Glacier National Park Trip Remark/旅游后记
Category for This Article
1) Our Trip/Itinerary & Activities
2) Wild Animals
3) Wild Fruit and Wild Flowers
4) Food and Restaurant Recommendation
5) Recommended Itinerary
Our Trip/Itinerary
Dates: 7/16/2021 - 7/24/2021
Airline (Alaska Airline): RDU -Seattle - Kalispell, and Kalispell -Seattle - RDU
Lodging: 7/16 - 7/23, St. Mary Village, 0.25 mile outside of east gate
7/23 - 7/24: Belton Chalet Hotel, West Glacier, one mile outside of west Glacier gate
Activities:
Day 1, we took airplane from RDU to Kalispell. From Kalispell airport, drove through west Glacier via Going-to-The-Sun Road, pass Apgar, Lake McDonald, stopped several overlooks on the road, arrived St. Mary Village around 9 pm on 7/16
Day 2 - Avalanche Lake 1.9 mile-trial, 3.8 miles round, easy trail, very beautiful dark green water, several water falls flow to the lake, and you can get into the lake or sit on the beach. We stayed there for a couple of hours for relaxing, and preparing for next day’s Hidden Lake trail and Virginal Falls trail.
It says you will be good luck if you get some mud from the lake, and put on your face, that what a girl did, and she also offered us the mud.
Day 3 - Hidden Lake Trail and Virginia Falls
1) Hidden Lake trail/Hidden Lake Overlook, 2.8 miles round trip, modulated. Finding a parking spot is not easy for this trail. We got up 5:15 am, arrived the Logan Pass at 6:10 am, got a parting spot! The beginning part of the trail are wood stairs, the trail is very open, with snow on the mountain, and wild animal: big horn sheep and mountain goats are everywhere, so as wild flowers. It is one of beautiful places with very high reviews.
2) St. Mary Falls & Virginia Falls, 3.6 miles round trip, modulated. Very pretty falls, the water fall from high mountains, flow all the way to St. Mary Lake. You can walk into the Virginia Falls, I drunk the water too. This fall is worth to see.
Day 4 - Many Glacier - Iceberg Lake, 4.8 miles, 9.6 miles round trip, modulated trail, beautiful lake, the most beautiful scenic place (秀气) I ever visited in North American! The water temperature in the lake was 34 F, a lot of brave people jumped into the water for a short swimming, and one guy stayed in the water about 5 minutes!
Day 5 - Many Glacier - Mani Glacier Lodge/Swiftcurrent Lake, and Josephine Lake, lower Grinnell Lake. We walked about 10 miles total along those three lakes. The Many Glacier Lodge is on the Swiftcurrent Lake, the hotel faces the Swiftcurrent Lake, nice water view! It would be great if one could spend a couple of nights in the hotel! You can see sunset and sun-raising at the front of the hotel! And there is a nice restaurant inside of this hotel too.
Horsing Riding experience: We met a family of four: mother (Heather), son and his wife, 6 months old baby, Heather’s granddaughter. Heather held the baby while riding. They took three horses (horses in a car) from Indian State, drove 30 hours to Glacier National Park. They rode the horses from the creek to the trail in the Swiftcurrant Lake area, and where we met them. They offered me to ride their horse with them, which is an additional surprise and unexpected and excited experience for me for this vacation!
Day 6 - Many Glacier - upper Grinnell Lake, From Many Glacier Lodge took a boat in the Swiftcurrent Lake to Josephine Lake, then walk to the upper Lake Grinnell, another beautiful lake, much large lake than Iceberg Lake, and more glacier in the lake, the lake is almost covered by ice/snow, 壮观! This trail is a hard one to walk!
To ensure the boat tickets, you will need to reserve the tickets online few months before arriving. They may also have cancellations, but you will need to be there before the 1st boat departing at 8: 00 am. So we decided to try our luck, went there 7:30 am, we were the number 4 in the line, and 1st one is a couple for two seats, 2nd one is a big family for eight seats, and 3rd one a couple for two tickets, then us for 4 seats. We were anxious and worry about. Just before 8:00 am, the couple at front of us left! And the big family got eight seats, just four seats left for US! We got it!
The upper Grinnell Lake trail is about 14 miles round trip, and besides nice water view experience, taking the boat can save about one third of waking. We walked about 10 miles a day from Day 2 to Day 5, and another two people got blisters on the foot, I got a big blister on each food. So saving few miles a day is very criterial and important, plus we have another beautiful waiting trail for us next day – Highline trail! With my two big blisters on my feet, and with pain, we walked to the upper Grinnell Lake, more than 7 miles! But it was worth it!
Day 7 - Highline Trail Finding a parking spot at the Logan Pass is an issue, we got there at 6:30 am this time, no parking spot left! We had to park somewhere, fortunately, we found a nearby parking spot, about half mile away from the Logan Pass. The Highline Trail is a modulated trail, 13 miles total one way, due to the blisters on our feet (on three of us!), so three of us walked about 4 miles to where we can see the other side of mountains, then we walk back. It is a truly beautiful scenic trail, on this trail you can see almost all other maintains in the Glacier Park. Again, with the blisters and pain, I walked 8 miles! (other two’s blisters didn’t cause pain). But it was worth it! One person walked 13 miles, and we picked her up at the end of trail (The Loop). You also can talk to the end of the trail, and take the Red Bus to the Logan Pass, but you need to book tickets few months before arriving.
Day 8 - Lake McDonald On 7/23 morning, we got up 5:30 am and went the Wild Goose Island to see the mountains with sun rising. The sky was not that clear, but was not bad (it was foggy in the morning for the majority of days while we ware there)
We left St. Mary Village, driving through highway 89 - 49 - 2 to the west side of the park: Two Medicine Lake, Glacier Park Lodge at east side, nice hotel, just a little further from the park (45 minutes driving from St. Mary Village), Flathead Lake, Apgar Village, Lake McDonald. This is a planned relax day.
After seeing all those beautiful lakes, I didn’t feel the Two Medicine Lake is that impressive.
The Lake McDonald is pretty, there is a hotel at the lake called Apgar Village Lodge & Cabins. It could be very relaxing and enjoyable experience if one can spend a night in this hotel. And there are restaurants and gift shops in the Apgar Village.
There is another good place to stay for a night or so at the other end of the Lake McDonald, which is Motel Lake McDonald, and you can find a water view room.
Day 9 - 7/24, left the west Glacier national park, took airplane from Kalispell to RDU
Wild Animal
You can see wild animal everywhere, those animals include: mountain goats, bighorn sheep, bears – grizzly bear, brown bear, and others. We saw bears morning and evening almost every day. The most area we saw bears are those flat and open areas between Wild Goose Island and St. Mary Village on the Go-To-Sun-Rising road, And mountain goats and bighorn sheep are everywhere too, and they don’t afraid of people.
Wild Fruit and Wild Flowers
One famous wild fruit is Hackberry, there are Hackberry ice cream, Hackberry Jam, Hackberry honey. July is Hackberry season, and you will see Hackberry bushes everywhere, you will be able to pick up few ripped ones and try. It tastes good, unique, and better than Hackberry ice cream or Hackberry pie.
July is good time to visit the Glacier National Park if you like wild flowers, because it is blooming season, you will see the wild flowers everywhere.
Food
Arriving at the Kalispell airport, which is close to Whitefish. We purchased water, fruits, bread, eggs, and sausage (for next morning’s breakfast) at Whitefish. There are few large size grocery stores with reasonably priced groceries at Whitefish. And we spent the majority of days in east side of the park, St. Mary. And there is a small grocery store in St Mary, much less groceries and more expansive comparing with the grocery stores in Whitefish.
You should bring some food for breakfast, lunch, especially for lunch, because there almost no place to get food while walking on all those trails. For those days that you need to leave hotel earlier to get a parking space, you will need to bring your own breakfast too. We brought some leman noodles, energy bars, beef jerks. And we brought a folding water boiler that you can use for boiling water, and cook sausage and eggs.
Recommended restaurants at East side park:
1) Two Sister’s Café, close on Thursday and Friday, believe or not. People there are so layback – close a restaurant on Thursday and Friday! And the park is only open for few months in summer!
2) Restaurant inside of Many Glacier Lodge
Recommended Itinerary
The places well worth to see, not necessary in the order.
1. Avalanche Lake
2. Hidden Lake (Parking at Logan Pass)
3. Highline Trail (Parking at Logan Pass)
4. Iceberg Lake (in Many Glacier area)
5. Grinnell Lake, upper (in Many Glacier area)
6. Cracker Lake, we didn’t go due to difficult level of the trail (in Many Glacier area)
7. Wild Goose Island for sun rising and sun-set
8. Virginia Falls
A better planned lodging/itinerary should be the follow as (assuming taking airplane to Kalispell):
1. Stay one night at Apgar Village (Apgar Village Lodge & Cabin), it is located at the low end of Lake McDonald, there are restaurants and gift shops at the Apgar village, very nice view of the lake. You can do canoe or kayak in the lake too. You also can spend a night at Motel Lake McDonald, which is located at the other end of Lake McDonald. Next day, taking Trail of the Cedar and Avalanche trail to Avalanche Lake, which is close to Lake McDonald
2. Stay 3 - 4 nights at Mani Glacier area, you can either stay in Swiftcurrent Lodge Cottages, Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, or Mini Glacier Hotel. You can go the following places while staying the Mani Glacier area:
1) Iceberg Lake
2) Grinnell Lake
3) Lake Cracker Lake (we didn’t go because the trail is not a eary trail)
3. Stay 2 – 3 nights at St. Mary Village, you can go the following place:
1) Hidden Lake
2) St. Mary Falls and Virginia Falls
3) Wild Goose Island
4) Highline Trail
So the total 7 – 8 night stay will be idea if you want to walk all famous trials
Recommended hotel reservation websites:
https://www.glacierparkcollection.com/
https://www.usparklodging.com/glacier/
You should reserve the hotels one year ahead of time
