Dave and I headed to Montana to visit Glacier National Park. Dave snagged an awesome campsite at Flathead Lake with a view of the lake below us. Little did we know that Flathead Lake is the largest natural lake in the Western U.S., approximately 30 miles long and 16 miles wide and is one of the cleanest lakes in the world. Murphy adeptly found a trail that led down to the lake for our sunrise walks, and of course, a quick swim.
Our campground was about 1 ½ hours from the west entrance of Glacier, where timed entry passes are required between the hours of 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. during the very busy summer season. This entrance is the most popular for driving the scenic, winding, 50-mile Going to the Sun Road or GTTSR, heading “into the sun” going east. The GTTSR, with construction starting in the early 1920’s and opening in 1933, is considered an engineering marvel. Creating a “transmountain” road across the Continental Divide, with sheer cliffs and solid rocks was a unique challenge. Attached is a document which details this construction feat. Below are a few pictures along the GTTSR, courtesy of the National Park website
For our cycling friends, many have riding the GTTSR road on their “bucket list.” The park opens the road only to cyclists in the spring, before it is open to road traffic. During peak season, June 13th to Sept 28th, there are restricted time periods where bikes are not allowed on the road due to the traffic congestion. The road is very narrow and winding, and it is stated that only a skilled cyclist should ride along with cars, during the times open for cyclists in the summer. Depending on where a cyclist starts, it is 15 or 21 miles to the summit at Logan’s Pass, with an average of 6% uphill grade to the top. Downhill can be challenging, a cyclist must ensure to stay on their side of the center line, especially around the tight corners. The park service reports responding to uphill-downhill cyclist crashes which are an unfortunate consequence of a cyclist not staying in their lane while speeding downhill.
Now, on to our visit. It was suggested that if we wanted to hike, we had to arrive at the trailheads early, or it would be very difficult to find a parking space, especially since our visit was after Labor Day and the park’s shuttle system had stopped. I found a pet sitter for Murphy, since the trails are not dog friendly. We were able to drop him off by 7 a.m., which of course, would delay our entry into the park. So much for arriving at the trail heads early! We decided to head to the east entrance of the park (2 ½ hour drive from the pet sitter) and drive GTTSR from east to west, to hopefully get to the furthest east trailhead in time to get a parking spot. It did not really work as planned, but after waiting about 25 minutes, we were able to park at the trailhead. The hikes were to St. Mary & Virgina Falls and they were great. As mentioned earlier, it was after Labor Day, but the trails were still packed. Hikers needed patience while hiking to and from the falls along a single-track trail. We often needed to stop and let hikers by, or they would stop for us.
After the waterfalls hikes, we continued west on the scenic GTTSR, however, it was quite hazy and what would be gorgeous views of the mountains and canyons were obscured. We arrived at the summit, Logan’s Pass, right at mid-afternoon and we chose not to stay and hike the Hidden Lake trail. There were so many cars circling the parking lot for a parking spot and tons of people out and about. I can only imagine how busy the trail would be. The third potential hike, Avalanche Lake, was just as crowded, so we enjoyed the views along the GTTSR and headed to leave the park from the west entrance—but not before a quick stop at the visitor center to stamp my passport book.
Since we did not hike as much as we had hoped, we had some time left before we picked up Murphy. We found Big Mountain Ciderworks to stop for cider and a quick bite to eat. They had yummy garlic cheese curds that were quite addicting.
We were only able to see such a small part of Glacier this time. We would like to come back to Glacier just after snowmelt. The waterfalls would be gorgeous!
We are now heading west, with Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota our next “big rock.” I am sure we will have some great stops along the way.
Enjoying Montana Brenda, so much to see at Glacier NP Dave, and I had so much fun playing all day at Kelsi’s house Murphy.
Another beautiful park another gorgeous falls! You lucky folks. Stay safe! Reta