Planning Your Trip
Are you planning a trip to Glacier National Park? If so, when will Going to the Sun Road be opened for the year? This is probably the number one question asked by first time visitors to the park. Knowing the exact date is nearly impossible to predict based on snow removal and road rehabilitation projects.
Jenny and I started planning our trip to Glacier in the winter of 2017. We ended up visiting the park the second week of June and missed the road opening over Logan Pass by about one week. Although bummed out by the timing of our trip, we found many things to see and do within the park nonetheless!
St Mary
Driving in from the East on Highway 89, we first headed towards St Mary. The wildfires from previous years are visible on the sides of the slopes but do not take away from their beauty. Just before entering St Mary we pulled off the road at the Blackfeet Indian Memorial. From here the views of St Mary Lake along with the peaks of the majestic Rocky Mountains are incredible!
Entering the park at the Saint Mary Visitor Center, we drove the Going to the Sun Road, which offers wonderful lakeside views of Saint Mary Lake. There are areas along the road to pull off and take in the scenery and because it was early June, there was very little traffic. Up the road we stop at the Wild Goose Island Lookout. Here you will want to get your camera out and capture one of the most photographed scenes in the park!
Continuing further on Going to the Sun road is the St Mary Falls trail head. Here you can park and enjoy a kid friendly hike through the conifer forest and down to the roaring St Mary Falls. If you continue on, the trail leads you along Virginia Creek which has a series of cascades that empty in to the St Mary River. Further yet you will come to Virginia Falls, another multi tiered waterfall.
Our last stop along Going to the Sun road would lead us to the Jackson Glacier Overlook. This is where the road was officially closed to vehicles due to snowplow operations still taking place. Here we were able to see the seventh largest glacier still left in the park. It is continuing to retreat in size due to the warming of our climate so it leaves you with something to think about.
Many Glacier
After turning back at the Jackson Overlook we traveled East and back out past the St Mary Visitor Center. About a 10 mile drive north on Hwy 89 brings you to Babb. From here follow Route 3 along the edge of Lake Sherburne and you will find the iconic Many Glacier Hotel. The hotel is open to the public and has a cafe, a gift shop and tons of history!
There are several trail heads that start near the hotel, and we chose the Grinnel Glacier hike. It offers awesome views of Swiftcurrent Lake and heads over a footbridge towards Lake Josephine. The blue glacier colored water is gorgeous here. We turned back before reaching the glacier due to a black bear encounter on the trail. I would recommend purchasing a bear bell and bear spray as a precaution to the bear encounters. On the way back we spotted a moose and her calf in the water directly across from Many Glacier Hotel.
Accommodations for our 3 days in the park were in Whitefish, a 2.5 hour drive from the Many Glacier area. If you are making your way from the East side of the park towards West glacier on Hwy 2 be sure to do it during daylight hours. You will not want to miss one of the most scenic drives you will ever see! This is something we would have missed out on had the Going to the Sun Road been open to traffic.
West Glacier
About 30 miles East of Whitefish lies West Glacier, MT. After making your way through the park entrance you will be at the Apgar Visitor Center. Located at the south end of Lake McDonald there is a campground, kayak and canoe rentals. We traveled north on Going to the Sun Road which follows the shoreline of Lake Mcdonald. A few miles further we arrived at Avalanche Creek Picnic Area This is where the West side of the road was closed off to automobile traffic.
After finding a parking spot in Avalanche Campground we started our hiking for the day at the Trail of the Cedars. As one of the only wheelchair accessible trails in the park along with it’s close proximity to Avalanche Lake trail head, it’s one of the most popular trails on the west side.
Next, we walked four miles along the Going to the Sun Road. It was open to foot and bicycle traffic all the way up to the”Loop”. Spectacular views of the mountains and McDonald Creek without the noise of automobiles make this a great time to visit.
Finishing our second day off is a hike to Avalanche Lake. A 2.3 mile trek up and down moderate slopes along the Avalanche Creek lead you to the prize. This is another trail that has bear warnings posted so make sure to have your counter assault ready. We purchased ours from Amazon and it came with a nice holster as well. The views of the Lake are awesome! There are dozens of waterfalls raging down the mountains in the distance. This is another one of the most photographed locations in the park so don’t forget your cameras!
Two Medicine
Our final day includes one last trip to the East side of the park. Two Medicine, located just over an hour east on Highway 2 near East Glacier Park Village. Here there is a campground, a general store and a gift shop. We purchased tickets for the scenic boat ride and while waiting for our reservation headed to Scenic Point trail head.
This hike starts out through the pines at the base of the mountain. Once through the trees things open up and become very rocky. The winds were very strong on the trail, gusting up to 60mph so for safety reasons we turned back.
Our boat tour aboard the “Sinopah” was a narrated ride across Two Medicine Lake where you are given the option to ride back immediately or take a one mile guided hike to Twin Falls. I would highly recommend the boat tour with your visit.
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