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Glacier National Park Montana – 2 night trip planning

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PostedJun 24, 2014 at 5:34 pm

I'm headed to Glacier National Park (USA/Montana, not the one in Canada) in 2 weeks for a Wednesday afternoon – Thursday all day – Friday morning trip. Looking for any good itinerary recommendations to let me hit the "best" highlights of Glacier NP, since I've never been there before and don't know when I'll have a chance to go back.

I understand there are some permitting logistics, I don't think I'm early enough in my trip planning to do anything other than walk-up permits, although any advice on this is also appreciated.

I have a post in the hiking partner forum as well if you're interested in coming along!

David Chenault BPL Member
PostedJun 24, 2014 at 6:48 pm

Benjamin, sadly I won't be able to join you, as I'll have to work most of those days.

You ought to know that the park still has a lot of snow, an unusual amount for this time of year, as three feet fell at the highest elevations last week. That snow melting led to a fair bit of flooding, and will make for higher than typical stream crossings when you're here. Another thing to keep in mind.

No sense in getting advanced permits now, but you should give getting a BC permit a bit of consideration before you arrive. Early July isn't busy, but a number of folks with advanced reservations will probably be scared off their planned trips by the aforementioned conditions, thus crowding the more snow-free areas. The walk-in page is your friend here: http://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/bcpermits/bcbull/bcrescgstatus.cfm

If you have three days for the park, I'd get your permit first thing. You can get one walk-in on the morning of the day before you start. Then that first day drive up to Logan Pass (which should be open by then) and spend a day dayhiking around and seeing the sights. The next day and the day after, do an overnight. Keeping to the east side of the park is simplest. A trip going out to Cobalt Lake or Upper Two Med Lake, hiking on one side of Two Med Lake on the first day and completing the loop on the other side the second, would be a fine choice. An out and back in the Belly River area, staying at Elizabeth Lake, Cosley Lake, or the foot of Glens Lake, would be another good option. Both would have a fair bit of traffic, which might allay concerns about going solo if it comes to that.

The above advice is assuming you're not comfortable with much snow climbing. If you are, say so and I'll give you some other options.

PostedJun 24, 2014 at 7:43 pm

Awesome info. In what I would normally consider a completely ridiculous question given this is a July trip, is there any AT skiing to be had right now in Glacier? Is that even allowed?

Even if you said "yes" I probably would write the idea off as completely stupid to do alone, and I really was planning for a warm weather summer type event…

Speaking of which, what's the nighttime temperatures?

You mentioned stream crossings, are they frequent?

David Chenault BPL Member
PostedJun 24, 2014 at 8:48 pm

Lots of AT skiing still to be done! Once they open up the road all the way to the pass the options are pretty extensive, and the access dead easy. Full spectrum of angle available, too.

Night temps shouldn't be too bad. Down to freezing is possible, but not likely.

Major stream crossings (ie ones which might be an issue) are marked on the NatGeo maps. At the moment there are numerous smaller streams which are big enough to get your feet wet, but not big enough to cause a delay or safety risk.

Matthew H BPL Member
PostedJun 24, 2014 at 9:10 pm

I know Glacier fairly well, been there a couple of times. Unfortunately I've never been at this time of the year (usually late July/August) so I cannot help you as I think a lot of the areas I would suggest are still under snow.

The short hike up to see Hidden Lake from Logan Pass visitor center is great. Only 40 minutes up and the lake is beautiful. Also from there you can walk and do the Highline Trail which will take nearly a full day.

Other hikes I've done that I recommend:

Iceberg Lake
Grinnell Glacier

I do feel like both of these will be under snow though.. you should check it out before hand :) Enjoy, it's a beautiful place!

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