Yellowstone and Glacier Area Trip

Tim, typically, Glacier in June is rather unpredictable. It's an open secret that June is the worst of the tourist-heavy months to visit–its our rainiest month of the year and the snowpack is usually still going strong in the high country. Traditionally, things clear up and the weather turns around July 4th weekend, but that may or may not hold true depending on the weather.

If you're looking for low country stuff, that should be fairly doable. However, if you want to get high–which is where most of Glacier's iconic routes are–, that will likely be problematic. I'll try to follow up in the next couple of days with some more feedback.

It's a fantastic place, and more than worth visiting any month of the year. But it's important to know what you're getting into whenever you come.

Bugs can be bad in June in all the areas mentioned. The particulars depend on the year.

The first half of June actually shouldn't be too crowded in either spot. GTTSR in Glacier likely won't be open until later in June at the earliest, which is part of the reason. That could change depending on when snow starts melting.

June in Yellowstone is beautiful, with all the green and flowers. A short backpack in the Lamar or down the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone would be great. There will be a number of good, shorter out and backs in Glacier in June, mainly on the east side. Putting together a loop without getting into a lot of snow will be tough.

Lots of excellent overnight floating options. The rivers in early June tend to be very high, dangerously so upon occasion. Planning your floating closer to July would be a safer bet. The North Fork of the Flathead would be a good option. It's road accessible, but typically the road is off in the trees and it feels fairly remote.

Here's what I'd do in your shoes:

-Fly in mid-June.
-Drive to Yellowstone, do all the relevant dayhikes and tourist stuff. Probably not a bad idea to look into reservations if available.
-Do the Hellroaring-Black Canyon-Blacktail loop as a 2-3 day trip.
-Drive up towards Glacier via the Rocky Mountain Front. Go into Gibson Reservoir (ze Bob) via Augusta. You could actually paddle to the head of the reservoir, and either camp there and dayhike, or backpack up into the N Fork of the Sun. Make it at least as far north as Elk Hill.
-Drive up to Glacier, do some hiking. An overnighter up to Cobalt Lake is my first suggestion. You should be able to get this as a walk-in. Walking the south shore of St Mary lake with a night at Red Eagle is another good option.
-Be aware that front country camping on the east side of Glacier can be a pain (ie
the campgrounds are expensive and fill fast).
-Do a float trip on the North Fork. Polebridge to Camas Bridge or a bit further south has good views and is doable as a relaxed overnight between 5000-10000 cfs. Camping is free on the west bank, and you should be able to hitch back up and get the car fairly easily.
-Drive back to SLC via the Flathead, Missoula, and Salmon, ID. Visit Craters of the Moon and do some dayhiking along the way.

I appreciate all the info, that gives me a good place to start planning from. I think we will definitely fly out middle to end of June instead of earlier. I was going to mention that I had read in a blog that Glacier's worst hiking season was June …. then I realized it was your blog! I really enjoy it by the way.

Do you have any websites you can recommend for some good local info?

Best place for local conditions updates in the Glacier Park page. They'll start updating about road plowing in late April, which should give you a sense of how fast the snow is melting.