do In And Around Glacier National Park

Read this post for things to do in and around Glacier National Park before your next trip here.

If you are traveling with your RV, take a look at our list of 10 Items You Should Have On Your RV Camping List before you hit the road.


2022 Cross Country Road Trip Stop 9

(1) Glacier National Park in Montana was the ninth stop of our cross-country road trip. Our plan, after checking into Mountain Meadow RV Park, was to get some laundry done. Not every campground has this amenity but thankfully, this one did. We had a ton of wash to do. A couple from the Netherlands had the same idea as us and we struck up a conversation with them. We found out they were in America to visit and hike in several of our national parks. They told us that there was nowhere in Europe that had such a variety of parks to choose from. We told them that we had met a few people in the parks already and had been wondering why so many of the hikers came from different parts of Europe. We felt very fortunate to be living in our beautiful country after talking to them.
 
(Read more about this campground here.)

After finishing up our laundry, it was time for dinner. Our Japanese mom would have been very impressed with the dinner we were able to whip up in the middle of the woods!


The next morning we headed the short 9 miles to Glacier National Park. When we got there we were turned away because we didn't have a reservation to get in. We knew, before we set out on our road trip that a few of the parks required it but we got in to a few parks before Glacier with no problem and got lazy about checking to see if we needed one or not. We did get our souvenir shopping done, and the guys found a nice shady place to relax for awhile, so it was not a total waste of time.

Good To Know: Go here to find all the information you need for making a reservation to get into the national parks that require one.




(2) Our plan was to spend two days hiking in Glacier National Park so now we had to do some research to find an alternate plan. After looking at a few travel guides we found Hungry Horse Dam. It was the number one place to see on many blog sites.


There were a couple of picturesque spots to take some photos as we walked towards the dam.


We went to the visitor's center first where we found lots of interesting information about the dam.




Then we went to get a close up view of the dam.




(3) After checking out the dam, we got in the car and headed to Flathead National Forest to eat our picnic lunch and then do some hiking.


We hiked the Lion Lake Trail that started where we had lunch at the South Lion Picnic Area and ended at the North Lion Picnic Area.





When we reached the North Lion Picnic Area we were glad that we were out of the woods. It was just a flat trail with not much to see, besides the nice lake and beach, so we didn't want to backtrack on the same trail to get to our car. We turned on Pokemon on Soko's phone and saw that there was another way back. What the Pokemon map couldn't show us was the steep hill (I know it doesn't look too steep from this picture but when you are standing at the top it looks very steep) lined with logs, that we had to walk down. We all got down it safely, but one wrong step could have sent someone rolling down that hill and it would not have been pretty!


Good To Know: We have used the Pokemon app's map on several occasions when we want to get a sense of where we are while kayaking or hiking and google maps can't help us. 

(4) When we were researching for things to do on our free day, we noticed Willow's Huckleberry Land on Trip Advisor's Top Ten List. We thought that a huckleberry item would make a good souvenir so that is where we headed next. This store was fantastic. It had many products made with huckleberry including the delicious dressing that I bought. We also bought Soko a tee shirt and Sandie and JT got a few things too. Then we sat down in their attached restaurant to try an elk burger. It was surprisingly better than we thought it would be.



The owner of of the store, James Willows, is a filmmaker and author. He has a popular You Tube channel and has written an autobiography. After running into this talented fellow at the store and having a conversation with him, JT bought his book and had it signed. 


By the end of the day, we had a few souvenirs and found some nice post cards to send to the kids. We were happy with how the day went even though it did not go as planned.

(5) The following morning, with our reservation made for 7:30 am, we headed to Glacier National Park


We spent 12 hours in the park with 6 of them spent on or waiting for the complimentary shuttle that ran along Going-to-the-Sun Road.


We were happy, though, that the guys could enjoy the incredible views as we rode through the park inside the comfortable shuttle and neither of them had to drive.





We were also happy that the first stop was Logans Pass where we would find the Hidden Lake Overview trail.


The first 1/4 of the trail is called Hanging Gardens and I immediately understood why. I took so many pictures hoping to capture the beauty of the wildflowers that flourished here but none of them did them justice.


This easy 2.7 mile trail is one of the most popular hikes in Glacier so most likely you will be hiking with tons of other hikers. It's easy to see why this trail would be on everyone's must-do list with sights like these.






At the end of the trail we were treated to this stunning view of the majestic Clements Mountain and Hidden Lake. 


We retraced our steps back to where we started. Seeing it from the opposite way, it actually felt like we were on completely different, but still beautiful, trail mostly because we were no longer seeing Clements Mountain ahead of us.


We stopped to have lunch, and enjoy the views one last time, before we left.


This entire trail was filled with absolutely gorgeous sights and we highly recommend hiking here if you get a chance to visit this amazing park.

We had one more trail we wanted to hike before we called it a day so after another long wait, we hopped on the shuttle and headed to St. Mary Lake Trail.



We hiked an easy 1/2 mile trail that took us to St. Mary Falls.


We stayed at these falls for awhile watching some brave hikers jump off ledges and into the water. I asked one of the kids how scared he was to attempt this jump and he told me that the rip current was scarier than the jump. The calm looking water was very deceiving. I am so glad we didn't have to watch someone being carried away by the the river.


We had a fantastic day at Glacier and now it was time to go back to our campsite to relax for a minute before packing up and preparing for taking off in the morning.


The next day, before we left Hungry Horse, we stopped at this cute post office to mail postcards. Then we were on our way to Stop 10, Spokane, WA.



Read about, Yellowstone National Park here, another gorgeous park we visited on our cross-country road trip and one that is probably on your national park bucket list.

Things To Do In And Around Yellowstone National Park, WY

Have your ever been to Glacier National Park? What things did you find to do? Please share your adventures with us in comments!


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22 comments:

  1. Glacier is definitely on my bucket list and I'm shocked that it was so crowded. What time of year did you go? I find that affects crowd size a lot.

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    1. We went mid-August when all of the US is on vacation! The trail we were on is a very popular one and easy for all ages. The other trail wasn't as crowded. The crowd did make the shuttle run slower I think though. I can't wait to hear about your trip to Glacier!

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  2. What stunning scenery. I've visited a few National Parks but not this one. Why oh why were these young people jumping in if they knew there was a rip, fighting to watch. Thanks for joining in with #pocolo

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    1. The boy that I talked to, while we were waiting for the shuttle, didn't know there was a rip current until he jumped in. So glad he was strong enough not to get swept away!

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  3. Wow. It's lovely. All those falls make it a very alluring hike. #YourMoment

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    1. My favorite hikes are the ones where we are treated to falls at the end!

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  4. I think that I have been through the glacier bay park but I’m not 100 percent sure. I’ll have to ask my dad. If we did, it was on our way out of Yellowstone.

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    1. I wonder if it was Grand Teton NP that you are thinking about. The two parks are practically attached. They are that close to each other.

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  5. Looks like you had lots of fun in and around Glacier National Park. The scenery is breathtaking!! Thank you for sharing this post in the Talent Sharing Tuesdays Link-Up 62.
    Carol
    www.scribblingboomer.com

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    1. Thank you for stopping by and for hosting such a nice party!

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  6. Wow, you have so many stunning photos! I cannot imagine taking in all of that beauty at once in person. I would have been nervous walking down through the fallen logs too, a twisted or broken ankle could have happened! Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos!

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    1. Thank you so much for taking the time to come and check out our photos!

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  7. I get so frustrated that trying to take photos of steep hills and how the camera just flattens them right out. We often pull out our All-Trials app to help us find alternative hiking trails when "lost" in the woods (or just unwilling to re-hike the trail we just used). Glacier looks wonderful!!

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    1. I do have the All Trails app! Thanks for sharing your info! And yes, Glacier was amazing!!

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  8. Thank you for sharing this with Your Moment Blog Hop!

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    1. Thank you for hosting your nice party and for stopping by!

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  9. This looks like a fabulous trip. I will have to catch up! The photos of Glacier National Park are stunning!

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    1. Thanks for coming by for a virtual trip to Glacier. I am heading to your blog right now to see your other Nashville post.

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