I had never heard of Glacier National Park until I moved out west and then again while researching Whitefish, Montana for snowboarding. I was instantly convinced to visit the park given the reputation of the American  National Parks and logistically, it was a reasonable road trip from Seattle. With the current state of cautious travel, it just made sense to visit this year.

Day 1 – Friday September 3, 2021

We started our drive east and stopped at Blue Heron Park to eat our picnic lunch. We then kept going until we arrived in Wallace, ID —a small historic town. We had dinner at a local Mexican shop, Muchahchos Tacos before resting at the Brooks hotel.

Day 2 – Saturday September 4, 2021

We woke up fairly early to head straight to “Route to Hiawatha”, a scenic bike trail that is 15 miles long with 10 tunnels and 7 sky-high trestles. We thought they operated on Mountain Time but they were on Pacific Time, so we were an hour early. Once we hit the trail, we immediately rode through an 8771 feet long tunnel and then continue downhill through the bridges and tunnels.

It was a lovely scenic ride, and because we went early, it was relatively quiet. We even saw a baby moose at the end of a tunnel but we scared it off thinking it was a typical deer. The weather was fantastic —it was sunny but a little chilly (definitely wished I brought gloves!). 

After our ride, we grabbed lunch at a highway stop and headed towards Glacier National Park. As we passed Kalispell, MT we picked up pho to get our “noodles” fix before the limited in-park options. We checked into our small rustic cabin at Apgar Village and then wandered the area to explore the shops, check out Lake McDonald, and ate our first Huckleberry ice cream dessert.

Day 3 – Sunday September 5, 2021

We woke up fairly early to secure a limited parking spot at Avalanche Lake. We parked and started our 5.5-mile in-and-out hike. It was a great warm-up that wasn’t too hard and rewarded us with a clear blue lake surrounded by mountains. 

After our hike, we made two quick stops to see McDonald Falls and Sacred Dancing Cascades. We then enjoyed lunch at Eddie’s Cafe in Apgar village but had a terrible huckleberry cobbler. It was too sweet and soupy. 

Next, tried to rent boats at Lake Mcdonald Lodge but the water was a little choppy so instead, we headed to West Glacier Village. Along the way, we stopped by the lake to admire the colorful rocks.

West Glacier Village was a newer area that was adorable and well designed. One of the attractions was the outdoor mini-putt, which Chi was adamant to play. Somehow we both tied in the game. 

We had dinner at West Glacier Highland which was surprisingly pretty good and hit the spot for us after a fun first day. 

Day 4 – Monday September 6, 2021

This morning, we rented a motorboat to explore Lake McDonald. It was a bit choppy so we didn’t travel far but just enough for a small sample of the views. 

We started our drive across the park to St. Mary. This meant we were driving through the famous Going to the Sun Road. Chi and I were both blown away at the beauty here. We stopped at Weeping Wall to enjoy our basic cup noodles lunch and continued driving up towards Logan Pass. 

The views were just stunning and my jaw was constantly dropped. It was the same feeling I had when I first visited Switzerland and Iceland for the first time. I was completely awestruck and admired the natural beauty around us. 

We stopped at Logan pass to admire the layers of mountains. In St. Mary’s area, we did a short hike from Sun Point to Baring Falls. The views along the St. Mary lake and Baring falls were lovely. 

We checked into our deluxe cabin at KOA campground and to our excitement, we learned they had a hot tub and pool to use. So that’s exactly what we did before grabbing a pizza from Rising Sun Pizza Company and eating it in front of our fire pit. 

Day 5 – Tuesday September 7, 2021

Our plan was to finish two smaller hikes today; Hidden Lake Overlook and St. Mary / Virginia Falls. We decided to sleep in and try getting parking once the early morning hikers finished. To our surprise, Logan Pass parking lot was COMPLETELY blocked off at 10:00am and we couldn’t even wait for a spot. So instead, we repeated the Going to the Sun road. We weren’t complaining about it since the skies were clearer and the lighting was different from yesterday. It was just as remarkable as the first time. 

We tried Logan pass again around 11:30am but it was still blocked, so we decided to visit the falls’ trailhead. It was equally busy but we waited there and luckily got a spot after 10 minutes. This 4-mile hike was great and not too hard. There was plenty of things to see as we stroll through the burnt but recovering forest. The first stop was St. Mary Falls which was roaring and beautiful. 

We kept hiking to Virginia Falls and saw streams and little falls along the way. At the end of the trail, you could see the tall and staggered Virginia waterfall. We parked ourselves here to make an MRE lunch while taking in the scenery. 

We drove back to Logan Pass in the afternoon and were able to get parking without a wait. The Hidden Lake Overlook hike was busy but had fantastic views on a perfect sunny day.

It was spectacular. The overlook looked unreal like a painting. And to top it off, we even saw a Mountain Goat and her baby on the trail. 

That evening, while we were hanging out by our fire, we heard a loud thud into our window. Turns out to be a small bird that flew into it! Chi picked him up with gloves and then started to care for him. He named him “Wax” since the bird’s species is a waxwing and we had to put him in a dark confined space until he recovered from the shock and stun.

Day 6 – Wednesday September 8, 2021

We woke up before dawn to secure a parking spot at Logan pass. Once we were parked, we took a nap from waking up so early and then had breakfast in our car before starting the famous Highland Trail around 9am.

The first section was “The Wall” which was a 6 ft wide rocky path with a steep cliff drop-off. My palms were sweaty and I usually don’t have a fear of heights.

We made it through and continued to Haystack Butte. The views would have been beautiful as you’re traversing along the Going to the Sun Road but from a higher elevation. Unfortunately, it was a smoky day so the views weren’t perfect.  

It wasn’t too tough of a hike in terms of elevation. It was more the distance. Haystack Butte was our turnaround point after overcoming the switchbacks —not as bad as Havasu or Inca’s dead woman pass. On our journey back we even bumped into a bighorn sheep that was posing for the camera. 

When we returned to our cabin, Wax was flying around the cabin. We let him out and was happy that he was well again. After hitting the pool and a mediocre dinner at Two Sisters Cafe, we sat around the fire. We heard shuffling and noticed a motion light turning on and off occasionally from a private residence behind our cabin. We suspected bears because the front desk warned us not to leave food out. We also heard neighbors say “Hey Bear” the night before and say “Oh no!” as if an animal went through their trash. Suddenly, Chi noticed moving shadows in his peripheral vision and swore he saw a long snout with ears when he flashed his light to the noise. We scurried back inside just in case it was a bear.

Day 7 – Thursday, September 9, 2021

This morning, we confirmed with the owner that there is a young Grizzly roaming around! So it was very likely that a bear was a few feet next to us the previous night. 

We checked out of our cabin and drove south to the Two Medicine Lake area. I wasn’t expecting much because this is one of the least visited areas of the park. But to my surprise, the lake was very impressive. I’d even say more beautiful than Lake McDonald because you were right under the mountains.

I also found a quick easy hike to Running Eagle Falls. I had no idea what this would be but decided it’s a quick stop to find out. To my surprise, this was a unique waterfall unlike others I’ve seen — the water flows out of a cave!

We started our drive north back to St. Mary and had lunch at the lodge. The burger really hit the spot and we finished the meal with a huckleberry cream puff.  

We continued north to Many Glacier for the last segment of our trip. The charming lodge was Swiss-themed and the view was beautiful (except for the smoke).

We drove out to Fisher lake, a popular moose hangout spot. Unfortunately, we just missed them. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the sunset and we grabbed dinner at the hotel restaurant. It was a relaxing evening and reminded me of Europe.  

Day 8 – Friday September 10, 2021

We had 8:30am boat reservations to take us across the lake as a shortcut for the long Grinnell Glacier hike. It was smoky but the views were beautiful.

As the boat turned the corner and got closer to the trailhead, my jaw dropped. It was one of the most stunning views I’ve ever seen in the US. The waterfalls and glaciers on the rocky mountain peaks were paired magically with the calm quiet lake and morning light. Even if I didn’t finish the hike, this view was worth it.

We started our hike and the ascend started. It was pretty gentle and not as bad as I thought. As we got higher, the views got better and better. We even saw a moose from afar drinking in Grinnell Lake.

The beauty of each view kept surpassing the last one on this trail. When we finally finished the hike and arrived at Grinnell Glacier, it was even more spectacular than I expected. The water glistened turquoise against rugged gray rocks. 

Without a doubt, this is one of my top hikes of all time. The scenic views start right away and it just gets better as you hike further. You don’t even notice the crowds as much. We had our MRE lunch before marching back down and taking the return ferry back. 

Our last night was spent eating dinner from the hotel again and then relaxing and reflecting on our trip. 

Day 11 – Saturday, September 11, 2021

It was pouring on the day we were leaving. This meant we didn’t get to enjoy the Going to the Sun road one more time but were still lucky that we previously did. We had pho in Kalispell, huckleberry ice cream from Sweet Peaks, and then continued driving to Coeur D’Alene, ID for the night. 

We checked into our little Airbnb and then ventured into town for dinner. The town was lively, busy, and fun but also a bit uncomfortable since we were the only ones wearing a mask. Our sushi dinner from Kaiju was better than expected and it was a nice date night.  

Day 12 – Sunday, September 12, 2021 

We had breakfast brunch along the river at La Peep. The patio view was lovely and their churro cinnamon french toast was fantastic. It was three of my favorite things combined into one dish. 

We decided last minute to bike a portion of the Centennial Trail along the lake. It was beautiful and peaceful. We didn’t make it all the way to Higgins point due to time (and partially the elevation climb!) but it is easily one of my favorite bike trails.  

We continued our drive home and finished our week-long road trip to Glacier National Park. This park is stunning and I can easily say it’s one of my favorites on a clear blue day. Unfortunately, it is troubling to see hazy days due to wildfires and learn about the accelerated melting of the Glaciers. We’ll be back but in the meantime, there are other national parks to explore.