Glacier National Park MT

One of our goals on the return trip was to stop in Glacier National park.  We heard mixed advice about when to go since the park closes sometime in September. The good thing is that the campgrounds are mostly first come first served with only a few sites set aside for reservations. Given our lack of a schedule, that was a good thing.

Then we met a family at Curlew Lake that was enroute to Glacier for their vacation. Since they had done lots of research, we were able to piggyback on what they learned.

The key lesson was to spend the night before arriving somewhere close to the park so that we could arrive at Apgar campground on the west side of the park fairly early in the morning. Sites tend to fill up by late morning or, at the latest, early afternoon. We found that to be true throughout the time we were there, even as late in the season as we were.

Apgar, our first campground, on the west side of the park and on one end of the “Road to the Sun.”

Glacier is definitely in bear country, although all the significant bear activity seemed to be on the east side of the park. Those campgrounds were ‘hard side’ only with no tents allowed due to some aggressive bears. There had been no recent reports of any issues on the west side where we were.

The lake near the campground was beautiful!

Apgar Village with lots of little shops was an easy walk from the campground. The free shuttle bus started at the visitors center, stopped at the Village and then at Apgar campground. We walked over to watch the operation and talked to a couple of the shuttle bus coordinators. We learned that the line for the bus was about 20 people long 1/2 hour before the first bus, which only holds 15 people. So waiting until the bus arrived at the campground was a non-starter. So we hiked over to the visitors center 45 minutes before the bus and got there just before a large student group. Whew!

A friendly reminder…

There was some kind of helicopter ferrying going on while we were there. No one seemed sure about what they were ferrying, but a helicopter often flew by with a load in a cargo net and then returned shortly with an empty net. Probably some kind of construction project in the backcountry.

The hiking trail from the campground to the Visitors Center.

The rocks were fascinating. All brown when dry and lots of colors when in the water. Maybe the minerals combined with the light filtering through the clear water?

The campsites were nestled among the trees. No hookups, but we’re used to that.

What a treat! A couple we met at the Homer Spit in Alaska was visiting Glacier at the same time. We connected via Instagram and caught up on each others adventures since our time in Homer.

The “Road to the Sun” has some pretty strict vehicle limits. Nothing over 10′ high or 21′ long is allowed on the road. After riding the bus from one side to the other, we understand the logic. The road is narrow, crowded, twisty and has some pretty low rock cropping overhangs. The traffic alone would make driving it a pain. The bus is definitely the way to go.

Another good thing about the bus is that we could both enjoy the scenery. Driving would have taken so much concentration that it would be impossible to enjoy the views.

The weather always adds drama to the views!

Another bear. This guy caused a ‘bear jam” – cars stopped all over the road, people jumped out and ran towards the bear to get a closer picture. No way was anyone getting through until the bear decided to amble on it’s way. Of course, we wondered what those people would think if the bear decided it wanted to get up close and personal with the crazy humans.

 

The east side of the road has another visitors center at St Mary’s with a great short movie about Glacier.

One of the 2 major north-south continental divides. The other is along the Appalachians back east. Then there are a couple that run east-west.

Our ride through the park.

We were there in what they called the “shoulder” season. The summer season is the most crowded, then the park extends the season by a week or so depending on the weather before they close the campgrounds and the road. It was pretty obvious that a lot of people like the shoulder season! Very early each morning, signs went up that all the parking lots at the top and along the road were full. Seems that the best way to drive the road was to leave either at dawn or even earlier. But everyone knows that trick as well…

An example of the steep drop-offs along the road. Some were pretty spectacular.

 

But if not…