Encompassing more than 4,000 square kilometres of Montana’s Rocky Mountains, Glacier National Park is a magnificent wilderness area on the Canada-United States border. Its glacial-carved peaks, alpine meadows and forested valleys are traversed by an extensive network of hiking trails and the heritage-listed Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Things to do in Glacier National Park
Board the historic “DeSmet” boat to tour Lake McDonald, which sprawls across a glacial-carved valley on the western side of the Continental Divide. Gaze up at the snow-capped peaks that frame its waters while keeping your eyes peeled for grizzly bears, moose and mule deer along the shores. Anglers can try their luck luring in lake, cutthroat and rainbow trout.
If you want to stretch your legs, follow the 17-kilometre-long trail that connects from Swiftcurrent Lake to the Grinnell Glacier, which is named after an American conservationist and explorer. The trail takes in picturesque alpine meadows and a small aspen forest before arriving at the park’s most photographed glacier.
Winding its way through Glacier National Park is the Going-to-the-Sun Road, a scenic route that features some of the park’s most spectacular natural scenery. It stretches for 80 kilometres between the east and west entrances and has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. A highlight of the road is the 2,026-metre-high Logan Pass, which is the starting point for several hiking trails.
Getting around Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park is around 45 minutes’ drive from Kalispell and 2.5 hours from Missoula County International Airport, which has flights to destinations across the United States. Regular trains stop at the East Glacier, West Glacier and Essex railway stations while Red Jammers travel throughout the national park. Historic wooden boat tours are available on some of Glacier National Park’s lakes.