June 20 -22, 2018
Glacier National Park – West Glacier
After leaving Polson, MT, we drove 60 miles north to Colombia Falls MT to our campground, Mt. View RV Park. Originally, we planned to stay at this location for five nights and visit Glacier National Park(GNP), Kalispell, and Whitefish. Since, the Going To The Sun Road in Glacier National Park is not open, we decided to shorten our stay to three nights. Then, we will drive to St. Mary’s, on the East Side of Glacier, for 2 nights.
Ken has been telling me for several years, that he thought Glacier National Park was over-rated. His opinion is due to the fact that we have been to Alaska and touched some very large glaciers! On this visit, I want to judge Glacier National Park for myself and form my opinion.
We experienced a myriad of weather during our 3 days in GNP. The first day was hot and sunny. The second day was cold, windy, and cloudy. Today was a mixture; cloudy and cool in the morning, a couple of hours of warm and sunny, a rain shower in the late afternoon, ending with sunny skies with air conditioning running in the RV. How do we dress for that kind of weather?
The Going To The Sun(GTTS) Road was newly paved and a pleasure to drive/ride. We drove along Lake MacDonald, Glacier National Park’s biggest lake. It was ten miles long and 472 feet deep. The lake was surrounded by mountains made up of stands of western red cedar and hemlock. Unfortunately, all of the roadside pull-outs and viewing areas were under construction and closed. It was very difficult to get good views of the lake. It seemed like the park was not really ready for tourists!
We drove the GTTS road as far as it was open, ending near Avalanche Creek. All the parking lots were full as well as a closed campground being used for parking. Nothing for us to do but turn around and go back towards the entrance. On the way back we were lucky to find two spots where we could stop the Jeep to view Sprague Creek. It was spectacular with it’s fast and strong current!
We ended our day at GNP with a quick stop at a Gift Shop to buy my souvenir magnet.
My opinion on GNP after Day 1…underwhelmed!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
On Day 2, the weather was cloudy and cool, so we waited until late morning, to go to GNP, hoping the weather might improve. At the park entrance, we stopped to take our picture…gotta have that Park Entrance photo!
Instead of repeating our drive on the GTTS road, we took the paved Camas Road for eleven miles to the Camas Creek entrance of GNP. From that point we were on the Outside North Fork Road. It was mainly gravel, but, well maintained. The scenery was wonderful as we drove through meadow, grasslands, pine forests, and a section of privately owned properties (cabins and ranches). There was a short stretch of paved surface just before we reached the area of Polebridge.
In Polebridge, we were twenty-two miles from the Canadian Border. This tiny community is totally off the grid and powered by Solar Panels and a Diesel Generator. A cafe, saloon, hostel, and a Mercantile/Bakery make-up the base camp that has served the North Fork community for 100 years. The Bakery didn’t start up until 1994, but, is the hotspot of the community. Ken decided that we should try the Huckleberry Bear Claws! I didn’t know what to expect, but, it was very good…just the right amount of sweetness!
Taking the road back towards the entrance, we found a picnic area beside Lake MacDonald and picked out a table near the lake with a view. Before we could unpack our lunch, the wind picked up and cooled the air considerably. Lucky we had our sweatshirts!
Continuing towards the park entrance, we were on the lookout for wildlife. I learned that Mountain Lions are present in the area…we hadn’t seen a Mountain Lion in the wild…and we still haven’t!
My opinion after Day 2…GNP has beautiful scenery but I’m still a little underwhelmed.
Two days in GNP’s west side was enough for us. Today we went to Whitefish and Kalispell to stock up on needed necessities before heading over to the East side of Glacier National Park.
Looking forward to finding out if my GNP opinion will change!
Here’s a few fun things that we saw outside the park!
You must be logged in to post a comment.