The park is full of outdoor activity opportunities every season. These include ice fishing, snowshoeing, boating and more than 700 miles of hiking trails. In winter, the park is a great place for cross-country skiing. Every other season, visitors come for mountaineering, rock climbing and cycling. They leave nourished by the amazing views and spectacular landscapes.
Glacier National Park is home to more than 70 species of mammals and 270 species of birds. While many think of grizzly bears when visiting Glacier, you’ll see more mountain goats and eagles than bears. Cougars, gray wolves, wolverines and bighorn sheep live here, while hawks, ospreys and golden eagles populate the skies.
Going-in-the-Sun Road is a must-see when visiting the Glacier National Park. The famous scenic drive offers visitors 50 miles of wildlife spotting and spectacular views. This road is considered one of the best drives in Northwest Montana and tourists reconfirm it every year.
Glacier National Park is the greatest destination ever for hiking enthusiasts. It might be wise to choose a guided hike to avoid coming face-to-face with one of the park grizzly bears.
One of the park’s iconic features is the Garden Wall – the place where two glaciers once met. This place is now accessible by horseback, foot, boat or car. During the summer, Native American Speaks is the place where visitors gather to hear tribal speakers tell their stories about history and culture in song and dance.
Tourists who really want to get a feel for nature and the serenity here can opt for one of 13 campgrounds. They are rather popular and do get busy in the summertime, so plan on calling ahead. For the four-walls-and-a-roof kind of people, lodging options are available. Apgar Village Lodge offers rustic and traditional accommodation, as well as a beautiful view.
Visitors can watch diverse wildlife from the observation stand at the Goat Lick Overlook. This place is often frequented by mountain goats, offering a spectacle for wildlife enthusiasts. On the East side of the Continental Divide, Jackson Glacier flows down a rocky pass across the upper St. Mary River Valley. It is either covered in snow or you’ll see sharp peaks of ice; either way, it’s beautiful. The glacier is shrinking and is expected to disappear in 100 years or so. What are you waiting for?
The Garden Wall is one of the most spectacular geological sites in Glacier National Park. The steep wall of rock can be seen for about 10 miles jutting above the road. Two Medicine Valley is another geological treasure in the park. Often windy and chilly, the valley is always beautiful. The nine-mile drive from Route 49 is flanked by stark, rocky peaks and the road is closed from late October through late May, but it’s worth the visit in the summer.
Tourists who don’t hike but are OK with heights can fly over the lakes and glaciers on an air tour of Glacier National Park. Those interested in the history of the place can listen on headsets to the pilot’s narrations on Kruger Helicopter Tours. For those who just want to know the essentials and would rather sit back and enjoy the view, Glacier Heli Tour is another choice. It combines two things that go great together — classical music and spectacular scenery.
A trip to Glacier National Park is incomplete without a visit to Apgar Valley to enjoy Eddie’s delicious ice cream. Some guests eat breakfast, lunch and dinner here while relaxing in the casual restaurant. Others just stop by to pick up a picnic lunch to go, if ordered before 11 a.m. Foodies recommend the local food or the chef’s daily dessert special at the Lake McDonald Lodge Restaurant. The food is great and the view, breath taking.
