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Message
Need Glacier National Park Help/Advice
Posted on 6/25/25 at 12:47 pm
Posted on 6/25/25 at 12:47 pm
Wife and I are planning on going to GNP the first week of September. We've never been and need advice.
I found a cabin/house for rent in Whitefish. Found it on staymontana website. I'd rather not pay Airbnb fees if possible. (done that too many times) Is Whitefish a good place to stay?
Plan on renting a vehicle through Costco as suggested on here. The only activity we've heard is a "must do" is going-to-the-sun road. We're both 60 so looking for things to do for people our age.
Any excursions, restaurants, places to rent houses/cabins, sites to visit are welcome and appreciated. TIA
I found a cabin/house for rent in Whitefish. Found it on staymontana website. I'd rather not pay Airbnb fees if possible. (done that too many times) Is Whitefish a good place to stay?
Plan on renting a vehicle through Costco as suggested on here. The only activity we've heard is a "must do" is going-to-the-sun road. We're both 60 so looking for things to do for people our age.
Any excursions, restaurants, places to rent houses/cabins, sites to visit are welcome and appreciated. TIA
5
Posted on 6/25/25 at 1:23 pm to prestigeworldwide
I'm your man! Stayed in an airbnb in Whitefish last Sept (9-14th) and absolutely loved it (see link). Great location near Whitefish Lake and just on the outskirts of town. Whitefish is an incredibly cool place and an hour or so from Glacier NP.
Rented a car thru Costco Travel at the Kalispell airport. Rented thru Avis and my flight from SLC got in past the counter closing time but Avis and the rest of the car rental agencies stayed open way past the posted closing time to handle dozens of passengers on my flight so no worries there. Pro Tip: even after booking your rental car thru Costco Travel keep looking every few days or so. At the final booking I booked it for about $200 less than I originally booked.
Many cools restaurants bars and wine bars in Whitefish. The Great Northern Bar and Grill was a cool sports bar with live music and good bar food. The Bulldog Saloon is also good. I will ask my nephew the names of the other places we went.
The Going-to-the-Sun Road is beautiful. Hiked the Highline Trail and saw grizzlies, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, deer and marmots. Also hiked the Hidden Lake Trail and Avalanche Lake. On Whitefish Lake and Lake McDonald we rented kayaks and you can also take a lake tour on a boat on Lake McDonald (we passed on that). Check out the deck at the lodge at Lake McDonald for Happy Hour, it's pretty cool.
Scouts Retreat- Whitefish Lake
Grizzlies on Highline Trail
Rented a car thru Costco Travel at the Kalispell airport. Rented thru Avis and my flight from SLC got in past the counter closing time but Avis and the rest of the car rental agencies stayed open way past the posted closing time to handle dozens of passengers on my flight so no worries there. Pro Tip: even after booking your rental car thru Costco Travel keep looking every few days or so. At the final booking I booked it for about $200 less than I originally booked.
Many cools restaurants bars and wine bars in Whitefish. The Great Northern Bar and Grill was a cool sports bar with live music and good bar food. The Bulldog Saloon is also good. I will ask my nephew the names of the other places we went.
The Going-to-the-Sun Road is beautiful. Hiked the Highline Trail and saw grizzlies, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, deer and marmots. Also hiked the Hidden Lake Trail and Avalanche Lake. On Whitefish Lake and Lake McDonald we rented kayaks and you can also take a lake tour on a boat on Lake McDonald (we passed on that). Check out the deck at the lodge at Lake McDonald for Happy Hour, it's pretty cool.
Scouts Retreat- Whitefish Lake
Grizzlies on Highline Trail
This post was edited on 6/25/25 at 1:25 pm
Posted on 6/25/25 at 3:03 pm to prestigeworldwide
Whitefish is a great town, some good restaurants, and definitely a reasonable drive to Glacier. The Many Glacier area will be a bit of a drive but it's pretty country and I personally don't mind the drive in areas like Montana.
We had to rent a car through Turo but it worked out great.
schedule a boat cruise on a lake and take some easy hikes, there are plenty of those in the park. There are some tour guide apps you can download that will tell you about "must see" stops while driving through the park.
Tupelo Grille was a good atmosphere and good food. There are some really good restaurants, just depends on your taste. The town is walkable and we enjoyed dining, drinking, and shopping on our way back to our place after visiting the park.
We had to rent a car through Turo but it worked out great.
schedule a boat cruise on a lake and take some easy hikes, there are plenty of those in the park. There are some tour guide apps you can download that will tell you about "must see" stops while driving through the park.
Tupelo Grille was a good atmosphere and good food. There are some really good restaurants, just depends on your taste. The town is walkable and we enjoyed dining, drinking, and shopping on our way back to our place after visiting the park.
Posted on 6/25/25 at 4:15 pm to prestigeworldwide
From an earlier post I made:
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. 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, 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.
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. 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, 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 on 6/26/25 at 9:53 pm to prestigeworldwide
We did this trip about 10 years ago. Whitefish is a great place to stay when visiting Glacier. The park and surrounding area is breathtaking, and I only truly
knew what that meant after going to Glacier. The sights actually took my breath away. One thing we splurged on was a helicopter tour. It was absolutely awesome. It was pricey back then, and I’m sure it’s a lot more now, but if you can swing it you won’t be disappointed!
knew what that meant after going to Glacier. The sights actually took my breath away. One thing we splurged on was a helicopter tour. It was absolutely awesome. It was pricey back then, and I’m sure it’s a lot more now, but if you can swing it you won’t be disappointed!
Posted on 6/27/25 at 10:15 pm to RGeeDub
Did this trip last summer Try to spend at least one night at the Many Glacier Lodge. We have been to many national parks and the Many Glacier Lodge is pretty spectacular
Posted on 7/1/25 at 9:47 am to prestigeworldwide
Wife and I just got back from GNP. First time there for both of us. It was incredible. It was our 10-year anniversary trip. Flew in on Thursday and returned home yesterday, so we had 3 full days to hike and explore. We have 4 young kids at home, so it was hard to line everything up to watch them, but ideally, I would've liked an additional 2 more days to hike.
We stayed in this charming little cabin in Somers, south of Kalispell (where we flew into). Airbnb
The first 2 nights we traveled north into Whitefish (which is a 40 min drive) for dinner. Dined at Abruzzo and Herb & Omni. Abruzzo is Italian, moderately priced, and delicious. Very cool interior. Service was great. Would definitely go back.Herb & Omni was fantastic as well, but definitely pricier and more upscale vibe to it. We went to Blackstar Brew Pub a couble times for drinks and food. Food was great for a Pub. Can sit outside on the 3rd floor and overlook whitefish. It didn't get dark until 10pm, which is wild. Our last night we went to Jersey Boys Pizza, which hit the spot after a grueling day of hiking.
The first day we went to Two Medicine and hiked that trail. Very easy hike. At the end is a waterfall.
Second day we took a tandem kayak on Lake McDonald for about 90 minutes then got onto Going-to-the-Sun Road and hiked Avalanche Trail which leads to Avalanche Lake, That was a moderate difficulty hike, but very doable (lots of young kids and older adults hiking on that trail). It's covered most of the way by large cedar trees, then at the end is a majestic view of Avalanche Lake. We tried to hike Hidden Lake behind Logan Pass, but it was raining pretty hard when we got to the trailhead and it was chilly.
Third day we traveled 3 hours to hike Grinnell Glacier on the east side of the park, but we were turned away because parking was full. If you are staying at the Many Glacier Lodge, no problem getting to the trailhead. Some people said the best time to go without problems is later in the afternoon, around 2-3pm. Remember, it doesn't get dark till 10pm so you have plenty of time to hike in daylight. Check online, because as of today, they are closing the entrance to Grinnell Glacier through early September because of road construction. We were slightly disappointed we couldn't hike Grinnell Glacier because it is regarded as the #1 hike in all of GNP. We were close to the east entrance to Going-to-the-Sun Road, so we went back to Logan Pass and hiked Hidden Lake, which was awesome. It was blue skies that day and the views were breathtaking. Lots of snow on that trail, so make sure you have proper footwear. After that hike, we did St. Mary's Fall/Lake. Again, picturesque views. You hike/drive for 5 minutes, and there is a new perspective that puts you in awe.
Plan on driving a lot to get to your hikes. In less than 4 days, we put 860 miles on our rental (we rented a Bronco through Turo...the owner had it parked at the airport parking lot and that's where we returned it). The place we stayed out had incredible views of Flathead Lake and we were secluded, but it was probably an hour drive to the west entrance to the park and 40 minutes to Whitefish where we ate a lot. We already decided we are going to take the kids in 2-3 years, and probably will stay in Columbia Falls, which is right smack in the middle of Whitefish and the west entrance to GNP.
Everything is pristine over there. The weather is incredible, and I would assume temps will be similar in early September as it is now. I had on a long sleeve bamboo shirt for the first 2 days with some Patagonia pants, and the last day just pants and a short sleeve shirt. For our first hike on Two Medicine trail, I actually had on a sweatshirt for the first part because it was in the low 50s with heavy winds, but about 10-20 minutes into the hike I stripped the sweatshirt and just had on a long sleeve shirt. You get sweaty pretty quickly after hiking a few minutes. Y'all are going to love it. We wish we were still there.
We stayed in this charming little cabin in Somers, south of Kalispell (where we flew into). Airbnb
The first 2 nights we traveled north into Whitefish (which is a 40 min drive) for dinner. Dined at Abruzzo and Herb & Omni. Abruzzo is Italian, moderately priced, and delicious. Very cool interior. Service was great. Would definitely go back.Herb & Omni was fantastic as well, but definitely pricier and more upscale vibe to it. We went to Blackstar Brew Pub a couble times for drinks and food. Food was great for a Pub. Can sit outside on the 3rd floor and overlook whitefish. It didn't get dark until 10pm, which is wild. Our last night we went to Jersey Boys Pizza, which hit the spot after a grueling day of hiking.
The first day we went to Two Medicine and hiked that trail. Very easy hike. At the end is a waterfall.
Second day we took a tandem kayak on Lake McDonald for about 90 minutes then got onto Going-to-the-Sun Road and hiked Avalanche Trail which leads to Avalanche Lake, That was a moderate difficulty hike, but very doable (lots of young kids and older adults hiking on that trail). It's covered most of the way by large cedar trees, then at the end is a majestic view of Avalanche Lake. We tried to hike Hidden Lake behind Logan Pass, but it was raining pretty hard when we got to the trailhead and it was chilly.
Third day we traveled 3 hours to hike Grinnell Glacier on the east side of the park, but we were turned away because parking was full. If you are staying at the Many Glacier Lodge, no problem getting to the trailhead. Some people said the best time to go without problems is later in the afternoon, around 2-3pm. Remember, it doesn't get dark till 10pm so you have plenty of time to hike in daylight. Check online, because as of today, they are closing the entrance to Grinnell Glacier through early September because of road construction. We were slightly disappointed we couldn't hike Grinnell Glacier because it is regarded as the #1 hike in all of GNP. We were close to the east entrance to Going-to-the-Sun Road, so we went back to Logan Pass and hiked Hidden Lake, which was awesome. It was blue skies that day and the views were breathtaking. Lots of snow on that trail, so make sure you have proper footwear. After that hike, we did St. Mary's Fall/Lake. Again, picturesque views. You hike/drive for 5 minutes, and there is a new perspective that puts you in awe.
Plan on driving a lot to get to your hikes. In less than 4 days, we put 860 miles on our rental (we rented a Bronco through Turo...the owner had it parked at the airport parking lot and that's where we returned it). The place we stayed out had incredible views of Flathead Lake and we were secluded, but it was probably an hour drive to the west entrance to the park and 40 minutes to Whitefish where we ate a lot. We already decided we are going to take the kids in 2-3 years, and probably will stay in Columbia Falls, which is right smack in the middle of Whitefish and the west entrance to GNP.
Everything is pristine over there. The weather is incredible, and I would assume temps will be similar in early September as it is now. I had on a long sleeve bamboo shirt for the first 2 days with some Patagonia pants, and the last day just pants and a short sleeve shirt. For our first hike on Two Medicine trail, I actually had on a sweatshirt for the first part because it was in the low 50s with heavy winds, but about 10-20 minutes into the hike I stripped the sweatshirt and just had on a long sleeve shirt. You get sweaty pretty quickly after hiking a few minutes. Y'all are going to love it. We wish we were still there.
Posted on 7/1/25 at 1:23 pm to Crescent Connection
Thanks everyone for all the fantastic advice. CC, I'm not sure we'll be hiking NEAR as much as you guys but I'll show my wife and we'll pick one or two based on distance. 
So is Whitefish a t-shirt kind of place at restaurants or do I need to wear polo/long sleeve type shirts? I'm retired from corporate America and I refuse to wear anything close to business casual.
So is Whitefish a t-shirt kind of place at restaurants or do I need to wear polo/long sleeve type shirts? I'm retired from corporate America and I refuse to wear anything close to business casual.
Posted on 7/1/25 at 1:42 pm to prestigeworldwide
quote:Depends on the restaurant but casual is the way
So is Whitefish a t-shirt kind of place at restaurants or do I need to wear polo/long sleeve type shirts?
Posted on 7/1/25 at 5:52 pm to prestigeworldwide
quote:You could get away with a polo and jeans at Abruzzo, and probably Herb and Omni.
So is Whitefish a t-shirt kind of place at restaurants or do I need to wear polo/long sleeve type shirts
Posted on 7/1/25 at 7:55 pm to prestigeworldwide
quote:
I'm not sure we'll be hiking NEAR as much as you guys but I'll show my wife and we'll pick one or two based on distance.
Trail of Cedars is a very easy hike and has some nice views if you want a short hike. When you go through Columbia Falls stop and have lunch at Nite Owl and back room restaurant. It’s nothing fancy but good food and where the locals eat.
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