One Day in Glacier National Park

A focused, do-able route through Montana's high country: drive, walk, repeat.

By Chris Hayworth, Nestward

Glacier is enormous: over 700 miles of trails, two faces split by the Continental Divide, and a road that takes its time. One day won't let you see all of it, and anyone who promises otherwise is lying. But one day, planned tightly around the Going-to-the-Sun Road, gives you the alpine meadows, the carved valleys, and the lakes that make this park famous. Here's how to spend it.

The route: Going-to-the-Sun Road, west to east

The park describes itself as "a showcase of melting glaciers, alpine meadows, carved valleys, and spectacular lakes," and the Going-to-the-Sun Road strings nearly all of it together in about 50 miles. That's your spine for the day. Drive it west to east, starting at the West Glacier entrance near Lake McDonald and finishing at St. Mary.

• Lake McDonald (early morning). The park's largest lake, glassy at dawn and ringed with colored pebbles. Walk the shore for ten minutes, then keep moving. The light here is best before the lot fills.
• Logan Pass (mid-morning). The high point of the road at 6,646 feet, sitting right on the Divide. This is the most contested parking lot in the park; if it's full, don't circle. Drive on and catch it on the way back.
• St. Mary Valley (afternoon). The drier, more dramatic east side, where "jagged peaks rise out of a forested valley." This is where the road photographs best in afternoon light.

Two short walks worth the legs

You don't need a backcountry permit to feel like you earned the view. Two stops, both off the Going-to-the-Sun Road, do most of the work:

• Hidden Lake Overlook from Logan Pass: a boardwalk-and-trail climb through wildflower meadows (think glacier lilies near the pass) to a viewpoint over the lake. Snow can linger here well into July, so check conditions and bring layers.
• St. Mary Falls on the east side: a shorter, kid-friendly walk to a tiered waterfall the park calls proof that Glacier is "sculpted by water." It's the easier of the two if legs are tired by afternoon.

If you only have energy for one, the Hidden Lake meadows are the more distinctly Glacier experience. St. Mary Falls is the gentler insurance policy.

Pacing it with kids

Glacier rewards a slow morning and an unhurried lunch. The driving is genuinely scenic, so the car time isn't dead time. Point out Heavens Peak, the waterfalls roadside, maybe a bighorn sheep or mountain goat near Logan Pass. Keep the actual hikes to one big one (Hidden Lake) and one small one (St. Mary Falls), and pad in a long stop at a lakeshore where kids can throw rocks. Grab a free Junior Ranger booklet at a visitor center; the rangers also run a kid-friendly podcast, Headwaters, that makes good car listening on the drive in.

Getting in, and when to go

The park is open 24 hours a day, year-round, and entrance is $35 per private vehicle for a seven-day pass ($25 in winter, November through April). Note that nonresident international visitors pay an additional fee on top of that.

• Vehicle reservations. In recent summers Glacier has required a timed-entry reservation for the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor during peak season, on top of your entrance fee. This is the single most important thing to check before you go. Confirm current requirements on the NPS Glacier site, because a missing reservation can keep you out entirely.
• Best time. The full Going-to-the-Sun Road usually only opens once Logan Pass is plowed, often not until late June or July, and it closes again with the first heavy snow in fall. For one clean day on the whole road, aim for July through September.
• Weather. The park sits on the Divide where Pacific and Arctic air collide, so conditions swing fast. Expect warm sun and pack for sudden cold and rain anyway, especially up at the pass.
• Getting there. The park is in Montana's far northwest corner; the nearest airports are Kalispell and Great Falls. West Glacier is the usual base for a west-to-east day.

A note on dogs

If you're hoping to bring the dog, plan around it realistically: like most national parks, Glacier does not allow pets on any trails, in the backcountry, or in buildings. Dogs are limited to roads, parking areas, drive-in campgrounds, and picnic spots, on a leash no longer than six feet. That means the two walks above (Hidden Lake and St. Mary Falls) are off-limits with a dog. A car-and-overlook day works; a hiking day does not.