We are going in September. Have a baby so looking to keep hikes to 3 miles ish or less. What are the must do trails in that category?

We also watched the 4th of July firework show on the little city beach over Whitefish Lake. Was awesome. Only drawback was that sundown is 9:45 pm. So fireworks didn't start till 10:30pm. Sun's up at 5:30am. Makes for some long days but lots of opportunities for activities.

Do you planning ahead, specifically in getting boat tour reservations or time slots for the "going to the sun" road. I would recommend two of the ones we went on. We aren't intense hikers and I'm out of shape. But both of these hikes had people that were large, or had babies or were old. That to say, if you are in average shape and have a baby carrier backpack, it's more of a "walk" and the payoffs were amazing. Avalanche Lake hike and the Hidden Lake Overlook hike. The hidden lake hike had a lot of snow fields to cross. May not by the time you get there. It's a pretty easy trail and has a lot of wildlife along the way. Mountain goats, bighorn sheep and some say grizzly.

I'd also recommend the boat tours at Two Medicine lake. From the other side of the lake, you can hike about a half-mile in to a cool waterfall and back to the boat dock. Then you can either take the boat back across the lake or you can hike the perimeter of the lake. We hiked back the South side and it was beautiful. Not hard. Some elevation gain but again, if you are average shape, it's not hard. You can always go as slow as you want. And the slower allows you to take in more scenery.

Another cool lake tour was the boat at Many Glacier. It takes you across Lake Sherburne. Then drops you off and you hike about 500 yards over the hill to the next boat on Lake Josephine. Take that tour. There are little hikes around each of those lakes that will always get you back to a boat dock for a ride home.

Headed there in two weeks ! Will report back. Thanks for the tips.

My wife is OCD planner on trips and researches to the Nth degree. Restaurants, hikes, tickets, ins and outs etc. She also documents the trip afterwards. All details. If anyone wants our day by day notes, send me a DM and I'll email them to you. Pretty helpful. Some friends of ours have a condo in Whitefish and that was the basis for all of our recommended activities.

Last 2 things. Bear spray. We rented two cans for the hikes (do this.....don't skip it) rather than buy it. There is a cool rental machine, like a coke machine. We rented in Columbia falls and returned in WHitefish. Great concept. It's called the bearsprayshack. not sure why the website isn't working right now but we just used them. genius. Google it.

Also, we wanted a cooler for the trip to keep in the car each day. For drinks and snacks and sandwiches etc. There is a concept called the Sharing Shack GNP. It's in Columbia Falls. It's a hut where people donate their unused supplies and gear before they hit the airport. There's canned goods, cots, folding chairs, cheap coolers etc. We borrowed a cooler for our trip and returned it on the way to the airport. Cool concept. Supply varies as people come and go but better than buying a cooler to leave behind.

The timed entry for "going to the sun" road is hard to get way ahead. But try. I've heard at 7pm the night before, they open up any unused time slots and those are usually easy to get but you have to be somewhere with cell service or wifi to log on at exactly that time. Cell service in Glacier is pretty non-existant. Also, the timed entry is for West Glacier start. After 3pm or before 7am, there are no reservations needed (check this). Also, coming in from St. Mary's (the East end of that drive), there are no reservations needed. So the 1 hour drive around the South end of the park isn't bad; it's beautiful; and may be worth it if you don't have a reservation.

Our local friends said the park is most busy from about 10am - 3pm. SInce the sun doesn't set till 9:30pm or so, we did most of our hikes in the late afternoon. Parking was easier and we had plenty of day left. Just something to consider.

As an undergrad, I worked in Glacier as a backcountry ranger. Best job I ever had in my 42 years. I sure miss that place.

I was there in July 2022 and really enjoyed it.

Especially the Thursday night Rodeo and post rodeo meat market country dancing at the Blue Moon in Columbia Falls.
https://www.bluemoonniteclub.com/gallery

We ended a day at dinner at the Gunsight Saloon in Columbia Falls. They built a good outdoor area and stage with live music. Great place.

oldag941 - Do you know if the entrance at West Glacier was open before 7:00 am without a pass ?

That's my understanding. Before 7 and after 3. No timeslot required. But please verify.

huckleberry bear claws at polebridge!

This is one of the best places on the planet.

I was up there in 2022 for a mini-Saudi reunion with about 7-8 of my Saudi friends.

Turns out the girl who was from there, her mother had a lake house because they bought it when her dad went to Alaska single status with Fluor in 1975.

So we were partying at a $2.8M lake house that had been purchased almost 50 years earlier.

But yeah, it is sweet up there.

I'll piggy back and give my Glacier NP trip Report

One of the biggest takeaways I had was just how lush everything is here in Montana in July. The grass, flowers, trees all just perfect.
Our fam of four (two kids 6 and 9) started our trip off in Whitefish at the farmers market. The 50 degree rainy weather did not stop the locals from enjoying their summer day. They had some cool restaurants and food trucks there so we bought a few provisions and sampled some local beers.
We stayed at an air BNB off a golf course in Columbia falls and the view was amazing. Huckleberry bear claw and coffee in hand we watched deer in our yard every morning and evening. It gets light about 515am and dark at 930pm. So plenty of day to enjoy things.





The next morning was cloudy and cool but dry. We hiked around Lake McDonald and Kayaked out of Apgar Village. By the afternoon it was sunny and we took a bus tour of Going to The Sun Road. Definitely recommend the tour if you want to relax and see the sights and learn the history. We saw a black bear mom and cub and a grizzly from a ways away while on the tour. Because of how busy it is I'd book an early tour to even find parking at McDonald lodge. If you drive yourself I wouldn't even mess with the timed entry tickets. Just get there before 7 or after 3 bc The line of cars to enter the park at 11am is just awful.






Our third day we drove up to polebridge. Prepare multiple miles of unpaved roads. They get bumpy and you're going anywhere from 20-35 mph over most of it. Some awesome views of the river and open meadows with a mountain backdrop along the way.



Polebridge mercantile was pretty fun and there's a family friendly saloon nextdoor.



We made our way to bowman lake which I highly recommend (requires a timed entry but easy to get we bought it that morning ). Easily one of the best lake views I've seen. You'll have to decide if the drive is worth the payoff.



That afternoon We checked out Hungry horse dam which was a fun way to kill an hour or so then made our way up to Logan Pass and hiked Hidden Lake. Highly recommend this hike it's easy and there's a boardwalk for most of it. Parking is awful we had to circle a few times before finding some even at 4pm but that's the best time bc there's a morning rush to that lot bc high line trail head is across the street. Hidden Lake had awesome expansive views (compared to avalanche and cedars hike were mostly in trees) and we saw a ton of mountain goats.





Fourth Day we slept in and did a raft trip with Glacier Raft Company late morning. Guide was a lot of fun and the rapids were exciting enough but not where I was concerned for the safety of the kids. Had some pizza and beer in west glacier before moving on to our next activity.

That afternoon we had a horse ride booked for the fam through Swan Mountain Outfitters. Did an hour loop behind the crown of the continent visitor center. 5min from the west glacier entrance. Nothing too exciting but a few nice views and the kids had a blast.

Last morning. We did Glacier high line which is a nice little ropes course with zip line and some water features and bounce houses. Saw a wildlife museum I wanted to check out.

Next time I'd like to hike two medicine and maybe stay at or check out many glacier area to try and see more wildlife.