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Montana

GLACIER

ESTABLISHED 1910


The fearsomely beautiful Glacier National Park is best appreciated from the dizzying heights of Going-to-the-Sun Road, an engineering marvel that snakes precariously along the valley wall, with views that will leave you awestruck at the power of nature.

Nearly two million people a year journey to Glacier, in the far north of Montana, to witness the grandeur of the glaciers and the solitude and adventure of the park's extensive, often challenging hiking trails. The 26 active glaciers are a huge draw, but the “Crown of the Continent” also offers magnificent wildlife and turquoise lakes, formed when age-old glaciers scraped hollows in the land. Many of those icy lakes are so clear you can see right to the lake bed.

Protecting the glaciers

Rising temperatures have, sadly, led to a steep decline in the park's namesake features. When Glacier was established in 1910, it was home to more than 100 glaciers; today, three-quarters are gone. Protecting what remains is why it's so important to enjoy Glacier responsibly. It's also the best way to experience the park. For example, picture rolling into West Glacier on Amtrak, then hopping onto a free shuttle to Apgar Village, where you stop to admire the peak-encircled Lake McDonald. Next, a bus whisks you up Going-to-the-Sun Road to take in the incredible and serene scenery. The bus stops at all the key spots, including Logan Pass, with its 700-plus miles (1,127 km) of hiking trails—maximum sightseeing, with minimum carbon footprint.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Mountain Goats

Rocky Mountain goats are the official symbol of Glacier. Living on craggy cliffs, they are perfectly suited to their tough home terrain. Sticky, flexible hoof pads allow the goats to prance effortlessly up near-vertical slopes and across uneven boulders. A double-layer wool coat protects them from 100-mph (160-kph) winds and bitter cold—temperatures here can dip to –50°F (–45°C).

Top-flight hikes

Apgar Village, at the foot of Lake McDonald, is the most accessible entry point to the park, although the area known as Many Glacier also draws its share of visitors, with a historic lodge, string of lakes, and dozens of hiking trails, including the deservedly popular hike to Grinnell Lake and Grinnell Glacier. This hike, consistently rated one of the most spectacular in the US, is best done in the fall, when the park is more peaceful. It can be a relatively strenuous trek, but you will be rewarded with incredible scenery, a famous glacier, and an iridescent turquoise lake. You’re also likely to see some of the park’s abundant wildlife along the way, including mountain goats, bighorn sheep, black bears, and grizzly bears.

For a novel way to start the hike, book passage on a shuttle boat to the trail. This gives you a 3.4-mile (5.5-km) head start—and you can enjoy the 360-degree views of the surrounding peaks while bobbing on the water. You can hop on the boat at the Many Glacier Hotel dock, before changing to a second boat that takes you across Lake Josephine, where you catch the main trail.

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Rocky Mountain goats are at home in their high-altitude element, where they sometimes cross paths with visitors on trails and overlooks

762

The total number of lakes in the park. The largest is Lake McDonald.

Grizzly country

It's not uncommon for boat passengers to spot grizzly bears munching away amid the berry bushes on the lakeshore, often startlingly close to groups of hikers. Grizzlies are a threatened species in the United States and endangered in Canada, but they have a strong presence at Glacier—an estimated 300 live in the park. They’re imposing creatures, standing well over 6 ft (1.8 m) tall when upright. Unsurprisingly, rangers and park signs emphasize bear safety, for the bears’ sake as much as for your own. In general, though, grizzly bears keep to themselves and eat berries, seeds, roots, and grasses, plus trout, carrion, and the occasional elk calf. In winter, when food is scarce, the bears move to higher ground to hibernate. They steer clear of humans when they can; the key to safe hiking in bear country is to avoid surprising a bear, generally by making plenty of noise. Rangers recommend hiking in groups of at least three or four. Some of the busiest trails in Glacier National Park cut through ideal bear habitat, so pay attention to safety tips and be aware that you’re walking through their front yard.

Black bears are also common at Glacier, and are easily mistaken for grizzlies. Both range in color from blond to dark brown; black bears are typically smaller, and they don’t have the large, intimidating shoulder hump that distinguishes a grizzly.

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An adult grizzly lumbers through a meadow in bloom

Best Off- Season Hikes

The majority of park visitors arrive in the summer. If you want to avoid the peak-season crowds, try these off-season hikes.

Spring To see bright wildflowers bursting forth and spot reemerging wildlife, take the 7-mile (11-km) Fish Creek Trail along Lake McDonald West Shore. It stays level the whole way.

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Fall September provides a good opportunity to tackle the more popular hikes, in relative quiet, but before the cold sets in. If you’ve been dreaming of the Grinnell Glacier Trail, now’s the time.

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Winter Do the 10-mile (16-km) Apgar Lookout hike on skis or snowshoes November through April, when the road to the trailhead is still snowed in. Rangers lead weekend walks.

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Winter Clip on your snowshoes or skis and venture onto the 4-mile (6.5-km), mostly flat trail that starts at McDonald Lodge and ends at McDonald Falls, one of 200 falls in the park.

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Early in the day during the fall is prime time to see the shimmering turquoise lakes. Crowds thin by mid-August, and bears aren't yet out and about.

Jagged mountain peaks

Glacier National Park covers a massive area of nearly a million acres (405,000 ha) and has widely spaced hubs of activity. Lake McDonald, with Apgar Village at its base, is the main entry point on the park’s west side, and you can reach it nearly year-round. Many hikes begin here, including one that follows the lake’s western shore. The views from the dock across Lake McDonald alone, with a backdrop of rugged mountain peaks, make the trip worthwhile. Viewing is at its finest in the early morning or late afternoon light.

Another key area is Logan Pass—the park’s highest point reachable by car or bus, with correspondingly fantastic views and, especially between late June and mid-August, rainbow-colored carpets of wildflowers that are set off by the mountain background. Here you'll find the starting point for hikes of all levels. The area is laced with paved trails that help make it accessible for visitors of varying physical abilities. If you’re traveling the full length of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, this is an excellent place to stop for a while and drink it all in.

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A solitary hiker takes in the scenery from a trail at Logan Pass

Indigenous cultures

St. Mary Valley, the park’s eastern entrance, is notable for the beautiful St. Mary Lake, which spans nearly 10 miles (16 km) and is streaked with turquoise from glacial runoff. The St. Mary Valley borders the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, home to about 8,600 tribal members, and the area has a rich history of Blackfeet, Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and Kootenai cultures. Tribal members, including musicians, speakers, drummers, and dancers, share their knowledge of local history and culture in the park’s annual “Native America Speaks” programs, held throughout the summer. There are also interpretive bus tours of the park that shed light onto the rich history and culture of the Blackfeet.

Historically, the Blackfeet lived in the prairies on the east side of what is now Glacier National Park. On the more forested west side of the park were the Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d’Oreille tribes. The Blackfeet were traditionally buffalo hunters, but they also knew about and extensivly used hundreds of species of plant for food and medicine.

Trade with white fur trappers started as early as the 1700s, although Blackfeet culture continued to dominate the region until the 1870s. When the railroad was completed in 1891, however, white settlers flooded into the area, and the Blackfeet were forced to cede mountainous parts of their lands. Tourism wasn’t far behind, and by 1892 you could arrive via the Great Northern Railway, rent a cabin at Lake McDonald, and enjoy a guided tour by boat or packhorse.

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The iconic image of tiny Wild Goose Island, as seen from Going-to-the-Sun Road, captures the essence of the park

2,865

The total number in miles (4,610 km) of all the Glacier streams.

410

Size in acres (166 ha) of Harrison Glacier.

6,646

Elevation in ft (2,026 m) of Logan Pass, the highest spot on Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Glacier Itinerary

Many of the park’s glaciers are tucked away in remote locations that require considerable hiking chops if you want to explore them. Fortunately, there are easier, more accessible excursions that can be completed in a couple of days.

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Easy ▷ Sperry Glacier. Shuttle to Logan Pass, the high point along Going-to-the-Sun Road, then follow the marked 1.3-mile (2-km) hike, which is mostly on boardwalk, from the pass.

Easy Jackson Glacier. This is the easiest glacier to see in the park, and it’s visible from the Going-to-the-Sun Road’s Jackson Glacier Overlook, which is the next stop down from Logan Pass.

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Easy ▷ Salamander Glacier. You can spy this glacier from the car on the drive into the Many Glacier area. It sits just above Grinnell Glacier.

Moderate to difficult Grinnell Glacier. This glacier will greet you at the end of a challenging, but rewarding, hike from the trailhead at Many Glacier. The hike is 5 miles (8 km) each way.

PARK PIONEERS

George Bird Grinnell

George Bird Grinnell was a young editor at Forest and Stream when he first visited this region in 1885. Awestruck by the raw, unspoiled nature, Grinnell used the magazine’s influence to campaign for the creation of Glacier as a national park. A founder of the Audubon Society and friend of President Theodore Roosevelt, he was dubbed “the father of American conservation.” Grinnell wrote dozens of books on the American West, many about the Plains Indians. Today, Grinnell Glacier bears his name.

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The rocks around Lake McDonald vary in color depending on their iron content

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