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Glacier National Park in June

Posted on 1/27/25 at 3:43 pm
Posted by Crescent Connection
Lafayette/Nola
Member since Jun 2008
2293 posts
Posted on 1/27/25 at 3:43 pm
Wife and I booked a 4-night stay in Somers, MT in late June. We've never been to Montana. Wanted to ask this board what are the must-do's while at Glacier. And restaurant recommendations within a 45-60 minute drive is appreciated, also. Heard there are a lot of dining options in Whitefish. Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Posted by RaginCajunz
Member since Mar 2009
7040 posts
Posted on 1/27/25 at 3:55 pm to
There isn't much on the east side. West side you have a few decent towns with restaurant options. As far as what to do, I'd spend every minute possible in the national park that you can.

Pay attention to timed entry tickets.
Pay attention to the snow mass and average opening date of Going To The Sun Road. (late june sometimes sees it not opened yet)


Logan Pass Opening Dates

2022 - July 13
2021 - June 25
2020 - July 13
2019 - June 22
2018 - June 22
2017 - June 28
This post was edited on 1/27/25 at 3:59 pm
Posted by PentagonTiger
Taylor Hall
Member since Dec 2008
1655 posts
Posted on 1/27/25 at 7:50 pm to
quote:

Then 2-3 days in the park hiking


Some of the best hiking I’ve ever done. We went in late June a few years ago and unfortunately they had a late snowfall at the higher elevations that made some hikes inaccessible (Highline Trail, Grinnel Glacier). However, Iceberg Lake is one of the most scenic hikes I’ve ever done.
Posted by AZBadgerFan
Scottsdale, AZ
Member since May 2013
1793 posts
Posted on 1/28/25 at 9:11 am to
Buffalo Cafe and Bulldog Saloon in Whitefish for dining. Stayed in an airbnb in Whitefish last September (5th-11th). Beautiful town with tons of shops, bars and restaurants. Hiked the Highline Trail/Grinnell Glacier Overlook, the Hidden Lake Trail and the Avalanche Trail with the Highline Trail being my favorite. Saw tons of wildlife- including a grizzly sow and her cub (video below)- and also saw mountain goats, deer, bighorn sheep and marmots (but no moose). Had to get to the Logan Pass lot early to get parking as it fills up fast.

Someone mentioned getting the park vehicle reservations in advance- you can do so here: Glacier NP timed vehicle reservation passes. You will also need a park entry pass.



This post was edited on 1/28/25 at 9:16 am
Posted by craazyjose
BTR
Member since Mar 2017
230 posts
Posted on 1/28/25 at 10:16 am to
Good Taco for Tacos in Whtifish. Its in the back of the VFW hall. Great tacos and a good way to get some local flavor (not to mention cold beer and good drinks.


Definitely go the Many Glacier on the East Side. You really need to stay at the Many Glacier at least one night. We were there for a week last summer and Many Glacier was definitely our favorite part. We did the boats through the lakes and then hiked up one of the higher lakes...was awesome.

Posted by Chilly Bill
Member since Mar 2004
334 posts
Posted on 1/28/25 at 5:08 pm to
Posted this on Food/Drink board for you as well:

+++++

Lot of options here.

For dinner in Whitefish, I would go with Whitefish Lake Restaurant at the country club, Latitude 48 or Abruzzo. I’ve been to all three and they are all great. Abruzzo is Italian. Latitude has a cool bar downstairs. Both of those are downtown. The country club restaurant is just west of downtown but pretty close. Since you are going in the summer, I’d try to do reservations for whichever. Lodge at Whitefish Lake is just north of downtown. Really nice deck out back overlooking the lake. Blackstar and Craggy Range downtown for bar food for lunch.

For breakfast, I agree with the other poster on Loula’s and Buffalo Cafe.

For bars, I’m partial to Great Northern. They have great bar food too. Herb & Omni is pretty nice and probably a bit more hip. There is a really great rooftop terrace there too.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip.
Posted by spaceranger
Member since Jan 2017
1625 posts
Posted on 1/29/25 at 10:08 am to
girlfriend and i did Glacier last August. Its gorgeous. I originally started planning the trip as staying in whitefish and going into the park for just a couple days. It quickly turned into us staying in the park every day and then only going to whitefish for a night to do dinner

Can only recommend what we did. Theres a little lodge called Village Inn at Apgar which sits on and overlooks Lake Mcdonald, that i would absolutely stay at for a night or two. Then as previously mentioned, definitely go stay in Many Glacier on the other side of the park and get a room that overlooks Swiftcurrent Lake. That stay is a little more expensive, but worth it. Finding a room can be tough, but if you check one day and everything is booked, check back periodically, as things do open up.

As far as hiking, i would check out trails youre interested in online. Lots of great reviews and descriptions of how far and difficult the hikes are. We did these-
Avalanche Lake on the east side- about as easy as it gets, but crowded
Hidden Lake from Logan Pass- easy, but crowded if you just go to the overlook. Lots of steep elevation change, but much much less crowded if you go all the way down to the lake
Highline Trail also at Logan Pass- very long trail and you can get great views only doing part of it. Hope you arent afraid of heights
From Many Glacier you can hike (or take the ferry if you get in line for a spot, we just hiked) to Lower/Upper Grinnell, which will bring you around Swiftcurrent and Lake Josephine. Grinnell can be crowded, but the hike was not particularly difficult. Lake Josephine was peaceful because nobody really stopped there, as its kind of a stepping stone to Grinnell.
Iceberg Lake mentioned earlier is supposedly very pretty, but is a very long hike. Our long hike was Cracker Lake from the Many Glacier hotel. these are something like 12 mile hikes, and ours had something like 15k feet of elevation change. You can take a horseback our to Cracker Lake, but we hiked it. You will most likely be alone on this hike, and it can be difficult to see your surroundings through all the brush, so can be a little scary. Had a bear pop out like 30 yards in front of us on the path, look at us, then just keep going.

If hiking isnt yalls thing, be sure to drive Going to the Sun Road. It gives you a very scenic view of the park. There are pulloffs at different places and trailheads, but parking is very difficult because of limited spots. I would suggest at least walking up to the Hidden Lake Overlook though. Its a bunch of stairs, but all on a wooden path and easy. Offers great views for very little effort. It was cold and windy for us so be prepared!
Posted by AZBadgerFan
Scottsdale, AZ
Member since May 2013
1793 posts
Posted on 1/29/25 at 12:07 pm to
quote:

For bars, I’m partial to Great Northern. They have great bar food too.



Went to Great Northern Bar & Grill twice and enjoyed it. Cool atmosphere with good microbrews & food as well as some good live music.
Posted by Crow Pie
Neuro ICU - Tulane Med Center
Member since Feb 2010
27082 posts
Posted on 1/30/25 at 8:52 am to
GNP is one of the best parks in the country. An amazingly beautiful and rugged area.
Posted by AZBadgerFan
Scottsdale, AZ
Member since May 2013
1793 posts
Posted on 2/4/25 at 8:20 am to
quote:

Highline Trail also at Logan Pass- very long trail and you can get great views only doing part of it. Hope you arent afraid of heights



The Highline Trail:

Posted by GeneralLee
Member since Aug 2004
13942 posts
Posted on 2/4/25 at 1:03 pm to
You'll be going at a very busy time of year. Unless you get to Logan Pass by like 5AM, it will be almost impossible to find a spot to park, so take the shuttle up there instead.

Trails- Highline Trail (Logan Pass)
Grinnell Glacier Hike (Many Glacier area)
Apikuni Falls (Many Glacier area)
Iceberg Lake (Many Glacier area)

Restaurants- Belton Chalet (west side entrance)
Cattle Baron Supper Club (Babb)
Two Sister's Cafe (St Mary's)
Three Forks Grille (Columbia Falls)
Posted by idontyield
Tunnel Trash
Member since Jun 2022
542 posts
Posted on 2/4/25 at 1:30 pm to
OP is going in June. He will not be doing Highline, Grinnell, Iceberg Lake, or Cracker Lake unless he is comfortable with traversing with spikes and an ice axe. Most of the hiking that isn't snowed in will be mud in June..
Posted by GeneralLee
Member since Aug 2004
13942 posts
Posted on 2/4/25 at 1:36 pm to
Oh yep, good points. I always go to Glacier in August or September. So then the Hidden Lake Overlook trail in probably doable in June, Trail of the Cedars/Avalanche Lake trail, maybe Apikuni Falls trail would be open.
Posted by beaux duke
Member since Oct 2023
2831 posts
Posted on 2/4/25 at 2:52 pm to
^^^
what he said. a lot of the high elevation hikes will likely still be covered in snow. still, it's a beautiful place and you'll find something to do. whitefish is a cool town. previous restaurant recs are solid. you'll have a blast
Posted by freececil
Member since Nov 2012
29 posts
Posted on 2/6/25 at 12:37 pm to
Glacier is the most beautiful place I have ever been. We went for two weeks, did Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier. "Going to the Sun road" might not be open by then but I hope that it will because it is the most beautiful drive I have ever been on (wildlife and scenery). If you love to hike, then you have picked the right park. Iceberg Lake and Grinnel Glacier hikes are unbelievable but I would suggest staying at the Many Glacier hotel whenever you decide to do these hikes. If you want to shorten the Grinnel hike you can take the boat from the hotel that will take off 3-4 miles. Whitefish or Columbia Falls are great places to stay. You can enter the park early without a pass for "going to the sun road" but log on to the National park app and you should not have any problem getting a pass to drive the road. Enjoy your trip!
Posted by Omahawgs15
Member since Mar 2023
6573 posts
Posted on 2/10/25 at 11:40 am to
East side is pretty remote. We stayed in Columbia falls. We loved it. But as far as eating and shopping options, whitefish does have a lot. Glacier met expectations and more. Pictures don’t do it justice
Posted by Crescent Connection
Lafayette/Nola
Member since Jun 2008
2293 posts
Posted on 5/31/25 at 10:42 am to
We can only kayak one day. Anyone suggest a specific lake over another? Looking at Lake McDonald and Bowman Lake. Do we need more than 2 hours?
Posted by idontyield
Tunnel Trash
Member since Jun 2022
542 posts
Posted on 5/31/25 at 12:38 pm to
Bowman is beautiful plus it gives you a reason to go to Polebridge area.

You will see plenty of Lake McDonald driving through the park.

You could probably arrange a shuttle and do the North Fork of the Flathead. Stop at Home Ranch Bottoms and talk to folks there, plenty of them run the river so they could hook you up with where to go.

Posted by Revelator
Member since Nov 2008
61996 posts
Posted on 5/31/25 at 1:19 pm to
We went to Glacier about 6-7 years ago. It’s still the prettiest National Park that I’ve seen. We went in late September and it was still crowded.
I’d advice you to leave early in the morning to get on the Going to the Sun Road to get parking at the trailheads. Also, take the boat ride from the Many Glacier Lodge to the Grinnell glacier hike.
Lake McDonald is gorgeous and has the colored rocks. Of course they are mainly colorful when wet, and pictures of them are highly edited.
The park is hard to navigate because there is only one road the bisects it, and the trip around the south tip is longer than the 2 hour or so drive across.
There are shuttle buses you can take however if you don’t want to get up early to park your own personal vehicle.
Parts of the Lake Mary side were closed because of a fire when we went, so that was disappointing.
Goose island makes for a beautiful photo if the conditions are right and it’s a short walk off the main highway to a vantage spot.
Again most pictures of Goose Island on the internet are highly edited.
The hike to Hidden Lake Overlook is splendid. I’d recommend going down to the lake once you are there.
Hope ya’ll enjoy. Envious.

A few of my pics from there. Highly edited ones!












This post was edited on 5/31/25 at 2:04 pm
Posted by Crescent Connection
Lafayette/Nola
Member since Jun 2008
2293 posts
Posted on 6/7/25 at 10:08 am to
We have a timed entry Saturday morning at 11am for Going-to-the-Sun Road. We would like to kayak Lake McDonald that morning. There is a 9:30am kayak slot available for 2 hours. The timed entry to the Sun Road is from 11am-1p. Assuming we leave the kayak rental place no later than noon, should we be good getting into the entry mark for Sun Road with an hour to spare? The kayak rental place is on Apgar Loop Rd directly south of Lake McDonald. Is it a long line to get in during the timed entries, or is it a pretty quick process?
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