Glacier National Park/Whitefish, MT

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must-do's/must-sees we have to add to our list?

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Obtain timed entry passes for the park so you dont have to go crazy early or late.
Your nephew lives there, he should be able to be a good guide.

Get a room and spend at least one night on that side of the park. We were there last summer and really enjoyed the Many Glacier INn and that side of the park.

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Check dates as going to the sun usually closes for the year around that time

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From the National Park Service:

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The alpine sections of Going-to-the-Sun Road typically close for the winter around the third Monday of October, but this can happen earlier due to wintery weather.

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My only suggestion is to stay longer
GNP is awesome but so is the entire area. National forests everywhere if you want to avoid the crowds one day. Whitefish has some great restaurants and trendy shops. It’s a weird (but interesting) mix of California wealth and old school conservative Montana.
Like others mentioned, get your passes ahead of time but since it’s after Labor Day you should have lighter crowds.
It’s a lot of driving , vast area. Definitely hit Many Glacier one day !

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Been twice. If I went back, I'd spend 90% of my time in the park again. I'd exit for the occasional meal that isn't coming from my backpack and be back in the morning to hike another area. It's the most beautiful park I've been to, and I've been to most of them.

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This is the way to see Glacier.

About 20 years ago a group of us headed by my dad took the boat down Waterton to goat haunt and backpacked the next 5 days until popping out at Chief Mountain near the border. Most amazing scenery I’ve ever seen

I’ve been to GNP twice. Last year and the year before. Pack up your ice chest and some lunches, get out of the car and roam around. Hiking is the best way to see Glacier National park. I’ve also did a horseback ride. Just an average ride.

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Someone else mentioned getting passes, but realize the national park entry pass is different from the pass for the Going to the Sun Road, which can be more difficult to get. Hop on line now.

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We already have our vehicle reservations passes for the days we will be at the park and we have the America the Beautiful pass to gain us entrance to the park. Impossible to get vehicle passes now as we had to order them back in May, 120 days in advance of the days we will be visiting (Sept 5-9). The cost was $2 per day, per vehicle. Now your only options are to get a vehicle reservation pass online at 7 pm the night before you are visiting the park or enter the park before 6 am or after 3 pm the day of. I've also read you DO NOT need a vehicle reservation pass if you have a reservation for one of the lake tours, horseback rides or other activities within the park, you just need to show proof. I would confirm that to make sure.

We currently have hikes planned for Grinnell Lake, the Highline Trail, Hidden Lake and Avalanche Lake (list subject to change).

Glacier National Park Vehicle Reservations

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Rent a pontoon one day on either Whitefish Lake or Flathead Lake.

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I'm staying a day later then the rest of my family and was going to use that day to explore Flathead Lake before flying back to AZ and have booked a boat rental. We are staying in a cabin on Whitefish Lake so that's also a possibility.

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if you can do this then you should do Grinnell Glacier instead of Grinnell Lake. Also, the spur off of Highline up to the Grinnell overlook is steep but well worth it.

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If I were to hike the Highline up to the Grinnel Overlook- would it be redundant to hike from Many Glacier hotel to upper Grinnel Lake?

I know there's no bad hikes, but with limited time I would think hitting the overlook would be a higher priority than hiking to the upper lake from the other side of the wall?