Glacier National Park
Getting there
If you’re flying to visit Glacier National Park, the best and easiest airport is Glacier Park International Airport (FCA) in Kalispell. This airport is on the west side of Glacier National Park. It is 25 miles / 35 minutes away from the west entrance.
If you’re wanting to be closer to the east entrance of the park, there are 2 primary options:
1. Lethbridge Alberta Airport (YQL) – 77 miles / 1.5 hours from the east entrance
2. Great Falls International Airport (GTF) – 140 miles / 2.2 hours from the east entrance
Two days at Glacier
Our two days at Glacier National Park were part of a week-long itinerary that included Banff and Canmore. We traveled from August 26th through September 2nd. For the full itinerary, visit Destinations > United States or Destinations > International.
Before planning your trip, be sure to check out the Glacier National Park website for permit requirements. At the time of our visit, we needed vehicle reservations for each section of the park that we wanted to visit.
Day 1 was primarily travel. We left TPA at 7:25 AM and arrived at FCA at 1:35 PM. After getting our bags and waiting in the very long rental car line, we were off to check in at Under Canvas Glacier.
We had dinner at the onsite cafe and then drove to Lake McDonald Lodge for our 7:00 PM Glacier Park Boat Company tour of the lake. Even with a slight haze from previous fires, this ride was beautiful! After being in airports, planes, and cars all day, it was the best way to kick off the week.
Reservations for all of the Glacier Park Boat Company tours can be made in advance online. Having a boat tour reservation eliminates the need for a vehicle reservation for that day and section of the park.
Day 2 was our Grinnell Glacier hike! In total, this is a 10-mile out & back trail. BUT, if you book the Many Glacier boat tour, it shaves off about 3 miles. When road permits went on sale for the season, I was unable to get a Many Glacier pass. So instead, I booked the Many Glacier Boat tour. This covered our road permit requirement for the day and helped our feet stay happy.
From Under Canvas to the Many Glacier Hotel was about a 2.5-hour drive. We arrived early, filled our water bottles, used the restrooms, and met at the dock for our 8:30 AM departure. There was a huge line for the morning tours filled with hikers! If you don’t have a reservation, you’ll have to stand to the side and hope that there are some no-shows.
The tour begins on Swiftcurrent Lake. You’ll cruise across, park at the next dock, walk 0.2 mile to Lake Josephine, and board the second boat. When you arrive at the final dock, you can choose to remain on the boat for a return trip or disembark to hike. Purchasing the tour includes a round-trip ticket, regardless if you stay or go.
We hopped off and hiked about 3.6 miles up to Grinnell Glacier. The entire trail is beautiful and is now one of my favorite hikes! Amazing views everywhere you look. At the Glacier, we all sat down to rest, have a snack, and hydrate. Cam decided that he was going to jump into the glacial lake. I thought he was crazy. And then I ended up with him! I’m not going to sugarcoat or glamorize it – getting in that water was painful! My whole body hurt until I thawed out.
After admiring the view for a while longer, we made the 3.6-mile trek back down for our return boat trip. We were so thankful to save those 3 miles at the end!
Alltrails stats for Grinnell Glacier: Length – 10 miles; Elevation Gain – 2,047 ft; Route Type – Out & Back; Difficulty – Hard
When we arrived back at Under Canvas, we changed, grabbed dinner from the Cafe again, and enjoyed Mystery S’mores night!
Day 3 was our final morning in the park. Yes, I do realize that I titled this “Two days at Glacier”. With our first being an evening, the second being a full day, and the third being a morning, it makes a full two-day itinerary.
We woke up early, checked out from Under Canvas, and drove to the Avalanche Lake trailhead (45-minute drive). The total mileage for this hike varies greatly based on where you get a parking spot. We made it to the trailhead by 7:00 AM and snagged one of the last spots.
The trail was beautiful and made me feel like I was in a vampire movie. We made it to the lake before the sun was peaking over the mountains. It was very still and calming. We put our feet in and walked around for a while enjoying it. One of our friends dove in!
My only regret on this hike is that we didn’t stay and wait for the sun to be fully up.
Alltrails stats for Avalanche Lake: Length – 5.9 miles; Elevation Gain – 757 ft; Route Type – Out & Back; Difficulty – Moderate
Then we made our way back to the car for our 5-hour drive to Canmore. We took Going-to-The-Sun Road and it was worth the hype! Absolutely beautiful everywhere you look. All of our stops added just a little bit of time to that 5-hour estimate!
Tips for visiting Glacier:
- Book boat tours well in advance.
- Set a reminder to book vehicle reservations when they go on sale.
- Plan backup hikes – the week before we visited, the Grinnell Glacier trail was closed due to bear activity. We had Iceberg Lake listed as a backup.
- Don’t forget sunblock!
- Pack more snacks and water than you think you’ll need.
- If visiting more than 1 national park in a 12-month period, buy an America the Beautiful pass.
- Follow the 7 principles of Leave No Trace.
