Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park was established in 1910 and truly was one of America’s best ideas. Between gorgeous turquoise lakes, an abundance of waterfalls, and the most epic road through the park, it is truly a natural wonder of America.

When the park was established in 1910, there were over one hundred glaciers there. Today there are only twenty-six that can still qualify as active glaciers. But, though the moving ice has receded, what it has left behind will leave you breathless.

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We took these photos from the stunning Going-To-The-Sun Road – the only road that cuts through the park, by cutting into the mountainside. These areas used to be completely filled with glaciers (thousands of years ago). But when they receded the wake they left was phenomenally beautiful. We loved the views from the Sun Road so much, we drove it twice so my husband and I could take turns gawking.

How to spend your time in Glacier

With over 700 miles of trail, and a large chunk of the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), there are so many options to consider when planning hikes.

For me, I was recovering from a recently-sprained ankle and decided to limit myself to two hikes – Grinnell Glacier (~7 miles out and back) and St Mary Falls with Victoria Falls (~4 miles out and back) and I really recommend both – they are classic Glacier NP hikes.

Grinnell Glacier is located in the Many Glacier portion of the park (one of the four valleys) and we got there at 7am and really recommend early arrivals — leaving at 11:30 they were no longer letting cars in and the line of cars streamed at least a mile! Our hike to Grinnell Glacier was stopped at Grinnell Lake due to snowpack preventing much more progress. We went 4th of July weekend, so there was still a lot of closures due to snow. But, the lake was beautiful and seeing it from the top was truly awesome.

Our second day in the park, we explored St Mary Valley by hiking to St Mary and Victoria Falls. St Mary Falls trailhead has, like, 10 parking spots. We got in at 8 AM and there was only one spot empty. Really recommend you come early if you want to do this hike.

And why wouldn’t you want to? Check out both St Mary Falls – a powerful rush of teal water – and Victoria Falls, where you can literally stand in the spray of its water.

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Both falls were well worth the short hike to see them. This was all the hiking my ankle would allow us to do, but I’ve heard fantastic things about Hidden Lake and here’s someone else’s (AllTrails.com) picture to convince you:

As far as how to spend your time in Glacier National Park, I really recommend our itinerary and for Goodness’ sake, don’t be afraid to wake up early! The infrastructure of the park really is not meant to handle the huge uptick in visitors these past few years, so parking is a nightmare.

Do you have to drive in the park?

Technically, no. The park provides a shuttle service, but there’s always way more demand than what the vans can provide and wait times can be up to an hour. There are also Red Bus tours available that work much like the shuttles and are open-topped for panoramic views.

I really recommend driving since you get freedom over where to go and where to get out along the Sun Road. JUST KNOW that if you drive your own car, parking will be crazy after 8 AM and you may not be able to access all the trailheads and ranger stations. For us this wasn’t an issue, but for some it totally could be.

Other things to do?

Ok, you’ve seen the gorgeous waterfalls, the epic landscapes, how else can you spend time in this fantastic place?

Canoeing/Kayaking

There’s a company called Glacier Park Boat Co. that will rent out rowboats, kayaks, and canoes at Lake McDonald, Many Glacier, and Two Medicine. Also available at those lakes and St Mary Lake are boat tours. We opted for a canoe and boat tour of Two Medicine Lake and would highly recommend both! Here’s one of the Two Medicine lakes from above:

Ranger-led activities

You can visit the NPS website to see which activities are available, in which of the four valleys. Our host recommended the Native American Speaks events and (if the sky is clear) star gazing with a Park Ranger and their telescope!

That’s all the tips I have for now, but comment below if you have any questions! Enjoy your trip to Glacier National Park – it will be so worth it!