Glacier NP- lottery system/general questions

Glacier National Park is my family's favorite vacation spot, I've made eight trips there. It used to be more of a hidden gem but the word has gotten out unfortunately and the park visitor numbers are through the roof.

The Going to the Sun Road has limited parking on it, which is why given the sharply higher number of visitors seen in recent years they decided to do a lottery system to limit the number of drivers on it for any one day. I think the cost is $2/day for the ticket. Even with this lottery system, you won't find a parking spot at Logan Pass between 8 AM- 5PM most summer days. They do have a bus shuttle system that I would recommend taking to avoid the parking nightmare. It makes stops at most of the main spots along the Going to the Sun Road (Avalanche Creek/ The Loop/ Logan Pass/Rising Sun/etc.).

Strongest recommendation would be to come visit Glacier in the September-early October timeframe to avoid the crowds. Beautiful fall colors, not near as many people, Going to the Sun road still open. So long as your kid's school schedule will allow it, it's a no brainer to visit in early fall instead of summer.

There is plenty to do in GNP and Whitefish for kids aged 3-10. No need to wait till they are older. Whitefish is more for fine dining and touristy shopping and what not.

Favorite hikes in the park:
Apikuni Falls
Highline Trail (must do on your first trip)
Iceberg Lake
Scenic Point
Siyeh Pass

If you want to ditch the kids, you should look into a fly fishing trip at the Spotted Bear Ranch. It's at the south tip of the Hungry Horse Reservoir, you have to drive 50 miles down a winding gravel road to get there, to give you a sense of how remote it is. 3 day packages there (including lodging/gourmet meals, etc) are about $2K per person I think. This is one great way to get away from the crowds.

We actually all have a week off the last of September. I hate crowds but my wife isn't a huge fan of the cold on vacation. What's the weather typically like at that time?

Where do you usually stay when you go? We were looking into that Under Canvas thing for a couple of nights at least.

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What's the weather typically like at that time?

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Depends greatly on what elevation you are at. Whitefish might have highs in the 60's that time of year while Logan Pass might be highs in the 40's.

You should be fine late September, chilly but not downright cold unless at higher elevations that get real windy (like Logan Pass).

Might be too cold at night for the Under Canvas thing, I've heard of them but have not stayed there. I've had good luck with a couple of AirBnb's in the Coram area that are just outside the western edge of the park....

West Glacier AirBNB's

We stayed at the cabin below this past summer and had a blast:

LINK

Stayed here a few years ago and liked this place as well:

LINK

AirBNB's on the eastern side of the park, we stayed at a hotel in Browning next to a casino on the Blackfeet reservation, which worked fine.
East Glacier AirBnb's

If you had a full week to do a trip (assuming 5 days actual with 2 days flying in/out), I'd do:

Day 1: Polebridge/Bowman Lake
Day 2: Going to the Sun Road (Lake McDonald, do Highline trail hike, maybe not the whole thing but the 2-3 miles from Logan Pass. Also do Trail of the Cedars hike and stop at most of the major stops on the road for sightseeing).
Day 3: Two Medicine area on Eastern side of park (they have boat rides on the lake here that are pretty cool).
Day 4: Many Glacier Area (Apikuni Falls/Iceberg Lake hikes). This is my favorite part of the park but has had terrible construction the past year or two resulting in 2-3 hour delays to get in there. Hoping that wouldn't be the case for your trip.
Day 5: Drive back to western side of park (using the Going to the Sun Road to see all those views again) and do the touristy/fine dining things in Whitefish that afternoon/evening.

So you'd stay at an AirBnb on the western side for nights 1-2, AirBnb on eastern side for nights 3-5, and then a hotel in Whitefish for night 6 before flying out the next morning.

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We actually all have a week off the last of September. I hate crowds but my wife isn't a huge fan of the cold on vacation. What's the weather typically like at that time?

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We went mid-September in 2020 and the crowds weren't terrible during the week, but still had to get there fairly early. It snowed one of the days so Logan's Pass was closed for a day and a half, which ended up working out perfectly because we were able to get up there right when it opened and had a great parking spot. The weather overall was chilly but with layers and moving it wasn't bad at all. Think it got into the low teens but as the sun comes out it feels significantly better.

As far as hikes I will say Highline is unbelievably awesome and I really enjoyed Avalanche Lake. We are pretty novice, so they are some we didn't even consider.

We stayed in Kalispell for a few nights and then Whitefish for a few nights and just drove in the 40 or so minutes, but that may not be for everyone.

great post .. would appreciate some advice! Wife and I..mid 60's like moderate hikes and outdoor activities... I booked a stay at Many lodge for the beginning of June, with plans to spend about a week there and then head up to Banf for another week. I am concerned I may have booked to early in the year, weather wise... would appreciate your thoughts?