You have planned the perfect trip to Glacier National Park in early summer, and you show up to find the Going to the Sun Road is closed. Now what? Have no fear; there are plenty of things to do in West Glacier National Park to keep you entertained for days.
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The Going to the Sun Road is the major thoroughfare through the park. It usually opens between mid-June and mid-July for the season depending on the amount of snowfall in the winter. When the road is closed, it can wreak havoc on your plans. And the park does not give much notice as to when it will open. If you plan your trip in June or early July, you run the risk of the Going to the Sun Road being closed.
Also, Glacier National Park has started a reservation system where you must reserve a ticket to the Going to the Sun Road prior to your visit. Going to the Sun Road reservations can be made at recreation.gov. If you are unable to secure one of these reservations, you will be spending most of your time in West Glacier National Park. Do not worry; I have you covered!
Entrance Fees
You will need to purchase a park pass to enter Glacier National Park. The pass is $35 and is good for 7 consecutive days. Depending on how often you visit this park or all U.S. National Parks, you may want to consider purchasing an annual park pass or an America the Beautiful park pass, which will allow you into all national parks for a year. Also, if you have a 4th grader in your household, you can get a family pass to the national parks that is good for a year. Find out more about that benefit here. Glacier National Park also offer some free days throughout the year.
What to Pack
Join my mailing list to receive the ultimate packing guide, but here are some things that I feel are especially important for you to bring to Glacier.
- Bug Spray – The mosquitoes are bad in Glacier, and you will need bug spray to keep your sanity.
- Bear Spray – Bears are rampant in Glacier and can walk up on you at anytime. Arm yourself with bear spray. The stores in Glacier sell bear spray if you do not bring your own.
- Rain Gear – A rainstorm can come out of no where, so you will want to pack your rain gear in your car or backpack every time you go out.
- Clothing – Duh! What I mean is pack various types of clothing, so you can dress in layers. In the mornings, I wore a tank top, long sleeve t-shirt, and a hoodie to keep warm. By mid-day, I was down to just the tank top to keep cool. Layers are important!
- Comfortable Shoes – You will be walking a lot, so pack comfortable shoes.
Traffic Congestion
When the Going to the Sun Road is closed, the same amount of people attend the park but have a smaller area to explore. Therefore, it can get very crowded. Glacier NP shuts down access to the park or certain areas within the park to relieve traffic congestion. While we were there, areas of the park closed before 8am some days. Be prepared to go into the park very early or later in the afternoon. We typically arrived around 7:30am and left the park around 11am. Then, we returned after 3pm for some late afternoon hikes.
Trails to Hike
There are several trails you can explore in West Glacier National Park. I have listed a few here. However, the best thing to do is talk to a park ranger when you arrive. In my experience, they have been very helpful with hike recommendations based on your preferences and difficulty level.
Trail of the Cedars
Trail of the Cedars is an easy, 0.8-mile loop through giant cedar trees. Half of this trail is on an elevated platform. You will pass a quick-flowing creek, rock formations, and giant root systems exposed by fallen trees.
Avalanche Lake (via Trail of the Cedars)
The access point of the Avalanche Lake Trail is about halfway pass the trailhead of Trail of the Cedars. This is a 5.7-mile, moderate hike that gains nearly 750 feet in elevation. This hike is an absolute must-do and is the best trail in West Glacier National Park! We loved it so much we did it twice: once in the rain and once in the sunshine.
The hike is beautiful as you walk along a creek in the dense forest. Massive boulders sit near the trail. We spotted deer grazing near the trail. You are rewarded at the end of this trail with the pristine Avalanche Lake that is surrounded by snow-topped mountains. Several waterfalls cascade down the mountains from the melting snow. If you dare, you can take a dip in the lake. I was only brave enough to put my feet in. Brrrrrrrr!
Johns Lake Loop
Johns Lake Loop is a 1.9 mile, easy loop that takes you through the forest, to McDonald Falls, cross a couple wooden bridges, and back to where you started. This is a great hike if you are looking to get away from the crowds. At the first trail intersection, the sign tells you the wrong direction for Johns Lake Loop. I suggest you take a picture of the map at the trailhead and follow that.
Rocky Point
Rocky Point Trail is a 3.9-mile, easy out and back trail that takes you past a previous burn area and to Lake McDonald. This trail is more of a nature walk and not so much a hike. It was a nice walk, but if you are short on time, I would recommend skipping this trail.
Howe Lake
Howe Lake Trail was highly recommended by a park ranger, and it did not disappoint. This trail looks like a bear could cross your path at any moment. The end of the trail is Howe Lake which is home to nesting loons. We spotted a beaver dam at this lake. Often times people see moose here, but we were not that lucky. But the best part of this trail are the wildflowers that grow in the Spring and early Summer months. The trail is lined with them!
Parking here is extremely limited. Some people parked on the side of the road. To get to this trailhead, you will need to take Inside North Fork Road, which is an adventure itself.
Huckleberry Mountain Lookout
If you are feeling adventurous, give the Huckleberry Mountain Lookout Trail a go. It is a strenuous, 11.3-mile that is highly recommended and has stunning views of West Glacier National Park. We did not do this hike as it would be too much for kids.
Drives to Take
Inside North Fork Road
To access the Howe Lake Trailhead, you must take the Inside North Fork Road. This is an unpaved, one lane road that has two-way traffic. Part of this road is on the side of a cliff with very few pullouts for passing vehicles. And parts of the cliffside road have sharp turns where you cannot see oncoming traffic, so drive slowly and carefully. In addition to accessing Howe Lake Trail, we drove this road several times looking for wildlife. Make sure to check out the roadside wildflowers too.
Drive to Polebridge
Much of the drive to Polebridge is on unpaved roads. You actually exit West Glacier National Park and drive through a national forest to Polebridge. Many of these lands are privately owned, so be respectful and do not trespass. Once at Polebridge, visit the Polebridge Mercantile for some delicious pastries. The huckleberry bear claws are a must try!
Just past Polebridge, you can enter the park again. However, we attempted to enter here twice without success. The park was too crowded, and Glacier closed this entrance by 8am every day we were there.
Hay Creek Road
We decided to take a side road on the drive back from Polebridge called Hay Creek Road. A lot of times the roads less traveled have the best chances for seeing wildlife. Hay Creek Road did not disappoint. It happened so fast, and I was not able to get a picture. But a black bear ran across the road just in front of us!
Goat Lick Overlook
Goat Lick Overlook is a popular hangout of mountain goats that like to lick minerals exposed in this area. This overlook can be access via Highway 2 about 2 miles pass Walton Ranger Station. Unfortunately, the rain was pouring when we came here, so we could not see much of anything.
Lake McDonald Area
Lake McDonald
Lake McDonald is a beautiful lake near West Glacier National Park. The shores of this lake are lined with colorful pebbles that were created and sculpted from glaciers millions of years ago. You can rent paddleboards here or bring your own paddle boards or kayaks. If you bring your own watercraft, it must be inspected prior to launching.
McDonald Falls
There are a couple pullouts to access McDonald Falls viewing areas. One of the pullouts has a wooden bridge where you can cross McDonald Creek, which you also cross on the Johns Lake Loop Trail. If you walk down river from the bridge on the Horse Trail for a few hundred yards, you will come across a stone tunnel which makes for a great picture opportunity.
If you like skipping rocks, this area of the creek will be your paradise. The creek formed rocks into perfectly flat skipping rocks. We spent a lot of time here and at Lake McDonald tossing rocks into the water.
Outside Glacier National Park
Do not get stuck in thinking you have to spend every day inside West Glacier National Park. Montana is a beautiful state with many places to visit outside the park. If the Going to the Sun Road is closed, check out other parts of Montana to fill your time.
SUP at Flathead Lake
There are many recreational activities in the Flathead Lake area including boating, swimming, and hiking. We opted to rent standup paddleboards on Flathead Lake. While this was super fun and so beautiful, the amount of boats on this lake were abundant. And they did not seem to follow any “no wake” guidelines. If I had to do over, I would choose to paddleboard on Lake McDonald instead of Flathead Lake. Even so, this was still the kids’ favorite thing we did all week.
Hungry Horse Dam
On the way to Flathead Lake, we stopped at the Hungry Horse Dam. This dam is quite impressive holding Flathead Lake behind it. At the steep canyon bottom, Flathead River flows.
Shop ‘til You Drop
West Glacier, Agpar Village, and the Hungry Horse areas have several places to souvenir shop. What is great about the souvenirs at West Glacier National Park is that they are reasonably priced. Many tourist attractions gouge pricing for souvenirs, and Glacier does not seem to do so.
The best souvenir you can buy at West Glacier National Park is anything huckleberry. We bought our fair share of huckleberry products such as ice cream, pie, lollipops, jam, jalapeno jelly, honey, scone mix, pancake mix, and syrup. In addition to huckleberry foods, we bought huckleberry flavored chapstick and hand cream. So yummy!
Stunning Wildflowers
When the Going to the Sun Road is closed, it definitely hinders your Glacier experience. However, one of the best parts of visiting in Spring and early Summer are the wildflowers. I mentioned them a few times throughout this blog, but I cannot stress enough how beautiful and plentiful they were. On the side of every road and along every hike were droves of these amazing and colorful flowers.
Other Things To Do that We Did Not Do
There were several other activities and sights that were available that we did not get to do. Some of the activities we just did not have time to do, and some just are not our cup of tea. But I wanted to include them here as possible activities for you on your Glacier vacation when Going to the Sun Road is closed.
- Bike or hike Going to the Sun Road to Logan Pass (the road was only closed to vehicle traffic)
- Whitewater rafting
- Horseback riding
- Visit Whitehead
- Hike trails around Flathead Lake
- Visit Kalispell
- Rent a boat
- Go fishing
- Pick some huckleberries
If you want to extend your Glacier National Park vacation, make a road trip out of it and add 6 days in Yellowstone and 2 days in the Grand Tetons to your itinerary. The drive between the North Entrance of Yellowstone and Glacier National Park is approximately 8 hours.
