Glacier

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Glacier National Park is located in northwestern Montana along the Canadian border, and consists of some 1,600 square miles of mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, and, of course, glaciers (over 50 of them). It became our 10th National Park in 1910.

In 1891 the Great Northern Railway had crossed the continental divide at nearby Marias Pass, opening the region to settlers, miners, and inevitably tourists. Seeing the potential of the area’s breathtaking beauty, the railroad promoted the region and built a series of lodges across the area connected by primitive trails. Tourists would travel on horseback, staying overnight in the lodges. To make the park more accessible, in the early 1920’s a project was undertaken to construct a 50-mile road across the heart of the Park, crossing the continental divide at Logan Pass. When completed in 1932, this tremendous engineering project was named the Going-to-the-Sun Road. It is one of the most scenic roads in the world, and is now one of the Park’s major attractions.

We began our visit in West Glacier, where we stayed in the little village of Apgar, at the southwest terminus of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, and on the southern shore of beautiful McDonald Lake. We were disappointed to learn that a winter storm had washed out a bridge on the Road, closing a large section around Logan Pass, one of the most scenic areas, but we were able to drive the first 16 miles and go another 4 or 5 miles on bicycles before we wore ourselves out. We didn’t see it all, but what we saw was fantastic, and makes us want to come back and see the rest someday.

After 3 days at Apgar, we went around to the eastern side of the park, and settled into a campground in the little town of Browning, which is on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, and operated by the Indians. An interesting aside -- Browning holds the world record for the largest 24-hour temperature change ever recorded. In 1916 the temperature dropped from 44 deg on Jan 23 to -56 deg on Jan 24, a drop of 100 degrees. I wonder why tourism drops off so much in the winter out here. From Browning we explored some of the attractions on the eastern side of the Park, including Many Glacier and Two Medicine Glacier, and the northwestern end of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, as far as it was passable (about 15 miles or so). It is all very beautiful, but I think we like West Glacier the best.
We’ve had a great stay in Glacier, but its time to move on. The Black Hills are beckoning.

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Photos

Flathead Lake
Pretty drive from Missoula up to West Glacier.

Trespassers
When we got to our site at Apgar, it was already occupied.

Apgar Amphitheatre
Lake McDonald in background.

Exploring around Apgar
Some of these hills are tough.

Red Tour Bus
The Park operates a fleet of these vintage busses, called Jammers to take visitors on tours all over the park.

Dock at Apgar
Like a postcard.

Starting up the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
The first ten miles or so tracks the shore of Lake McDonald.

Rapids
McDonald Creek flows along the side of the road for the next several miles of the Road.

Observation Deck
Overlooking rapids along the creek.

Pretty Waterfall
This was as far as we could go by car on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. From here on it is by bicycle. It was also the beginning of a little side trip. A 6-mile hike up to Avalanche Lake and back.

Bighorn Sheep
Those little white specks on the side of the mountain. This was along the trail up to Avalanche Lake.

Avalanche Lake
It was a long hike, but well worth it to see this beautiful lake, which reminded us of Lake Louise (in Alberta) without the crowds.

Back on the Road.
The section we biked was a pretty gradual grade, so it wasn't really difficult.

Waterfall at Two Medicine Glacier
One of many. This is on the eastern side of the Park.

The Lodge at Many Glacier
Swiftcurrent Lake is in the background.

Back on the Going-to-the-Sun Road
This time from the northeast end.

Another Road Shot
This was just before we reached the spot where the road was closed. Too bad we couldn't go on -- it was really spectacular.