Headed to Glacier National Park - any suggestions?! About This Page:

[WDWorld2003]

Over the 4th of July we will be in Glacier National Park for 10 days!!!! Any must dos? We are staying outside of the park as we will have a dog. Staying in a KOA in West Glacier and a cabin outside of Whitefish. Also, renting a cabin for a couple of days in St. Mary...... Love to hear from anyone who's been there!

[GoofyMom]

Wow! Lucky you! That is a beautiful place! I can't really help you with any "must-sees". I only drove through it once on the way back to Canada. I remember stopping in a beautiful lodge (I think it was Lake McDonald Lodge) and I couldn't close my mouth! Just awesome. And we drove on the Going-to-the-Sun Road which was pretty incredible. We were staying in Waterton National Park which is on our side of the border, so I have a lot more info about Waterton than Glacier.

Have fun and bring lots of film! You're going to want to take pictures of everything.

[loobyoxlip]

Never been there - just wanted to say have a great time

[2princessmom]

The whole park is a must see! You really can't go wrong. However, if you plan to do any hiking please make sure to follow the guidelines and stay on the trails as grizzlies are very real danger! Depending on your time frame I love the Bison Range outside of Kalispell down by St. Ignatious! The bison Range has lots of animals and just amazing views of the whole valley! There is also a vortex that you can visit on the way to the park but I can't remember exactly where it is. Lots of fun if you have children. We lived in Montana for three years and Glacier is by far the best park the US has! Have a great time! Also be aware that the roads are very narrow in case that bothers you!
I am so jealous! I love Glacier! Fun to play in snow in the middle of summer as well!
Have Fun!

[WDWorld2003]

Goofy Mom - would love to hear about Waterton park as we may be staying there a few days.... thanks!

[GoofyMom]

WDWorld2003, here's a little info on Waterton.

You said you're going early July. You will likely need warm jackets. We went mid-June and we were bundled up -- it's cool in the mountains! In fact, there's one part of the Highway-to-the-Sun in Glacier that is supposed to be a waterfall that falls onto the road, well it was still frozen!

Anyway, back to Waterton. There's a small town called Waterton Village. That's where we stayed in a beautiful historic inn called Kilmorey Inn. It was charming, a cross between a bed & breakfast and a hotel. However, if you have your dog with you, I'm not sure if you could stay there. Make sure you stop in and buy a jar of Saskatoon Berry Jam there. And if it's nice out you might want to eat at their patio restaurant -- it's really pretty!

There is a short hiking trail in the village itself that leads to a small waterfall. You can continue on past that if you like, but I was too chicken because there had been a recent report of a bear. BTW, you can purchase small 'bear bells' in the gift shops to clip onto your jacket so you won't surprise a bear on your hikes. There are a number of longer hikes outside of town. Some are easy, others are more challenging.

If you have never seen bison, there is a paddock where a herd is kept. I guess they're cool if you've never seen them before, otherwise I'd skip it. You drive through the paddock, but you can't go off the road, and of course, the buffalo may not be near the road while you're driving on it.

There is a little unexpected surprise a few miles outside of town. Red Rock Canyon. I can't remember, but I think it was about a 10 mile drive. If you look around you there is no real indication firstly that the rocks would be red, and secondly that there is even a canyon around. It's not huge (kind of small actually!), but it is pretty and there is a picnic site nearby.

There is another pretty drive called the Cameron Lake Scenic Road. It's also only about 10 miles or so, but bring your camera!

If I remember correctly there were a few things to do in Waterton Village itself. Miniature golf, a movie theatre, the short hiking trail to the falls, and I think I remember there were bicycle rentals if you don't bring yours along.

Also there is a trail riding ranch just outside of the park. Mountain Meadow Trail Rides is about 20 minutes drive east of the park.

I don't know about accommodations outside of the park. There's a fairly large town about 30 minutes northeast of the park called Pincher Creek. It has a Super 8 and a few other hotels, as well as some B&B's. hotel link And then that opens up a whole new bunch of sites to see such as Head-Smashed-In Buffafo Jump World Heritage Site.

I hope this was helpful to you. You are going to have a great vacation. And you've made me want to go back!

[WDWorld2003]

Thanks for the great information Goofy Mom! It's a good thing both of us are from cold climates - we have lots of warms jackets to bring! We may just drive up to Waterton for the day as we're staying in St. Mary in a cabin for a few days and it's suppposed to be only a 40 minute drive from there. The Red Rock area sounds great..... I'm chicken of bears, too - we're going to buy a can of spray.

Thanks again - if you think of anything else we should not miss, please post!

[GoofyMom]

WDWorld2003, being that you're from a northern state you likely have crossed into Canada before, or at least know the rules, but just in case you haven't I want to make sure you know you need photo id for everyone in your party as proof of US residency, and proof from your vet that your dog is up to date in his shots. There's a sticky thread at the top of the Globetrotting Forum with a link to rules for entering Canada.

One thing I'm not too sure about which you should check on, is the bear spray. I'm not certain you will be allowed to cross the border with it if you buy it in Montana, and you may not be allowed to cross back into the US carrying it, so that's just something to be aware of. Likely not a big deal, just be prepared that you may have to surrender it at the border. It's not illegal in Canada (used as bear spray), however it is considered a dangerous weapon and weapons are not allowed in Canadian National Parks (which is what Waterton is). I'm trying to think back to when my DH bought bear spray -- he works a lot in the North where black, grizzly and polar bears are threats. If I remember correctly (which I may not ), he had to sign a form stating that he would not use it against people. Funny side story: DH decided he should know how it sprayed so he stood outside with his back to the wind and gave a short spray. Even though he made sure he was spraying it to go with the wind, it managed to come back and get him. Just the little dose that got him was pretty nasty he said.

Anyway, I just thought you should be aware of these things in case you haven't already thought of them. Waterton will be a very nice day trip.

[Shell_of_the_South]

I hope you will post a trip report when you return! We want to visit Glacier someday. If you haven't seen it, the Travel Channel has an excellent show on Glacier Nat'l Park. You might do a search on their website and see when it airs next. It comes on from time to time. They had some neat lodges and cabins to stay in.