Exploring Glacier National Park Montana

As you might expect, glaciers have played a large role in shaping the land in Glacier National Park. About two million years ago, the Pleistocene Ice Age set in and covered the region in ice until about 12,000 years ago. Today, there are about two dozen named alpine glaciers that can be found in the park, although none are currently active.

The mountains in Glacier National park are largely the result of two tectonic plates crashing together along the Continental Divide. In fact, the Lewis Overthrust Fault is one of Glacier National Park’s most prominent features. This area of the park is the result of one plate sliding about fifty miles over the top of another.

The Rocky Mountains are dotted with numerous caves that wind their way through the limestone. Various rivers eat away at the limestone deep in the mountains and form the caverns. In the Montana portion of Glacier National Park, there are at least sixteen known caves, the longest of which is a little over a mile and the deepest of which goes down 365 feet. 

Glacier National Park is located in the northwestern corner of Montana and extends up to the Canadian border. It is north of the Flathead National Forest and east of the Kootenai National Forest. It’s close to both the Flathead and Blackfeet Indian Reservations and is about two and a half hours northwest of Great Falls, Montana. 

Glacier National Park is bordered on its southern edge by Highway 2, and it runs out to Highway 89 on its eastern edge. The western edge is marked by the North Fork Flathead River, which merges with the Middle Fork Flathead River near the southwestern border. The northeastern edge of the park extends due north from Chief Mountain and then in a diagonal line down to Naoi Point and on to where it meets with Highway 89.

One of the most popular ways for visitors to get into Glacier National Park is by using the shuttle service. The shuttles run from July 1 through Labor Day weekend, and you will need a ticket to ride. Shuttles run between the Apgar Visitor Center and Logan Pass Visitor Center and then on to the St. Mary Visitor Center with stops in between and a transfer between lines at Logan Pass.

There are a variety of options if you’d like to get a guided tour of Glacier National Park. Boat tours are popular at Many Glacier, Two Medicine, Rising Sun, and Lake McDonald, and you can take bus tours focusing on Blackfeet culture. You can also arrange for guided hiking tours, raft tours, field courses, and even guided horseback rides. 

Of course, many visitors to Glacier National Park prefer to drive their own car to the park. You can get to any of the facilities in the park by car, although parking options may be limited or require a pass. Highways 2 and 89 offer easy access to the southern end of the park, and you can follow smaller roads in to reach the more central features in the park.

Lake McDonald is located on the western side of Glacier National Park and has tons of hiking trails available for visitors. The lake is about ten miles long and nearly 500 feet deep and was carved by glaciers during the early ice ages. Today, you can take in the gorgeous view of surrounding mountains reflected in the mirror-smooth water, or you can hike out to see some of the many waterfalls in the area.

Iceberg Lake is one of Glacier National Park’s most beautiful treasures, but you’re going to have to walk a ways if you want to see it. There’s a trail leading out to the lake that’s a little more than 9 miles long with an elevation gain of 1,450 feet. This trail is rated at a moderate difficulty, and you should plan to hike it sometime between June and October.

If you’d like a driving tour of Glacier National Park, there are few better places to do that than Going to the Sun Road. This road is also popular among cyclists who want to enjoy some of the breathtaking mountain views along the route. The lower sections of Going to the Sun Road are open all year, but the more mountainous sections are only open during the warmer months.

Bowman Lake is a gorgeous attraction in the North Fork area of the park, about thirty-two miles north of the West Entrance. There’s a campground there that will give you the most peaceful morning views you could ever hope for. The campground offers potable water for tent campers, as well as vault toilets. 

Lake McDonald Lodge sits on the eastern shore of the lake and offers eighty-two guest rooms. You can choose among the three-story main lodge, Snyder Hall, the beautiful Cobb House, and a row of cabins. There are fantastic restaurants available at the lodge, and all rooms have private bathrooms.

If you’re looking for the hotel with the best views in the park, you’ll be hard-pressed to beat those at Many Glacier Hotel. The lodge sits on the edge of Swiftcurrent Lake and was built just a few years after the park was established. The hotel is five stories and offers two suites, seven family rooms, and 205 guest rooms with different pricing options.

Sperry Chalet is even older than Many Glacier Hotel, built in 1913 by the Great Northern Railway. This lodge is tucked away in the beautiful backcountry of the park east of Lake McDonald. The lodge is only open during the summer months, but they provide comfortable lodging and hearty food to accompany the beautiful views. 

As you might guess from the name, Glacier National Park gets extremely cold during the winter months, and the weather can be unpredictable. November, December, and January see an average of more than 3 inches of precipitation, and the park usually gets its first freeze in October. During the summer months, temperatures range between highs in the 70s and 80s and lows in the 40s.

If you’re interested in backcountry camping, there are plenty of opportunities for that in Glacier National Park, too. There are dozens of backcountry campsites available around the park, all of which have varying resources and regulations. Most of these are open only during the summer months when the weather is mild, and some don’t allow for wood fires, so be mindful of that.