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Travel guide
Glacier National Park
7 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: July to September
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Welcome
Glacier National Park, in a few days
In northern Montana, up against the Canadian border, a 4,100 km² park of glacier-carved peaks, turquoise lakes and alpine meadows where grizzlies, mountain goats and bighorn sheep live. The Going-to-the-Sun Road crosses it for 80 km (50 miles) over Logan Pass, at 2,026 metres, one of the most spectacular mountain roads in the country, open only a few months a year.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 1 thing
- D2 Day 2 1 thing
- D3 Day 3 1 thing
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- D5 Day 5 1 thing
- D6 Day 6 1 thing
- D7 Day 7 1 thing
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- All day · Going-to-the-Sun Road · a full dayCompleted in 1932, an 80 km road across the park over Logan Pass, clinging to the Garden Wall past stone parapets, hand-dug tunnels and waterfalls, fully open only from mid-summer.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Glacier Bear Retreat ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€200 a night
D2
Day 2
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- All day · Highline Trail · a full dayThe park's most famous hike, along a ledge cut into the Garden Wall and high above the McDonald Valley to Granite Park Chalet, with mountain goats and bighorn sheep almost guaranteed.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Glacier Bear Retreat ↗€200 a night
D3
Day 3
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- All day · Grinnell Glacier · a full dayA trail in the Many Glacier area past milky turquoise lakes to an overlook on one of the park's most accessible glaciers, whose meltwater lake is dotted with icebergs.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Glacier Bear Retreat ↗€200 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Logan Pass and Hidden Lake · about 2 hThe summer heart of the park, a plateau of flowering alpine meadows where mountain goats graze, with a partly boardwalked trail up to the Hidden Lake overlook.
- Afternoon · Avalanche Lake · about 3 hThe park's favourite family hike, from the Trail of the Cedars through centuries-old forest to a lake in a cirque of cliffs streaked with waterfalls fed by snow and glacier.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Glacier Bear Retreat ↗€200 a night
D5
Day 5
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Lake McDonald · half a dayThe park's largest lake, whose clear water reveals red, green and blue pebbles near Apgar, with a 1913 hunting lodge and historic boats offering one-hour cruises.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Glacier Bear Retreat ↗€200 a night
D6
Day 6
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · St. Mary Lake · half a dayA windswept lake on the east side where the Rockies meet the plains, with the park's most photographed view at Wild Goose Island and an easy trail to St. Mary Falls.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Glacier Bear Retreat ↗€200 a night
D7
Day 7
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- All day · Bowman Lake · a full dayA wild lake in the remote North Fork valley, reached by bumpy dirt roads from Polebridge, with a pebble beach, a primitive campground and lakeshore trails far from the crowds.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €185 a day, mid-range
Best seasonJuly to September
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/glacier-national-park
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.