Where to fly to get to glacier national park
Glacier National Park- What to Know Before You GO!
[Music]
this is Steve again and as you know
glacier is my favorite National Park and
I've been to most of them I've produced
several videos on the park including two
90 or so minute travel guides that have
a great amount of detail about specific
parts of the park like the
going-to-the-sun road the parks lodges
and the parks most popular trails I
wrote this video to introduce this
fantastic place to future visitors and
to provide you with the info that you
need to make the most of your trip
especially but not necessarily if you're
a hiker because I think everyone should
experience my favorite Park it has
everything for the person who loves the
outdoors and nature there's a beautiful
Drive mountains lakes streams broad
valleys the first wildlife and of course
glaciers but my favorite part is the
over 700 miles of trails that help you
experience at all you probably know that
I've produced a 90-minute documentary
slash Travel Guide called glacier the
hikers National Park it covers lodging
in the Sun Road and other basics and it
also takes a very detailed look at
several of the parks most popular trails
the park has trails for everyone even if
you're in a wheelchair if you're a
backpacker glacier has great multi-day
backcountry hikes but permits are
required for those and there are a
limited number of backcountry camping
permits most people have heard of the
Appalachian Trail but did you know
there's also a Continental Divide Trail
the 3100 mile trail begins in Mexico and
goes all the way to Glacier National
Park and then on to Canada a few of my
favorite glacier trails are actually
part of this monster trail
I'll show you a hiking plan for a
one-week stay I'll also provide
alternatives because weather bears and
mother nature's other influences don't
really care that you really want to do a
trail on a certain day nature is in
charge here and she's gonna do what she
wants to do regardless of your plans
Fletcher has easy hikes shaded trails
trails and beautiful valleys and of
course some magnificent trails along the
Continental Divide that have amazing
views most of the trails are out and
back but there are also some loop trails
and some one-way trails that require
transportation back to the trailhead
I'll tell you how to arrange for that -
for those of you who are new to the park
first let's say that there are five
general areas plus one that's accessed
through the adjacent companion park in
Canada called Waterton Lakes National
Park the Park Service website created a
trail map for each of these five areas
these maps include data that can be
confusing and frankly a little hard to
figure out but the website also lists
distance and elevation gain information
below the map and the map itself the
trails are listed at the top of each map
along with the net elevation game so
first here's a brief overview of each
area let's start with the Lake McDonald
area this is where most people enter the
park and it can be a bit crowded the
base elevation here is the lowest in the
park and most trails are well below the
six thousand to sixty nine hundred foot
tree line so they're shaded which is
handy on hot days masses fires in 2017
and 2018 burned about thirty thousand
acres in this area the many glacier map
covers trails in the northeast part of
the park which is my favorite
there are flat trails with great views
strenuous Ike's with great views
and my favorite trail which ends at a
glacier the North Fork and goat haunt
map extend to the Canadian border
North Fork area has many remote Finger
Lakes to access via rough gravel roads
don't HOD can only be accessed from a
trail or through Canada the st. mary'
map includes trails along the east side
of the Sun Road and Logan paths
here you'll find easy access to
waterfalls near the Sun Road hikes to
high mountain passes and popular trails
at Logan Pass to medicine is in the
southeast part of the park from the time
the park opened in 1910 until the
going-to-the-sun road was completed in
1932 most park visitors arrived by train
in the nearby town of East Glacier today
too medicine is less crowded than the
other areas of the park which is kind of
odd because it has some amazing trails
so that covers the five Maps but there
are also some great trails in the
adjoining waterton national park so I'll
talk about a couple of these too if
you're not a hiker there's another way
to do a trail by force at the end of the
video I'll list my favorite hikes which
I consider must dues and I'll have a
list of what I would call second-tier
hikes one very important thing we need
to talk about before hitting the trail
is safety including bear safety moose
and goat safety even mountain lion
safety and well my even saw a porcupine
near my swift current cabin once
even if you're not gonna hike a trail
you need to read the parts info on bear
safety for legal reasons I can't really
describe it here all I'm gonna say is
that it's very important for you to know
how to be safe out here I've hiked
hundreds of miles in the park and I've
never seen a bear near me hey bear but I
always follow the rules and rule number
one is make noise I have been close to
goats and moose on trails and even they
can be dangerous so please educate
yourself and maybe buy a can of bear
spray when you get to the park is it's
not allowed on most airlines and I've
got one more housekeeping item before we
start hiking Glacier is a popular park
and at times it can be hard to get
around up to three million people visit
each year and the vast majority do it in
about the three month window when the
going to the Sun Road is open which is
usually in late June or early July
depending on the weather and it usually
closes in mid September to October in
the parks Lodge as well they're not open
year-round either the lodges on the west
side open in mid-may the east side
lodges don't open til a few weeks later
usually in early June and they tend to
close in mid-september which is a couple
of weeks earlier than the west side
lodges to help you get around there is a
form of mass transit the parks website
has a getting around page check it out
at least once before heading here
there's border crossing info typical
driving times from the five park areas
in shuttle and tour information the
shuttle system has its own page and even
if you're planning on driving to
trailheads every day you may feel
differently once you're here so read it
the hiker shuttle is free along the
going-to-the-sun road from Saint Mary to
Logan Pass and on the west side it's
free from Apgar to Logan Pass
the west side shuttles run every 15 of
30 minutes but they only run every 40
minutes from st. Mary express service to
Logan Pass starts at about 7:00 a.m. the
regular surface doesn't begin until 9
a.m. and the last bus leaves Logan Pass
at 7 p.m. and you don't want to miss
that one
of course these times are subject to
change so always check for yourself
and remember that there's no cell
service in the park while there's a
little bit Apgar generally can get it
but the rest of the park you're not
gonna have any connection I've heard
that you can get some coverage if you
have t-mobile near st. Mary's but the
bulk of the park has absolutely no cell
phone coverage and yes there's Wi-Fi in
the Park lodges but it's very slow and
frankly intermittent don't count on it
because of size restrictions on the Sun
Road the shuttles are small and they
only hold 12 to 20 people and they're
often full so you may have to wait for a
second or even a third bus during peak
times and our weights are not unknown
there's another way to get around and
that's with a red bus we have both
shuttles and tours the shuttles tend
operate only when the lodges are open
for a fee of three to ten dollars on the
west side they can take you to and from
the train station or from Apgar to Lake
McDonald on the east side you can take a
red bus from the mini glacier hotel or
the Motor Inn to the st. Mary visitors
center glacier is beautiful maybe too
beautiful overcrowding is now a problem
in the last few years about 3 million
people have visited the park that's up
about 50% from 10 years ago I was here
when Al Gore visited I hiked to Grinnell
glacier with his group and by the early
2000s media reports claimed that all the
glaciers in the park would be gone by
2020
prompting millions to come to see them
before they melted away but 26 of the
glaciers are still here by the way you
still may find a few signs in the park
that claim all the glaciers will be gone
by 2020 they removed a few of them in
2019 but they didn't have enough money
in the budget to remove all of the
inaccurate signs but even though the
glaciers are still here I bet
overcrowding will continue to be an
issue the vast majority of visitors stay
outside the park
meaning they drive in this leads to
traffic jams and full parking lots some
parts of the park are even closed for
hours each day because of overcrowding
before your trip monitor the parks
parking status page in its Road status
page to see where and what time of day
overcrowding starts to shut things down
and consider taking a red bus or hiker
shuttle when you're
in the park if you're lucky enough to
stay in the park check with the hotel
staff or a local ranger station before
leaving for another area road congestion
is also caused by road construction such
delays are common on the son road and
there may be closures at night too in
2020 and 2021 the popular mini glacier
road will be reconstructed and long
delays are expected both in and out of
the area
let's talk about trip planning the plan
is important but keep in mind that
glacier is not a theme park
nature's plans may not coincide with
yours so first plan for flexibility bear
activity can close trails and
campgrounds weather is unpredictable and
can change quickly in the mountains
forest fires can utterly ruin your plans
in recent years my annual trip has been
canceled twice because much of the park
was on fire and smoke from fires even if
there are hundreds of miles away and
make hiking and even breathing difficult
and for some dangerous so when planning
a week to ten day trip I plan for at
least one bad weather day your plans
will also depend on if you're staying on
the east or west side remember it takes
two to three hours to cross the park on
the Sun row keep in mind that those who
are in really good shape but many more
options when it comes to doing trails
I prefer nine to ten day trips but most
people stay for less than a week so the
itinerary I'm about to describe is for a
seven days stay let's say you arrive in
the afternoon so on day one get to know
the area read over the park info they
give you when you enter the park and ask
a ranger or hotel staff if any of the
trails are closed ask where there have
been wildlife sightings then explore
your local area ask other visitors what
they've done that they really enjoy and
take a short walk or hike just to see
how the altitude is affecting you
remember the east side elevation is
about five thousand feet and that's
about two thousand feet higher than it
is on the west side near Lake McDonald
for dinner or perhaps after dinner visit
one of the parks historic hotels even if
you're not staying in many areas have
Ranger Talks each night near a
campground or in a hotel ballroom in
many glacier a ranger sets up a spotting
scope in the swift current parking lot
each evening you may not be lucky enough
to see a bear but there's almost always
something on one of the mountain ridges
and of course you don't have to do all
of these things on the first night
you've got six more whatever you do
don't just hang around in your room it's
far too beautiful out here
rooms are for sleeping and writing in
your journal that's how I get the base
material for these scripts unless I get
to the park really early on day one I
use my first full day in the park day
two to get used to the altitude and
maybe do a short hike but most
importantly that's the day I take a
bunch of pictures drive to going to the
Sun Road or take a bus tour to another
area of the park that you haven't seen
it takes two to three hours to drive the
50 ish mile going to the Sun Road and if
you're lucky enough to get a parking
place at Logan Pass stop and look around
you never know what you might see or
photograph but please remember these are
wild animals don't try to take a selfie
with them if you feel up to it take an
hour or so to hike out to my favorite
lunch spot with it's great view of
heavens peak in the valley below on the
Sun Road when you come to Sun Rift Gorge
stop and take a look at the gorge and
maybe walk down to bearing Falls it's
not far and don't miss one of my
favorite photo ops in the park wild
goose island viewpoint it's just a few
steps from the Sun Road play sure is a
great place for photographers and
instagramers and of course remember that
the east side of the park is lit by the
Sun in the morning and the west side of
the park is lit in the afternoon and
also remember there is no phone service
in most of the park
so instead of just taking a selfie why
not take something that's suitable for
framing by day three it's time to take a
real hike one of my must-do hikes for
first-time visitors who are physically
fit here's a list of my must-do hikes
number one and my favorite hike in
Glacier National Park
it's the Grinnell glacier trail this is
one of the few trails where you can
actually walk up to a glacier number two
on my list is the Highline trail from
Logan Pass and connecting with the Swift
Current Pass trail all the way too many
quai sure now number three is a tie so
I'm kind of cheating here the ptarmigan
tunnel seiyya pass or crypt lake or how
very nice hikes and they're also a
little bit more difficult but there's
also an easy one on my list number four
bullhead Lake so on day three if it's
open I suggest you do the Grinnell
glacier trail first it's my favorite
hike and it's not too difficult it takes
me two and a half to three hours of hard
hiking to get up there I'm taking photos
and videos at many of the beautiful
spots along the way and remember this
one is three miles shorter when you take
the boat for many this is a tough day
but it's one you will never forget day
four if you're tired and sore maybe with
a blister or two you may want a day that
doesn't have quite as much up as the
Grinnell Fletcher trail so the Highline
trail which is up to fifteen point two
miles long might be a good option for it
because it has only about eight hundred
feet up up when you go all the way down
swift current the fifteen point two mile
version from Logan passed a mini glacier
now it takes me about eight hours now
that's too much for you consider just
going down to the loop that's only
twelve miles long and it has only 330
feet of up but you'll need the hiker
shuttle to get back to Logan Pass both
routes go down about 2300 feet and
remember that hiking poles make
descending much easier on the knees if
either of those routes are just too long
for you consider just taking the two to
three hours to go out to my lunch spot
and back it's a great hike and because
it doesn't take that much time you can
do another trail like Hidden Lake
okay now we're at day five after two
relatively hard days I plan for an easy
one and bullhead Lake is perfect it's an
eight mile round trip that feels
relatively flat they say it goes up and
down about 400 feet but really you can't
tell day six well since yesterday was a
pretty easy day it's time for another
tough hike so this would be one of my
number three's the ptarmigan tunnel SIA
past or crypt Lake any of these trails
will make for a very memorable last day
but these hikes should only be done by
people who are in really pretty darn
good shape because these are pretty
tough if that doesn't include you will
consider doing one of my second tier
hikes like iceberg lake
on day seven getaway day get up before
the Sun to see Glacier at daybreak I do
this nearly every day to capture images
and get time-lapse sunrises Glacier
looks incredible at dawn and everyone
should experience this at least once
when they come to pleasure if I don't
have to leave until midday I'll also try
to do a short hike before I leave the
Falls hike from the Sun Road the trail
of the Cedars on the west side or maybe
even a jaunt out to my lunch spot if I
have to cross through the park basically
take in as much as possible you may have
noticed that I haven't said too much
about nighttime activities for me nights
are for contemplation and wonder but I
know that's not for everyone most of the
parks hotels have entertainment at night
and I mentioned the Ranger talks hotels
also offer fine dining and a bar in the
bars unlike your room have a TV
regrettably kids can play online video
games in a lobby at night while the rest
of us take in the incredible ambience of
the place if you are a young couple
remember that the walls in these old
hotels are very thin even in the dark
glacier is amazing this is a great place
for stargazing especially when there's a
new moon the altitude and clear sky
means a city dweller will see more stars
than they've ever seen before you can't
do all the great trails in the park on
one trip in any trail may be closed for
any number of reasons so here's a list
of my top tier must-do hikes to choose
from first of course is the Grinnell
glacier trail the trail of the Cedars is
number 2 followed by the Highline trail
and that means just about any version of
it including my lunch spot the ptarmigan
tunnel seiyya pass bullhead lake
Lake and st. Mary's Falls are all hikes
that you should do at least once but if
any of those trails are closed or if
some of them are just too hard for you
these trails are on my second tier of
great
iceberg Lake Grinnell Lake I can pass
swift current pass
Dawson pass Virginia Falls Hidden Lake
avalanche lake a bikuni Falls Fisher cap
Lake to see the moose and Sperry Chalet
there are likely plenty of other nice
trails out there that I haven't done and
I hope that you'll tell me about them in
the comments so what do you do if the
weather is bad
well first come prepared bring gore-tex
versions of everything from shoes to
Hatton clothes and hike anyway I'm one
of my first trips to the park I spent
several hours on one rainy day just
hanging out in The Many Glacier Hotel
the ever-changing view of the large
scale windows in the warmth and smells
of the fireplace made for a remarkably
pleasant day well for several hours
anyway and remember the weather can be
quite different on either side of the
park if it's raining on the side you're
on
check with a ranger or hotel staff to
see where it might not be raining on
more than one occasion I've just driven
to another area and done hikes over
there forest fires are a bigger problem
I cancelled a couple of my recent annual
trips because of large fires late in the
season fire smoke even from distant
fires can make hiking difficult and even
dangerous bear activity can also cause
trails and campgrounds to be closed
remember this is not a theme park mother
nature is not your mom and like your mom
she has no favorites but nature isn't
the only thing that can hurt your trip
glacier has become a victim of its own
success crowds have made travel and
especially parking a big problem and you
can see the parking lot status on the
website and remember you can also find
Road status information on the website
too many cars can cause Rangers to close
road access to popular areas of the park
I think the best way to combat
overcrowding is to start early
but not in the dark by the way bears and
other animals like to drink in the lakes
and streams early in the morning so be
alert and be careful
for many glacier is a once-in-a-lifetime
trip but for me in countless others we
keep coming back because you just can't
do all these trails in one week if
you're not a hiker there's another way
to see glaciers backcountry on horseback
the vendor provides trail rides of
various lengths in several areas of the
park a full-day ride can take you to
cracker lake it's probably the bluest
lake in the park in 2017 a massive
forest fire destroyed the remote Sperry
Chalet it's been rebuilt
instead of taking a very difficult hike
you can once again ride up there
overnight rides are also available
another way to see the park is by boat
tours are available in most areas of the
park and there's one in Waterton Lakes
too I've been on all of them and they're
a nice way to relax after a long hike or
perhaps on a day when you want to let
the blisters heal a bit I hope this
video helps you plan your trip if you
enjoyed it please give it a like and
maybe write a comment I read every
single one of them and they're quite
helpful when the time comes to update
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if you're looking for more information
on Glacier don't forget I have another
90-minute documentary called glacier the
hikers national park it's also available
on my youtube channel thanks for
watching and come on out to Glacier my
favorite National Park and I think
you'll agree this place is special
you
