I thought it would be appropriate to start this blog post with a riddle: What do you get when you cross a long weekend with an Annual National Park Pass? A trip to Glacier National Park! That was a good one, right ツ?
Justin and I used the Labour Day long weekend as an opportunity to visit Glacier National Park (GNP) in Montana, US. We have now been to 8 National Parks, but we both agree that this one is our favourite thus far – if you do not have this beautiful park on your travel bucket list, make sure to add it!
Instead of directly driving to GNP (which would take around 12-hours, not including any stops), we opted to fly to Calgary and drive across the border through Alberta. In the end, when you consider the time we spent at the airport, waiting for our luggage and in the rental car line-up, it still took us almost 12-hours to get to Montana, but we were able to reduce our actual driving time to 5-hours.
I should note, though, that our decision to fly and rent a car did require some additional planning. For instance, we had to find a car rental company that would allow us to cross the border (we went with Avis), and we had to research the border crossing options between Alberta and Montana, and further, their hours of operation. Well, our plan was to enter Montana through the Piegan Port of Entry, and according to the internet, it was open until 11pm. However, at 7:05pm when we were about 5-minutes away from the border crossing, we passed a sign that said the border was open from 8am to 6pm. Our heart’s sank – we did not think we were going to make it tonight. We decided to keep driving to confirm the border was indeed closed, and to our surprise, it was open! We asked the border guard about the sign we saw, and he laughed and said to never trust the signage – to anyone reading this, make sure to call the Port of Entry to confirm its hours and to avoid giving yourself a panic attack!
After getting through the border, it was another 2.5-hours to our Airbnb in Columbia Falls, and one of the ways to get there was to actually drive through GNP. We entered the park through the East Entrance, and this ended up being our only opportunity to see this side of the Park, as it takes well over 2-hours to drive across GNP. We felt grateful to be driving through in the evening, as we were able to catch the sun setting over St. Mary Lake.
Glacier National Park – Day 1
Because this was a quick weekend trip, we only had 2 full days to spend at GNP, and I will say this was no where near enough time – we only scratched the surface of what this amazing Park has to offer.
Similar to our experience at Arches National Park in Utah, visitors need to obtain a Vehicle Reservation in order to access GNP during certain times of the year. There are four main areas of the Park, and each requires its own reservation: North Fork, Two Medicine, Many Glacier and Going-to-the-Sun. Because our trip was rather short, we only ended up getting a pass for Going-to-the-Sun, as this is the main/biggest part of GNP. The reservation for Going-to-the-Sun is $2USD and is valid for 3-consecutive days – in other words, we obtained a pass starting on September 1st, and we could also use it to enter the park on September 2nd and 3rd.
All the research we did leading up to our trip said the same thing: parking within GNP is very limited – arrive early! For this reason, we planned to be at the trailhead of the first hike we wanted to complete, Avalanche Lake, before 8am. We lucked out and got the last parking spot by the start of the trailhead (but there were other parking lots near by with spaces still available).
The Avalanche Lake hike is a 10km out-and-back trail to a beautiful lake nestled between the mountains. The hike is not particularly challenging, and because of its rewarding views, it is very busy and popular amongst visitors. My biggest recommendation would be to ensure you actually go to the end of the trail (there will be a sign identifying the end) and turning left towards the lake. You have to walk through some bushes, but this small sandy beach provides the best views of the lake. I would assume, based on the size of the crowds, that many people stop at the start of the lake and do not continue until the end.
In terms of wildlife on the trail, we only encountered some birds, along with some very hungry chipmunks who were curious about everyone’s snacks!
After completing the Avalanche Lake trail, we got back to our vehicle and started driving towards the summit – Logan Pass (6646 ft elevation). The trailhead of the hike we wanted to do next, Hidden Lake, was accessible from the parking lot at Logan Pass. However, we read several reviews advising to arrive at Logan Pass early, and the reviews were not wrong – when we pulled up at 12:30pm, it was insanely busy!
The Logan Pass parking lot is small, and for this reason, you will find many people walking around (even by the Visitor’s Centre entrance doors) talking to others, trying to figure out who is leaving and where they are parked. We got very lucky with finding parking – a family flagged us down as we were driving around and said to follow them. We noticed their license plates were from Alberta, which is where our rental vehicle was from – Albertan folks just looking out for each other ツ.
After checking out the Visitor Centre, and picking up our GNP swag, we started on the Hidden Lake Trail. While the hike towards the lookout only had a bit of an incline, I found myself experiencing shortness of breath – I believe the higher elevation made it a bit difficult for me to breathe. However, it only took about 30-minutes to arrive at the overlook, which was probably one of my favourite views from the entire trip.
After you reach the overlook you have the option to go back, or you can hike down to lake-level. Of course, we decided to keep going! The hike down involves a series of switchbacks, and you likely know by now that I am a big proponent for hiking poles – they were incredibly helpful during this hike. While downhill hiking might be easier on your lungs, it requires a lot of physical strength, as your muscles lengthen and your body needs to actively prevent itself from tumbling forward!
What I enjoyed most about the hike down was watching the views of the lake change as we got closer, and also making a new little friend along the way ツ.
Once we got to the lake, we spent some time enjoying the views and Justin also dipped his feet in the water. He had considered going for a swim, but the water was incredibly cold!
After a short break, it was time to walk up the switch backs – what goes down must come up… that is how the saying goes, right? Anyway, I was quickly reminded about the shortness of breath I experienced earlier on the trail, and even made a bad joke to a couple of happy hikers who we passed (they were heading towards the lake) that they will eventually need to head back up, too! By the time we made it back to our vehicle, we had hiked over 18km that day – it was time to head back to Columbia Falls to eat and rest in preparation for another long day!
Glacier National Park – Day 2
For our second, and final, day at GNP, we made our way back to Logan Pass, as the trailhead for the Highline Trail is across the street from this parking lot. We had two different options for doing this trail. The first option was to do the out-and-back: walk 12km from Logan Pass to the ending point of the trail (which is actually the Granite Park Chalet and cabins in the mountains) and back, for a total of 24km. The second option was to walk 12km from Logan Pass to the Chalet, then 6km down the mountain to to a bus stop, and take the shuttle back to the Logan Pass parking lot. The Park Ranger who went through our options with us even suggested hitchhiking back to our vehicle!
Given that I was feeling pretty “broken” from the 18km we did the day before, we discussed just doing a little bit of the trail and then reassessing our options. Well, a little bit ended up turning into a lot, as we ended up completing option 2! The AllTrails app rates the Highline Trail as hard, although I would personally classify it as easy or moderate. While the trail does involve some elevation gain, it is very gradual, as it is spread out over several kilometres. If you take your time and bring hiking poles, it is very manageable! The hardest part was the 6km down from the Chalet – if you struggle with downhill, it might be best to do the full 24km!
All the reviews we read indicated sights of wildlife along the Highline Trail – I was really hoping to see a mountain goat or a moose (from a safe distance, of course), but it was not our lucky day. However, we did see a couple does and one very big buck, and way off in the distance we could see three white dots (mountain goats) moving on one of the mountains – note to self to bring binoculars on the next trip!
While we did not see the wildlife we had hoped for, the views were spectacular – I felt like I was looking at a postcard during the entire hike. A majority of the trail is situated along the side of the mountains, and for the first part, you can actually see the road and cars below you – it was a bit scary, but very cool at the same time!
We actually ended up making friends with a couple from North Carolina during the hike – Austin and Sarah. We hiked part of the way to the Chalet with them, and then down the mountain. We later learned that Austin and Sarah got engaged the night before – congratulations to them!
Once we reached the shuttle stop at the bottom of the mountain (which is on the Going-to-the-Sun road), we realized there were several groups of people waiting for the shuttle, and the shuttles are not very big. To our surprise, we decided to follow the Park Ranger’s advice and hitchhike back to our vehicle at Logan Pass! Apparently our trip to GNP included two types of hiking ツ.
But I will say, if there is anywhere to take a chance on hitchhiking, it is in GNP. The park is very busy and filled with tourists – all we had to do was ask someone who was parked on the side of the road taking photos if they were heading in the direction of Logan Pass, and if they would willing to give us a ride to our vehicle!
The one problem with quick trips is you never get the chance to complete everything on the list. GNP is located near Whitefish, Montana, which is a well-known ski town. We were hoping to do a bit of exploring in Whitefish, and also Columbia Falls, but we just did not have enough time. We did, however, get the chance to check out the local Brewery in Columbia Falls (Backslope Brewing), as well as the Bulldog Saloon in Whitefish. Hopefully we can spend more time exploring the local shops during our next trip!
Before I wrap up this post, I want to give a shoutout to our Airbnb in Columbia Falls. We loved our cute loft accommodation and would definitely recommend staying here to anyone who plans to visit GNP in the future.
And finally, unrelated to GNP, I want to celebrate that the Exploring With Gratitude blog has now been around for 1 full year! Thanks to everyone who has been reading my posts over the last year, and an extra special thank you to all my subscribers ツ!
Always grateful,
Michelle
Exploring With Gratitude 