Planning a Trip to Glacier National Park
What do I need to know about Glacier National Park Before Going?
Our National Parks are seeing a record number of visitors. Planning can be quite an undertaking! If you are like us and only have a limited number of days in the park, it is imperative to have a plan! Glacier National Park was even trickier to plan than the other National Parks we visited this year. Here are a few things that helped us!
Getting There
Glacier National Park is situated in NW Montana. Montana is a huge state so if you plan to drive, count on many hours admiring the scenery! The most convenient airport to GlacierNational Park is the Glacier Park International Airport (FCA) located in Kalispell, MT. The airport is 30 miles from the West Entrance of Glacier National Park.
Glacier National Park Areas
Glacier has several entrances. The most popular and busiest is the West Entrance in West Glacier, MT. The Saint Mary Entrance is on the east side of the park. These two entrances connect the Going to the Sun Road (GTTSR). This is the only road that goes through Glacier NP. There are other sections of Glacier and they each have their own entrance and can not be reached from the GTTSR. Many Glacier and Two Medicine are on the East side (along with St Mary). And North Fork is on the West Side (along with the West Entrance). Are you confused yet?
When should we go?
This is a tricky question! July and August are the most popular times to go. The GTTSR does not open fully until mid July some years! It opened mid June in 2023, one of the earliest openings ever after a mild winter. Many of the park’s facilities are only open May-mid September and stores and restaurants start closing around Labor Day, especially on the east side. The park is open year round but facilities and lodging might not be available so plan accordingly.
Where to stay
There are several cities on the west side to stay, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Corum, and more. These are popular due to the proximity to the airport, grocery stores and restaurants. There are places to stay on the east side as well but count on a 2-3 hour drive from the airport and limited resources. There are several options inside the park but these fill up a year in advance. You definitely need to plan and research for this trip! If you are somewhat flexible, you can piece together some stays as it gets closer when others cancel their reservation. But, this is really risky! Many people spend several nights on both sides of the park. Which is a great idea if you have several nights there!
Park Passes
First, you will need an entrance pass to get into any National Park, including Glacier. The America the Beautiful Pass is good for 1 year and can be purchased at the NPS, at park entrances, or REI. We bought ours at REI and had it within a week. Just plan accordingly so you have the pass in time for your trip! This runs $80 but pays for itself if you plan to go to multiple National Parks or plan to visit for a few days. You can also purchase a weekly pass for $35 at the park entrances. The NPS also has options for Seniors, Military, Volunteers, and any 4th Grader! 4th Graders and their families can receive a park pass for free from Sept-Aug! You might be asked to show your ID at the entrance so be prepared for that!
Do I Need a Vehicle Reservation?
Now this is where it gets even trickier! Glacier and a few other National Parks have implemented a system to help with the crowding issues at their parks. You can find all the info here. Vehicle reservations open at Recreation.gov 4 months in advance at 8:00am Mountain Time. Each entrance has a different time period that reservations are needed. Not all entrances are the same!
For example, you will need a vehicle reservation for the West Entrance May 26-Sept 10 from 6am-3pm. But in Many Glacier you need a reservation from July 1-Sept 10 6am-3pm. You do not need a reservation if you go before or after these dates. You can also enter these areas before 6am or after 3pm without a reservation. Keep in mind the sun doesn’t set until after 9pm in late July. So, you do have plenty of daylight if you can’t enter until after 3pm.
If you were not one the lucky few that were able to purchase ($2 each) a reservation 4 months in advance, a select number go on sale the day before you want to enter the park at 8AM Mountain time. For example, if you did not receive a reservation for Two Medicine and you plan to be in that area of the park on July 31, you can purchase a reservation on July 30 at 8AM. You better be ready to buy within the first few minutes, they go fast! There is also no wifi or cellular service in the park so it is hard to buy if you are in the park at that specific time the day before you need a pass. The GTTSR reservation is good for 3 consecutive days while the Many Glacier, Two Medicine and North Fork are only good for 1 day.
How do you get into the park without a reservation?
No worries! There are a few ways around this! Try to snag a reservation the day before you need it! Or, if you have lodging made for inside the park, this will count for your vehicle reservation. Now if you are staying at the Many Glacier Hotel, this will get you into Many Glacier but not the GTTSR or other areas!
You can also buy an experience like a Red Bus Tour, Boat Tour, horseback riding, and wilderness camping permits. Just make sure you are buying the experience for the area of the park you want to be in! There are boat tours from several different areas of the park. Research what you want to see in each section and what hikes you want to do to help determine what days you need to be in these areas.
Our Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive in Kalispel at 11AM. Pick up rental car and go to the grocery. Our room was not ready and we had secured a GTTSR pass the day before at 8AM. This pass is good for Days 1, 2, and 3! Arrived at the West Entrance at 1:30. Circled twice and found a parking spot at Trail of the Cedars/Avalanche Trail. Stopped at Sacred Dancing Cascade and McDonald Falls (both overlooks) on the way out of the West Entrance.
Day 2
We bought tickets for a Red Bus Tour leaving from Apgar at 9AM. These sell out months in advance so plan ahead. This got us into the GTTSR for the entire day. We weren’t sure if we would be able to secure a reservation or not so this was a good Plan B. We enjoyed the tour and made several stops on our way to Logan’s Pass and back to Apgar.
Once the tour was complete, we got in our car and followed the same path we just took to Logan’s Pass on the Red Bus Tour. Logan’s Pass is a popular spot and very hard to find parking so plan to get there early (like 6-7AM) or late. We arrived around 2 and it was perfect! People were leaving after hiking all day and it was before the rush of the people who did not have vehicle reservations. We hiked a bit of the Highline Trail and the Hidden Lake Overlook Trail. We made a quick stop at Jackson Glacier overlook before heading out the West Entrance.
Day 3
We bought a boat tour at Many Glacier today not knowing if we would be able to get a pass. Good thing because we were in the park the day before and did not have internet access! Again, these sell out quickly so plan ahead. The only boat tour we could get tickets for was 3PM, this was months in advance! Many Glacier was a 2 hour drive from West Glacier around the park on Route 2. It is a shorter distance to drive the GTTSR and out the St Mary Entrance to Many Glacier but takes the same amount of time, sometime longer due to traffic and construction. We had plenty of water but there was not a single store or gas station open from 5-7am so no ice for our day.
We arrived a little after 7am and were allowed entry due to our 3PM boat reservation. We parked at the Many Glacier Hotel and there was plenty of parking open when we got there. We went inside the hotel for a bathroom break and set out for the trailhead. If your boat tour is early enough, it leaves right behind the hotel and shaves 2 miles each way off the Grinnell Glacier Trail! It doesn’t save any time and those 2 miles are flat and mostly shaded. It is all uphill from the boat dock!
Our hike was 5.9 miles each way but it was an epic hike. You gain about 2000 feet of elevation in 4 miles so it was tough especially with the warm sunshine but it was worth it! We sat by the glacier for nearly an hour enjoying the scenery, resting and fueling for the downhill trip back. In all, it took us 7 hours. It was a long day but our favorite hike ever! I would definitely recommend starting this hike early as the sun is intense! Needless to say, we did not make the boat tour but hopefully someone else was looking for tickets and were given ours to use!
Day 4
We did not have any passes today so the only way to enter the park was before 6am. The days before were long and we were all tired! We enjoyed sleeping in, packing up and headed for Whitefish. It is a cute skiing town similar to Jackson Hole! We enjoyed going up the mountain, having ice cream on the Whitefish Lake Beach area and not hiking!
We packed a lot into our short time there and can’t wait to go back and experience some more! There is just so much to see and do for any ability!
Tips
We watched countless YouTube videos on Glacier National Park, hiking GNP, do’s and don’ts of GNP, and more! This was very helpful! Our kids really wanted to do the Avalanche Lake and Grinnell Glacier hike after seeing videos on it.
Join Facebook groups, Instagram and/or TicTok. I learned so much from the FB groups I was on. I joined several months before we travelled and looked at questions and responses that were helpful to my family and our trip. It was a wealth of knowledge!
Buy and itinerary
We purchased an literary from Dirt in My Shoes. We did not follow the timing perfectly but it gave us an idea of what the highlights were to see in 3 days. You can choose how many days you plan to visit. Ash gives you times, tips, and directions. This was very helpful!
Guide Along App
Download the GuideAlong app! It is free and you buy the parks or areas you want. The prices are very reasonable and the guide gives you directions, great places to stop, places to skip, hidden gems, and so much more! Just make sure you download the information before you get into the park, no wifi is needed!
Stop at the Sharing Shack
Stop at the Sharing Shack in Columbia Falls. You can find information on this on Facebook! It was on our way from the airport to our lodging outside of the West Entrance. It is a free service that has things that you might need for your trip! We borrowed bear spray, water, sparkling water, and soft drinks. We had already stopped at the grocery but we could have borrowed so much more! They have coolers, bug spray, sunscreen, hiking shoes, poles, non-perishable food, drinks, medicine, toilet paper, plastic utensils, and more! There are no reservations so you never know what will be there. At the end of our trip we donated the bear spray we borrowed, sunscreen, bug spray, plastic utensils, paper towels, and water!
Planning a trip to Glacier National Park is a lot but it is the most beautiful area we have ever been to. It is worth some time in the beginning to make your trip that much more enjoyable and also knowing that being flexible is key as well! Happy trails!
