Glacier National Park - Plan Your Trip!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 18 тра 2019
- Glacier National Park may be the most beautiful vacation you ever take! Get the inside scoop on where to stay, how to snag that campsite how to stay safe and out of trouble with the park rangers with the first installment of our guides on Glacier!
Laura and I (Shane) go to glacier about 2 to 3 times per year, so we have lots of experience planning the ins and outs of a trip to Glacier.
I have hiked all over the west from Colorado's 14ers to Mount Whitney, to mountains all around western Montana, to the tangle lakes in Alaska, and I have never been to a place more beautiful or awe inspiring than Glacier National Park.
We talk about the cost of entry, how to get to the park, and how to get around once you are there, the main areas/attractions of the park, lodging options, wildlife, important safety tips, food, how to layer to stay safe and comfortable.
We hope this guide to Glacier National Park is helpful to you and your family as you make your plans to visit one of the most beautiful places on the planet!
Do you have any tips that we missed? Share them with us in the comments below!
LOL "The bear is high". Thank you guys. Very information.
We are currently planning our trip for 2 weeks in Glacier this coming September and we can't wait. Thanks for the great information.
Coming to glacier in September. This video is so helpful! Thank you for sharing!
Glad we could help! Thanks so much for the positive feedback. We really appreciate it 😁 have fun on your trip!
Traveling there this weekend! Can’t wait! Thank you for the tips!
Have fun!!!
Daughter (17) and I have been planning our Glacier trip for almost a year!! Driving from Texas and planning on being there 8-10 days end of August and into September. Glad I found you guys and will be watching more later!!
Awesome! I hope you find our videos helpful and have a great trip! -Shane
Same here! I'm planning my trip to GNP in August 2020 from Texas!!
Hi how was your trip, can you share details, I also plan to go in September/October this year and I am in Houston.
Thanks
Thanks for this video, very helpful. I'll need to bookmark this video because Glacier National Park is in my bucket list.
Awesome! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment!
I just found you two on UA-cam. I live close to Glacier and hike their every weekend. You did such a great job describing everything! You have a new subscriber
Awesome! Thanks Carolyn!
Thank you so very much. This is the most informative video that I have stumbled upon on planning the glacier tour.
Thanks! We are so glad we could help.
I'm gonna be camping in Glacier this June. Thanks for all the information. Great video! :D
Thanks Pratham! Hope you have a great time!
Awesome! Am planning a trip for next summer. This is super-helpful. And I really appreciated the check-list graphics. Subscribed!
Thanks Eric! Glad you found it helpful!
My 3 work buddies and I from NJ decided to hike and backpack through the backcountry of at least 2 National Parks a year while we were bored one winter day at work in 2018.
Our 1st trip was to Glacier and Yellowstone. We did both parks in 8 days, and actually did about 40+ miles in each, and saw quite a bit. We hiked some of the more popular backcountry trails.
Since then, we’ve done King’s Canyon, Sequoia, Yosemite, Acadia, The Bob, Canyonlands, Delaware Water Gap & Appalachian Trail, and we were supposed to do Bryce and Zion in 2020 (but... pandemic). We were itching big time for our 2021 choice because we didn’t get to do 2020.
It took all of 2 years to choose Glacier again! Lol. No other park was even considered as a duplicate.
So in August 2021 we’re going back (along with a trip in October for dessert to our newest National Park, to whitewater run the upper Gauley River in New River Gorge National Park).
But we couldn’t stay away from Glacier! It just hits different. All of those parks were gorgeous, and their all different. Yellowstone wild and vast. Yosemite a straight punch to the gut when you hit the Valley. Rae Lakes just huge and grand. But Glacier is otherworldly! And... Grizzlies!! How could you not love it. We scored big time on our backcountry permits, so hopefully we get as lucky this year.
This video is super informative, and everything you said would def help out anyone considering going to Glacier for the first time. As well as very helpful for planning the trip. It can be overwhelming to plan for that park (especially if you’re planning on multi day permitted backpacking trips). Getting a place, and finding sites, can be almost impossible if you don’t start planning almost a year in advance. That said... you can get super lucky. And you can also get lucky rolling up on the day of your trip. They do save half of the backcountry permits for people in line on the day of. But get to the ranger station at, or before, 4am if you’re going to do that.
Thanks guys for the info.
You guys are fun. And knowledgeable. And good communicators. Kudos and thanks.
Thank you! We really appreciate it.
Thanks so much for all the information in this video. This one and all your other videos are super helpful. Driving up there from Missouri at the end of August. Can't wait!
Awesome! Thanks for the encouraging words. We genuinely appreciate that :) best of luck on your trip. You’re going to love it!
Aye I’m driving from St. Louis in hopefully end of July to August!
So helpful! Thank you for the tips
Thanks Hailey! Happy to help 😁
Thank you can’t wait to view more of your videos
Thanks!
thanks for all the great tips! Going to Glacier in early Sept!
Glad we could help Jaimie 😁 Have fun!
Thanks for all the information! Very good video
Thanks Bill! Glad you found it helpful 👍
Thank you, going to Glacier NP Sept 9th. Excited
You’re welcome Larry! Thanks for checking out our video and taking the time to leave a comment. Best of luck on your trip!
Just bought a house in Kalispell, Your videos have been very helpful - So looking to being there. Cheers'
I love Glacier. It’s the most beautiful Park in America to me and I’ve seen just about all of them.
We sure think so too (though we haven’t seen nearly as many 😁)!
This was helpful. Particularly the emphasis on the space/time issues. Distances can be deceiving. I’ve lived in the inter-mountain west for over five years now and still greatly underestimate how far something is, or how long it will take me to get somewhere
Thanks for the positive feedback, Timothy! We’re glad you found the video helpful 😀
What a nice channel. Thank you
Thank you! We appreciate it.
Great video guys 👏👏
Thanks Cameron!
and there's the East Glacier Lodge. Oh and in East Glacier ... when the east side opens up after covid, is The Circle R hotel. I know the owner and manager and they are both great people and it has very comfy beds.
On the eastern side of the park, I've stayed in Brownies Hostel, which has private rooms and is reasonably priced several times. It's in a quiet little town 20 minutes away from the Two Medicine entrance. Definitely recommend!
Thanks for the info. We’ll have to check it out!
Nice job!
Thanks Nicholas!
Great tips, thank you. Am planning my first trip there. Is it possible to do the Grinnell Glacier trail when staying in Kalispell? Sounds like a long way to drive to get there early enough.
We have done this before. It is quite the day, but it can definitely be done!
So, here we go... going to plan a bucket list item for my wife. We will plan for next year. I need all the help i can get! I'm not used to planning.. i have always been a tag along! I'm scared and excited.
EDIT: my name is Shane, as well!
Great summary of Glacier Park and what to expect.ps our house is under 100.00 and no cinder blocks and you can come and go as you please. Aunt Betty.
That’s such a generous offer Aunt Betty! If we get a chance to get up there this summer, we will definitely take you up on that! We see that you get up to the park a bunch, you’ll have to show us some new hikes 😀
I was planning a trip through Glacier to Banff in Alberta later on towards August/September but now I'm thinking I may just make them two different trips, Glacier this year and Banff next year. There's no way I could just watch Glacier go by through my window, I'm definitely gonna need at least a week there
We think that’s a great plan!
Visited the park for a week in Aug. Hiked back into chalet stayed 2 nights... snowed 2 nd night. Had to change distination hiking plans & take a different trail?.When we hiked backed out and continued on the very next day the hiking trails were closed due to lots of bear activity for 1 1/2 days! Thank goodness we got to the car and drove to enjoy the rest of the week!
Oh my goodness! What a trip. Definitely illustrates the volatility of the weather in Glacier! And the need for flexibility because of both weather and wildlife.
Thanks for the helpful video! Do you guys have any recommendations for biking the going to the sun rd? Ive heard you can go even before cars due to snow? What month do you guys recommend biking?
Hi Paige, thanks for watching! Unfortunately we don’t know a lot about biking going to the sun. We do know that it can be done, as we see people doing it every time we go.
Our understanding is the same as yours, that you can bike up before the pass opens to vehicles. I would try to plan on sometime close to the summer season (July and August) as the weather can turn quite bad in the spring and fall. I would also suggest lots of layers for the trip down.
sounds like Glacier needs to get it together with the first come first serve and take a page from Shenandoah NP, where the ranger keeps track of who is coming and going. At Shenandoah, there's a ranger booth at the campground who can tell you what sites are available, whether they are first come first serve or reservable, whether you'll fit in the spot, etc. It was still a stressful process just b/c it's such a busy park, even in October, so there were a ton of people in line trying to get a spot.
That does sound like a good system!
These customer service robots are really life-like!
Do you guys suggest getting an extra gas tank.. were going for a little over a week in August to do Yellowstone & glacier. Is there gas stations just outside the parks?
That’s a great question! No, you should have no problem filling up in saint mary, west Glacier, or even Kalispell.
Oh, and there are gas stations in the towns at the entrances to Yellowstone too!
Thanks for your vlog, but it is too fast for me, especially when you don't know anything about this part of the world, I currently living in Houston and plan to visit Glacier National Park by this September or October, please can you advise that will it be wise to go by the end of September into October?
Thanks
Hey guys! New to glacier NP.
Where do y’all recommend staying if all the hotels in the park are booked out?? Don’t want to accidentally get a Air BNb that’s 3 hours from the main trailheads
Hi Jordan. I would suggest determining which trailheads you want to be near first. You could be in the park and over 2 hours away from a particular trailhead.
We generally suggest to look for a place in Kalispell. It’s a solid hour from the park, but it’s the only sizable town in the area. So if you aren’t planning at least 6 months in advance, it’s really your best chance at accommodations at a reasonable price.
If you can spend a little more, Columbia Falls is a good bit closer to the park.
Do u need a pass to GTTSR if camping on the grounds?
Great video! Do both my husband need to get bear spray, or is one canister enough?
Thanks Mariann! We usually just bring one can of bear spray. As long as you are sure to have it ready (not packed away in your bag), you should be good.
Thank you!
One husband is enough
Umair Rizvi haha, I didn’t catch my mistake until you pointed it out. Certainly 1 husband is enough!
Hi guys, just booked an Airbnb in whitefish right at the end of April. I talked to the owner or the Airbnb about hiking in glacier in April and she said she personally liked it a lot because there are way less people around, but once it gets warmer in the summer months there will just be more hiking options. In your experience are there still a solid amount of hikes generally at the end of April?
It’s pretty hit or miss. Large parts of the park will be closed for sure. There will probably be cool parts like the trail of the Cedars (avalanche) that will be open, but I think few, if any, high elevation trails will be open at that time.
Adventures of Shane and Laura appreciate the reply! We decided to move it to mid/late May right before memorial day weekend. Figured we’ll have more trails open but still early enough to avoid the crowds
I'm planning to take my husband and 15 trip old daughter there for 5 days in July. My husband loves outdoor and me and my daughter are more beach vacationers but its a treat to my hubby. Any recommendations on where to stay? Seems the lodging in the park are all sold out. Any tips and recommendations are greatly appreciated. Im trying to check Expedia of similar sites for packages, flights, hotel and car. But not sure of locations to book the hotel. Thank you.
You’ll want to look for a hotel around Kalispell. Be sure to book soon.
We plan to go this July but 2 camp ground that I want to reserved it's already full. What are my Chase for first come first serve campground.
Your chances for first come first serve are not bad, but be sure to show up early, fill out the ticket, and post it to the first camping spot marker post you find free of any other tickets.
We are going the week of June 21st. On average, is the whole road, or at least part of Sun road open during that time?
I don’t know if we could give you an average, I would say that you could see anything from only up to avalanche or the whole thing could be open. It seems like it’s closed near the bottom if it’s not open all the way through. Anytime before July is a gamble, and even in the first few days of July it may not be open.
You can track the current conditions of the road by looking up “going to the sun road current conditions.
Finally, it looks like they are instituting reservations for driving going to the sun road. Look into that before going.
Any thought on biking in spring on going to the sun?
We have never done it, but we have friends who have. They say that it’s the best way to see the park!
What camera do you recommend?
Do you have to pay the entrance fee if camping in the park?
Any suggestions if you have 3 days to spend at the park but no car? Want to take Amtraks Empire Builder. Where do we stay? What activities can we do? Rent a car? Tours? Etc?
This is a hard question to answer. If you are able to stay at one of the parks lodges then relying on the tours may work for you. That option is very expensive, and you have to book it over a year in advance. We have never been to Glacier and relied solely on public transportation, and to us that seems like an overwhelming trip to plan. Additionally, it may be extremely difficult to get up to the Many Glacier or Two Medicine areas without a car. Renting a car will allow you more flexibility and may provide you with cheaper lodging options (hotels, camping). For me, cost is usually one of the biggest concerns. If you have three days to spend in the park, you should definitely plan a couple hikes. Let me know what your fitness level is and we can recommend some hikes to do.
So the main road at glacier is only open from around July to October? That’s such a small window! I was wanting to plan a trip in May. I guess I should wait a few more months.
That is correct. Winter high in the northern Rockies just can’t be controlled and dozens of feet of snow overcome the road early in the winter and it takes months for the crews to clear the road to the top to allow visitors a few extra weeks to visit the park.
It’s unfortunate because it means the park is much more congested than it would otherwise be, but there’s just no getting around the harsh realities of winter at that latitude and elevation.
But yes, I would not plan a trip in may. Since the turn of the millennium (year 2000) Logan Pass has only opened in the last week of May 4 times and has also opened in early July 4 times.
If you are making plans that are not flexible, I would definitely suggest waiting until July.
Adventures of Shane and Laura thank you so much for the response! I will definitely start planning things for middle of July then!
ccap3211 happy we could help!
Sounds like a great place to avoid if you are spontaneous. Unless planning a couple years out, why bother.
Yes, if you want to be spontaneous, you will have to be very flexible. Though we have been relatively spontaneous on some visits and just planned on staying in Kalispell (an hour away). It’s just a very high demand place - so many people want to experience it, with good reason.
Going June 10. Do you think it will still be worth it? Considering lengthening our trip to Yellowstone because of the possible road closure. Will there still be enough to do? Loved the video.
Thank you!! The most up to date information I have says that the entire east side of the park will be closed for the foreseeable future, which means you can’t access St. Mary’s, Many Glacier, or Two Medicine. A few years ago we went up to Glacier in early June and on the west side of the park the snow was only cleared until Avalanche Creek. It was insanely packed with no where to park.
I would recommend doing Yellowstone and via Cooke City you could do the Beartooth Highway and come out to Red Lodge, MT. Beartooth Highway is another place that is only open depending on the snow.
I would like to stay at the campsite. Ill be there for 6-7 days. Can you please tell me if I should book my entire stay at one campsite like apgar or if you would recommend to stay half at apgar and half at a different campsite or if apgar is central close to everything
I think you could use apgar as a base, just be ready for some parts of the park (not all) to be a 2.5 hour drive. You could also consider staying one or two nights anywhere on the east side of the park as that would give you a chance to see many glacier and two medicine without long drives.
@@AdventuresofShaneandLaura my partner and I are not professional hikers and most likely at most we can do 5-7 miles. Our plan is to stay 4 days in Apgar, my boyfriend enjoys fishing and we would like to stay the rest of our stay (3) days in a different campsite filled with beautiful trails (not overly long) and a fishing lake. Which other campsite would you recommend?
St. Mary’s campground on the east side is a good one to stay at.
Is the park still open end of october?
Going to the Sun road is typically still open from mid to late October, but that really depends on snowfall. I know a lot of properties and business’ start shutting down in September.
Can you keep food in an rv?
Yep, you can 👍🏻
Would u recommend as a solo trip
That’s a great question. Glacier is great even when you are just driving through or doing a short day hike. I wouldn’t go deep into the back country (maybe more than a 3 mile hike) without a partner, but there are tons of other things to do if you are solo. Definitely would recommend the trip!
@@AdventuresofShaneandLaura thank u
I figured it out. You sound just like Seth green dude.
I can’t un hear it now
All I’m thinking is without a pddle
Should I fly or drive from Houston Texas?
There are too many considerations for us to give you definitive advice on that. What we can tell you is that it would be a multiple day road trip each way if you drive. The question is, are you looking for a road trip?
Adventures of Shane and Laura well not really tbh . I just need to know how will I travel around the big park and where will I stay the night .
Fish Creek campground is the only open campground open in the park and it closes early Sept. I would recommend booking a hotel in Kalispell, Columbia Falls, or Whitefish. It’ll still be a bit of a drive to the park, but it’s probably the only place you can book a room. You will have to rent a car if you stay in any of these towns. Don’t book anything on the East side since it’s closed due to the pandemic. Let us know if you have any other questions.
Adventures of Shane and Laura Okay thank you 🙏🏻
How much does it cost to hire Shane for a week? You can make up to $20 a day!!! Please let us know.
Thank you very much. I genuinely appreciate your interest in my work. While I have not done a lot of contract videography work, I'll be frank with you, I have a day job and $20 per day wouldn't be enough.
U guys must break this video in many short videos ... Maybe 2 mins video each
Hi Umair. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. While we see this video as a sort of "one stop shop" , I can imagine the microvideos as being great too.
I hate the concept of first come, first serve campsites. I would rather reserve a site so I'm guaranteed a spot.
For sure! It can be nice for a spontaneous trip, but if you have some time to plan ahead, reservations save so much hassle!
@@AdventuresofShaneandLaura Nice video folks. I have been to Glacier many times(16!) and I think it is worth mentioning that only 3 car campgrounds can be reserved. Fishcreek on the west side and St. Mary on the east are the prime ones with Many Glacier having about half its' sights reserveable. It is also worth mentioning that Many Glacier is a complete zoo most of the time from late June to September. It is my favorite campground but it is also the favorite of everyone else in entire world! Cheers
Thanks for the positive feedback Gary! And thanks for adding some useful information!
Bro let her talk