# Glacier National Park, Mt



## 2girls4mom (Feb 26, 2012)

Hey! We are planning to meet good friends in Glacier National Park in August. They are coming from WI and we are coming from WA state. We have reservations at the St. Mary's campground on the east side of the park. I am looking for information on areas to explore- what trails are good for kids/parents? Any site a "must see?" I have heard conflicting information regarding the campground- specifically showers. I've read showers are at St. Marys and then read only at the Rising Sun and Many Glacier camp grounds- and waits for showers are long! Also, we don't do a whole lot of dry camping- we have done some backwoods kayaking trips in Canada (but YEARS ago), any essential information regarding dry camping would be much appreciated.

We will be there for roughly a week- we are looking into renting/purchasing a generator for the trip. We are considering changing out our lights to LED- is it best to get it accomplished before this trip? We have plenty of time. We are also tossing around getting one of those large water "bladders" that you can use to re-fill the fresh water tank on the trailer. Anyone have one/use one? Are they useful/worth it? We are willing to use the trailer dump mid-way through the trip so that the two DD's remain comfortable. They are not shrinking violets but the 14 year old brings along more beauty items than I do! Perhaps I should also lay in a supply of People Style watch, Star, and US magazines for her as well!


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## WACOUGAR (Dec 20, 2006)

Can't help you with the campground. When we were there (many years ago now--our girls were quite young back then!!) we stayed at the West Glacier KOA. We met my parents and my brother and his family. My parents had a large 5th wheel so we needed something that could accomodate that rig. We were quite happy with the campground however. And the girls loved that it had huckleberry ice cream everyday!!

We did enjoy a day of renting kayaks on Lake McDonald. That was a lot of fun for all of us and very scenic. Of course you won't miss the Going To The Sun Road. When we were there, we drove it ourselves. I hear that they have a shuttle now. I guess you can drive yourself also. Don't know what is better. Personally I was a bit stressed because of the height. My husband would pull over to take pictures and straddle the short rock roll. I wouldn't even get out of the truck!! Me and heights just don't get along. But it is gorgeous.

If your staying without hookups, I would definitely recommend a generator. We have had a Honda for quite a few years. You just never know. We have the 2000 and it is quite sufficient (unless you want to run a microwave and air conditioning, etc....) It will run the coffee maker or the hair dryer or curling iron, or microwave,... just not everything at once. It will also keep your batteries charged up--that's the big thing. We do quite a bit of dry camping and are happy to keep lights off for the most part until necessary, etc... We use very little battery. The bladder idea, however, is very good. It's the water you will go through. Bring a couple of the gallon jugs of water for drinking,etc... That is a real help. For the battery, if you drink coffee, I have a Coleman drip coffee maker that sits on the propane stove. I love that. I still get great coffee without using battery.

Anyway, there are a lot of ways to conserve and others will chime in. Enjoy Glacier. It is so beautiful. Can't wait to go back someday.

Kelly


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

WACOUGAR said:


> Can't help you with the campground. When we were there (many years ago now--our girls were quite young back then!!) we stayed at the West Glacier KOA. We met my parents and my brother and his family. My parents had a large 5th wheel so we needed something that could accomodate that rig. We were quite happy with the campground however. And the girls loved that it had huckleberry ice cream everyday!!
> 
> We did enjoy a day of renting kayaks on Lake McDonald. That was a lot of fun for all of us and very scenic. Of course you won't miss the Going To The Sun Road. When we were there, we drove it ourselves. I hear that they have a shuttle now. I guess you can drive yourself also. Don't know what is better. Personally I was a bit stressed because of the height. My husband would pull over to take pictures and straddle the short rock roll. I wouldn't even get out of the truck!! Me and heights just don't get along. But it is gorgeous.
> 
> ...


We visited Glacier a few years back, but stayed outside the park, at Canyon RV and Campground, in Hungry Horse, MT. It is just a few miles from the West Glacier park entrance. There is a trail out the back of the campground that leads down to their private shoreline along the Flathead River. The fishing is GREAT! The campground is gorgeous and will accomodate the biggest rigs - plus you can get full hookups! (They don't allow tent camping - so we felt a little out of place, being the only popup camper amongst fivers and motorhomes!)

As mentioned above, be sure to take the "Going To The Sun Road," up to the Logan Pass Visitor's Center. From there, you can drive down the east side of the pass and drive into the Canadian part of the park - Waterton Lakes National Peace Park - well worth the trip. (Be sure to go into and look around the Prince of Wales Hotel - almost like Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone!).

If you're looking for a good trail - try the Hidden Lake Nature Trail. The trail head is behind the Visitor's Center at Logan Pass. Lot's of wildlife to see - we could practically pet the baby mountain goats! The Garden Wall hike to Granite Park Chalet is SPECTACULAR - but can be a bit daunting if there is still snow on the narrower poarts of the trail (steep drop-offs!). Also - you can take a horseback ride in the mountains from the West Glacier entrance stables (I think - it's been awhile).

Be sure to get a huckleberry milkshake and some huckleberry jam while you're in the area. If you go mid-July, the Queen Anne and Bing Cherries are ripe and plentiful in that area - lot's of road-side stands and U-Pick orchards.

Hope this helps you plan a GREAT trip - we have to go back some day and do all the things we didn't have time for the last trip!

Mike


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## JimandDeb (Apr 13, 2010)

We traveled to Glacier National Park last fall. We stayed at St. Marys to start with and then got up early and went up to Many Glacier to secure a site(first come, first served at that time of year). We spent 5 days there-what an idyllic spot! Easy access to water so we could fill up our tank whenever we needed and they do have a dump station there. Only time we needed the generator was for a few minutes in the morning so I could use my hair dryer! Many Glacier has terrific hiking trails from easy to strenuous with incredible wild life viewing-we saw bears (from afar!),a moose family, mountain goats, bighorn sheep and deer. They also have some great ranger programs (campfire talks and walks) and the Many Glacier Hotel is not to be missed. Have a beer on the deck and watch the sunset-it's amazing! The Going to the Sun Road and Visitor Center is pretty spectacular as well, but no trailers allowed on this windy road. On the other side of the park, we took a little off road adventure to Bowman Lake (without the trailer), a very serene spot for swimming, canoeing or fishing. For the most part, we avoided the McDonald Lake area because of the crowds and congestion. Have a great trip-it's a jewel of a park!

Jim and Debbie


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

Last year we checked out the campground at St. Marys on the was back from a trip into Canada (Bannf and Jasper). My wife's family is from the area east and south of Glacier and we've been through Glacier several times over the past 20 years. The St. Marys campground was okay but that's about it. It wouldn't be my first choice for a trip to that area. The Many Glacier area is beautiful but it's a bit out of the way to get to other parts of the park. I know it's more crowded but there are several nice campgrounds in the West Glacier area and I would probably go there first. Another place to think about is Waterton Park in Canada. It's right in the town and most of the sites have hookups. There's a lot to do there and it's something different. It's really a nice area and driving back to Glacier isn't too much longer than traveling from the Many Glacier area.

As far as some other things to do while in the Glacier area here are a few ideas. There is a whitewater rafting place between West Glacier and Essex along Highway 2 and it's lots of fun. If you like trains stop at the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex and have a meal at the restaurant and watch the trains pass by. If you want to see lots of the park without doing lots of hiking try a helicopter tour. They start in West Glacier and one of my wife's uncles owns the outfit that fly the helicopters. We got a family discount the last time we did it and it was pretty cool. They have a website and you can check out the prices, it's fun but not cheap.

One more thing to consider. I know you asked about Glacier but have you thought about Yellowstone? It would be easy for you to get to and your friends from WI. I've been to both several times and if I were going to spend a week with kids, Yellowstone would be my first choice because there is so much to see and most of it is easily accessible with short hikes. It might be tough getting a campground reservation in the park but when we went for a week several years ago we stayed at the KOA in West Yellowstone and drove into the park each day. Each day we went to a different area of the park and we had a great time. The campground had all of the amenities you would want and the kids especially enjoyed the pool every night.


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

We were there this past June, after visiting Lake Louise again.

We stayed at the St Mary's KOA, it was barren where we camped but their store is one of the best in the KOA system. The wind howled, but the sunrise on the mountains was impressive.

It turns out we were there too soon, since the Highway to the Sun was still not open all the way due to snow pack and avalanches. But we went up as far as we could. I'd been there before, and it is one of the prettiest places on the planet.

We were fortunate we got some great photos including a grizzly bear and mountain goats. Here's my link to an overwhelming number of photos.


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

Raynardo, I forgot about the KOA at East Glacier. That would be a good location that allows access to just about any part of the park that they want to see. We must have driven through there about the same time you were there. We drove up as far as we could on the "Going to the Sun" highway and then looked around for a bit and then headed south. It was starting to rain so the conditions were poor.


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## NorskBoy (Feb 26, 2012)

I would like to thank everyone who have contributed great ideas so far! All have been noted and contributed to our our trip. This is the DH of 2girls4mom.

One piece I would like to share:
It seems that showers are several miles away fom the St. Mary campground- and there are lines to clean up. The East Glacier KOA offers single shower passes for $10 each person OR you can get a $55 family pass (two adults and 3 kids, extra kids are $10 each) and this gives you access to showers and all the pool time you want. It is a daily pass. I think ths sounds like a great mid-week break to clean up and kid pool time. I also understand there is Pizza available from there cafe.

Loved the photos- I have been to GNP (as a kid) and some of the photos looked amiliear.

K


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## WACOUGAR (Dec 20, 2006)

In case you didn't see it this morning (April 29th) there was quite a long article in the Seattle Times Travel section on Glacier National Park. You might want to check it out.

Kelly

P.S. I see you're from Redmond (right down the road from us). Maybe we will see you camping sometime. We are in the State Parks, etc... up this way quite often. Lots of reservations for the summer!!


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