Next down you have the middle or Going to the Sun Road. This goes from one side of the park to the o

Am planning another trip and am calling on Fodorites to help with the planning (again!) We want to go to Glacier NP in August '13 and I am overwhelmed. Should we begin west entrance or east? Kalispell looks easy, Is Calgary too far? (direct flight from Texas) Is Great Falls a better airport choice? Reviews suggest that the east side of the park is more scenic. We are active seniors, like short hikes and boat trips and can overdose on great scenery! Does the red bus drive the entire Going to the Sun road? Is day or 1/2 day better?Would it be better to drive ourselves?Any suggestions would be so greatly orlando vacation home rentals appreciated. As you can see, I am confused!!!!
On May 31, DW and I got off the Westbound Empire Builder in Cut Bank and had a rental car waiting for us. We went up to St. Mary 6/1 and 17 miles up the GTTS road on the east side to the closed gate which was several miles below Logan Pass which was still being plowed. After that we drove past Medicine Lake and then west on US 2 as far as the Isaac Walton Lodge before orlando vacation home rentals heading back to Browning for the Museum of the Plains Indian and back to Cut Bank to turn in the car and get back on the train to Spokane.
Both sides are beautiful. About 7 years ago we got off the Empire Builder and were picked up by the van from Meadow Lake Resort (Columbia Falls). We had a car delivered there and took the driver back to the Kalispell airport before heading up as far as Lake McDonald where the gate was closed (November). We did see some elk that day in Glacier.
The red "jammers" travel the entire GTS road unless stopped by road work. The first time we visited, I drove....and missed most of the scenery as I attempted orlando vacation home rentals to miss the rocks that line the road. Next trip we were much smarter and let someone else drive. The road is just too darn tricky to let your attention orlando vacation home rentals wander for even a moment...and the vistas are so glorious that you don't want to skip any.
The red "jammers" travel the entire GTS road unless stopped by road work. The first time we visited, I drove....and missed most of the scenery as I attempted orlando vacation home rentals to miss the rocks that line the road. Next trip we were much smarter and let someone else drive. The road is just too darn tricky to let your attention wander for even a moment...and the vistas are so glorious that you don't want to skip any.
Thanks for your answers! Marginal, I had seen the website you gave and am aware of the actual distances. There is so much more that I can learn from those who have actually made the trip as far as scenery, roads etc, all the intangibles. The park website opened so many questions for me like where to stay to maximize our time in the park. I couldnt get those answers from the website
Many Glacier. Excellent scenic hikes. Depending upon your physical condition some may or may not be more than you want. I'm in my upper 60s and did them. You don't have to complete them. A lot of wildlife on some very short and easy hikes. Beautiful scenery.
Next down you have the middle or Going to the Sun Road. This goes from one side of the park to the other. Some excellent hikes for scenery, wildlife and waterfalls. We spent two nights here and never went to the west side. There was construction a little west of Logan's Pass. Another minor deterrant to going west.
Airport. We started in Many Glacier. From Kalispell and Great Falls that's about a 3 hour drive to Many Glacier. They are both small airports with the issues of small airports. And few flights from anywhere.
Calgary airport is a little under 4 hours to Many Glacier. It's a major airport with many flights. I flew from FLL and got a one-change flight and arrived 12:15. There's a Walmart Supercenter 5 minutes from the airport and we bought all of our supplies there. Since we were out relatively early each morning, we never ate breakfast or lunch in a restaurant. Only dinner. We had enough that we bought there.
The road from Calgary is simple, two lanes each way, smooth and no hills. Same road all the way. A very pleasant drive. We did decide to stop in Waterton Lakes for a few hours on the way back but only because it was convenient.
We had a 7AM flight the next morning so it's great that there's a Delta Hotel in the airport right next to the car rental. You can either walk across the street orlando vacation home rentals into the terminal or go one floor up and take the indoor walkway. We returned the car the evening before so in the morning we walked out of our room, checked out in 5 minutes and walked across to the terminal. No car return or shuttles required.
Some will start talking about crossing the border. Those are people afraid of going to a different country. We had no issues going ineither direction. The agents were friendly on both sides. Essentially you can bring any food except orlando vacation home rentals citrus and I guess raw meat if you camping. Almost anything orlando vacation home rentals else.
I forgot. We never took the Jammers orlando vacation home rentals tour. Typically I research what I want and prefer to decide where I'll go and for how long. Depending on the type of traveller you are this may or may not be a good option for you.
About driving on GTTS road. I'm a driver who thinks the yellow line is meant to straddle. I had absolutely no trouble driving on that road. I've read that the west side is steeper. Maybe but I'll deal with that next time. I thought it was a lot tamer than driving some roads in Yellowstone.
Myer, thanks and I have read and enjoyed your trip report. Thanks for taking the time to post also for answering my questions. You spent 2 nights in Many Glacier, then where? What have you chosen for next year? I thought 2 nights in one hotel inside the park then 2 at another would give us a good bit of diversity. We might go to Waterton but have been there before. Saw a huge grizzley there! Border crossing is no problem orlando vacation home rentals but getting bumped off or missing a flight might be, so Calgary is appealing. Are the jammer tours run by the NPS or do I get info elsewhere? I cant seem to get the info I need. Thanks so much
They are both super convenient orlando vacation home rentals for the activities in the area. You shouold definitely do the Hidden Lake overlook hike and maybe part of Highline. With Highline you have to make a decision. You could make it during the hike.
Quite early in the hike there's a famous part of the trail. Some people find it scary so they put a cable that you can hold. Heights normally frak me but this trail is a lot wider than I expected. I didn't need the cable. Some people hold it. I didn't see anybody turn back. But you could.
We couldn't do all of Grinnell Glacier hike due to a dangerous snowfield. I didn't get to the Two Medicine area. I want to drive as much of GTTS road as possible and stop most of the viewpoints that I didn't.
Back to lodging. In Many Glacier there's Many Glacier Hotel. Probably orlando vacation home rentals nicer than Swiftcurrent that's more like a motel. I don't remember why I chose that over the hotel. It was fine though. The hotel is right on the lake. The motor inn is closer to the trails. They're less than a mile apart so no problem either way.
After seeing the large waterfalls in Yosemite and Yellowstone orlando vacation home rentals I thought St Mary and Virginia Falls would be nothing. They're both beatiful and each has their own shape. A bit of a hike but not difficult. Since it's mostly in shade the hike is fine. Just rest whenever you want.
I am planning a trip there the last week of July 2013. I am either going to do a Jammer tour to Waterton/Afternoon orlando vacation home rentals Tea to Prince of Wales or the shorter one that goes from Glacier Park Lodge to Two Medicine area(it also includes a boat ride there).
Kalispell seems to easily be the closest airport(depending on where you want to start at in Glacier), in my opinion. However, as myer mentions, could have issues as smaller airports. I cancelled an entire trip there last year(however that was due to 49 airplanes being damaged in a hail storm in Denver-couldn't catch a flight for several days). I am getting close to booking and I can buy a ticket to Hawaii or Alaska for less than I can to Kalispell.
Thanks for the tip. I will book as soon as I can figure out where! Im thinking perhaps 2 nights at Many Glacier Hotel then 2 nights at the newer St Mary's jammer or car trips out from each. Im tempted to fly into Calgary bec can get a non stop.
I was underwhelmed by the Many Glacier Hotel. If it had been up to me, we would have stayed at Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, but my husband really wanted to stay in an historic lodge. The rooms were miniscule; the soundproofing was non-existent; and the rates were outrageous. The common areas were very nice, but you don't have to stay there to use them. (In fact, I heard a park ranger recommend orlando vacation home rentals staying elsewhere and just enjoying the facilities at Many Glacier Hotel.)
- 1 night in Apgar, west part of park(Apgar village inn is a nice place to stay)and some not too difficult hikes are possible(Avalanche lake, Trail of the cedars, Fish lake) but also some moderate(Snyder lake) or more difficult(Sperry orlando vacation home rentals Chalet). A drive to north fork is also a possibility(Bowman lake with some hikes here).
- then you can drive the Going to the sun road and have 2 nights at Rising Sun Motor inn. It's a superb location with more caracter than St Mary complex(and reviews orlando vacation home rentals on St Mary are not so good). The restaurant here is cool.You can have 3 nights here and explore some nice hikes on this part(Okotomi lake, Gunsight lake, Highline trail, Syeh and Piegan pass), some easy, some moderate.
About the free shuttle. I don't think it's intended orlando vacation home rentals as a means to tour GTTS rd. I think it's for going from A to B. I read somewhere that this year they increase the time between shuttles. Probably to save money. I'm not sure I ever saw them on the road. But also I only saw a couple of people waiting at a stop. That's either good or bad.
Erik is a lot younger (about 14 years) than I am. So I would expect his hikes to be somewhat different than mine. He's been to Glacier several times, has stayed at different lodging with different itineraries. I pay close attention to Erik's opinions and then adapt the