Glacier national park

We only had time for two hikes - Highline and Hidden Lake. Both were great and pretty easy. We liked Hidden Lake better just because you had more room and we saw more wildlife. Downside is both a very popular so there will be a good bit of hikers later in the day. Very early morning you'll almost have the hikes to yourself

Park at Logan Pass early to beat crowd - Highline is just across the street and Hidden Lake is behind parking lot.

Not sure how advanced of a hiker you are but there may be much better hikes in the park. We were rookies and were looking for the most convenient hike. Next time we'll go off the beaten path and try some more isolated hikes

When are you visiting?

Lodging inside the park is booked through Xanterra. You can stay at Lake McDonald Lodge, Village Inn at Apgar or Many Glacier Hotel. Those are the three main ones and are through the concessionaire... i have no idea when their bookings become available for next year. I work for NPS so I'm not knowledgeable of the lodging seasons. As for cabins inside the park, there are a few. But those are all concessionaire as well, through Xanterra.

Yea, GTTS is closed at Avalanche on the west side, and at Jackson Glacier overlook area from the east. Logan Pass typically opens on or around July 4th every year. When the road crew isn't working the road, you can bike or hike all the way up to where the plows are from the Avalanche closure. I biked it on Memorial Day. I wound up about a mile and a half from Logan Pass (as far as the plows were). Pretty awesome ride, roughly 30 miles round trip.


The highline trail is also inaccessible unless you hike GTTS up to the loop. The east side offers incredible hikes from Grinnell Glacier, to iceberg/ptarmigan tunnel to cracker lake, Dawson/pitamakan pass etc etc etc. I encourage you to visit the permit office in apgar or the visitor center on trail closures for the east side.

For the west, you are pretty limited in general. You have Apgar Lookout, Huckleberry Mountain, McDonald falls, rocky point, Avalanche Lake, Johns/Lincoln lakes, and a few smaller ones around the north fork and polebridge. Quartz Lake hike around Bowman lake is pretty nice I hear. I haven't done it before though.

If weather cooperates I'm hiking the 17 mile Dawson/Pitamakan Pass on Sunday.

Wow, I was shocked to find out how low the elevation is on Logan's Pass. I guess with the prominence and the latitude it doesn't matter. Still beautiful and snowy.

Yea, the park is incredibly beautiful but the elevation isn't as high as one might think. The highest point is Mount Cleveland, and it's just shy of 10,500 feet.

Unquestionably true. I enjoyed Banff scenery much more than Aspen for that very reason.

PNW: I'm thinking Glacier is a must for next summer. I know it's all remote, but what's the most remote part? I'm intrigued by the boundary mountains. Are you familiar with those?

Iceberg Lake and Ptarmigan tunnel would be about 15 miles round trip. Or 10 for either. Both really easy grades.

Two Medicine lake was nice. We hiked around the lake to some falls then took the boat back. That was about 8 miles really flat. Saw some moose which can be exciting in the thick woods.

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aren't those the ones bordering BC and Alaska? 

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There are Mts called the Boundary ranges between here and BC.

Look up hike734 on YouTube. He has hiked every mile of trail and has a good video on it. That's how I planned my trip a few years ago.