Glacier National Park Recommendations

[Kyle D]

I'll be spending a week in Whitefish, MT in August with my family of 6 to celebrate my parent's 30th anniversary. We will be taking day trips into Glacier. Looking for must-do recommendations in the park and around Whitefish (including restaurants/bars..etc). Particularly, shorter, family friendly hikes as my parents are not fit hikers. I might get a chance to break away for a day and do a bigger hike - if so, what would you recommend?

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

If you have a chance for one big hike, the Highline is one of the most popular hikes in the park. And by utilizing the shuttle system you can do it as a one way hike. We did it in 2008 and really enjoyed it. We also enjoyed Siyeh Pass (another one way) and Iceberg Lake. We had plans for more, but weather said otherwise. However, we were based on the eastern side of the park, so these might not be convenient to you. On the western side we did Avalanche Lake and that was easier (although not sure how short you need for your parents).

Would recommend bear spray, especially if you are hiking by yourself.

Have a great trip!

Glacier NP 2008

 

[Paul_Bear]

For a shorter hike, drive to Logan Pass and hike to Hidden Lake Overlook. It's super popular, so get there early or late in the day to avoid the worst of the crowds. Mid day the parking lot is full and the trail is overrun with hundreds of park visitors. The scenery is spectacular and close up mountain goat encounters are almost certain.

 

[griffin]

+1 for the Highline and Iceberg Lake. I've also heard great things about the Siyeh Pass, but we weren't able fit it on the agenda.

You might want to visit http://glacier.nationalparkschat.com/phpBB3/index.php - it's a small group but there's a lot of great advice on where to go and what to do.

 

[KRobi]

We did all of the hikes mentioned above are they all were great! If you do the Highline, a short steep hike up to the overlook of Grinnell Glacier is worth it (the glacier won't be here much longer). When we did the Hidden Lake Overlook we continued down from the overlook to Hidden Lake as an extension. This was mid July. We had hats, gloves and extra gear (warm stuff). Our son jumped in the lake it was so hot out (came out very fast). On the climb out it went from 80 to about 35 in a matter of minutes, and was snowing at almost white out conditions for a time. The people out at the overlook in tank tops, flip flops and other "summer gear were in a near panic (rangers running out to help/direct people). Be prepared, even in August for changing conditions. We did two ranger led hikes and even our late teen age sons enjoyed them. It is all spectacular. Enjoy

 

[Greg YEAH!]

Just for kicks........read "Mark of the Grizzly" and hike the trails mentioned in that book. It will put a little spook in you. It did to me!!! I saw a lot of grizzlies in the time I lived out there but never had a problem or encounter with them. Iceberg Lake to Ptarmigan Tunnel is great, though it is a long drive to Many Glaciers from Whitefish. Siyeh Pass is nice as well. Reynolds Mountain is a good scramble from Hidden Lake, if you want to do some mountain climbing instead of hiking.

 

[Raven]

Avalanche Lake has a relatively easy, family friendly trail and is well worth the view of the Continental Divide behind the lake. There are some nice cascades (chutes?) along the way as well. We had the lake to ourselves for about 10 minutes, but it was midweek. The trail had hikers but it was not busy (July 2008). The trail feels smooth like a sidewalk when you are used to rocks and roots on some of the northeast trails.

It's a bit of a drive and more of a full day hike, but I'll second that the Grinnell Trail is pretty spectacular. Grinnell Lake has a beautiful turquoise color and there are falls coming off Salamander Glacier that are fantastic. We didn't get all the way out to the glacier as they were blasting snow off the last parts of the trail to open it up (I took some good video of the explosions).

We stayed for a week at cabins in the park and ate our meals there mostly, but one of the days we ate at a place called Two Sisters along a highway with not much else on it. Lots of license plates on the walls - it was a fun, loud place. After a long day hiking, it tasted good enough.

The surroundings in GNP are so stunning it's hard to describe. Have a great trip.

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

If you do the Highline, a short steep hike up to the overlook of Grinnell Glacier is worth it (the glacier won't be here much longer).

Definitely! We did the side trip and it was amazing how hard the wind was blowing. Sad the glacier won't be there long.

We encountered a grizzly mama and two cubs on the Highline trail. It was on a section where there really isn't a way to get off the trail and I thought for sure somebody was going to be mauled (there were a lot of hikers around at the time), but everybody made it okay. My husband and friend had a grizzly bear encounter as well when they were backpacking.

 

[Stan]

For a shorter hike, drive to Logan Pass and hike to Hidden Lake Overlook. It's super popular, so get there early or late in the day to avoid the worst of the crowds. Mid day the parking lot is full and the trail is overrun with hundreds of park visitors. The scenery is spectacular and close up mountain goat encounters are almost certain.

I second this suggestion. It would be an easy one for non-hikers and the mountain goats are a thril to behold. Going to the Sun Highway is a destination in itself.

We enjoyed a day trip to Waterton (Canadian) NP ... bring your passports ... but it was closer for us as we were staying in Many Glacier. We had "high tea" at the Prince of Wales Hotel and worked it off on Bear Bump 2 mi r.t.

Passing through Kalispell we had an especially enjoyable dinner at Montana Club.

There are many longer hikes and we favored the Many Clacier area but wherever you go, be sure to bring bear spray.