Things to know about Glacier National Park

/ Glacier National Park, National Parks of USA / By
    • Glacier national park was stablished in 1910. It is Located in North Western Montana along US-Canada border. Part of the national park is in Waterton, Canada. It is home to some of the last few glaciers in continental America.
    • There are plenty of chances to see wild life – grizzly bears, black bears, moose, elk, mountain goat, big horn sheep, deer, fox.
    • The park is famous for its sky scraping mountains, waterfalls, lakes, and of course, Going to the Sun Road (GTSR).
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Entrance Fee

There are two options. Option 2 is recommended if you plan to visit at least 2 more national parks in US within next 1 year.:

  1. $35 per car and is valid for 7 days.
  2. Take America The Beautiful annual pass card for $80. This is valid across all national parks of US for 1 year. This can be purchases from any entrances of the national parks or even online. Need to have a valid ID during purchase.

How to reach Glacier National Park?

Glacier NP has 5 entry points:

  • West Entrance at Lake McDonald, near to Kalispel
  • East Entrance at St Mary’s (2 hr from Lake McDonald)
  • Many Glacier (40 min from St Mary’s)
  • Two Medicine (45 min from St Mary’s)
  • Waterton (in Canada) (45 min from St Mary’s)
Hot tip: GTSR (Going to the sun road) connects West entrance to East Entrance. Other entry points don’t have access to GTSR.
Other entry points take you to different locations of the national park.

Airports near to Glacier National Park

  1. Kallispel – nearest airport
  2. Spokane – will have cheaper flights, especially from California
  3. Missoula
  4. Great Falls

Rental Car

  • Rental car is almost necessary to reach the park and also get around the park.
  • There is shuttle service within the park connecting Lake McDonald to St Mary’s. But if you also want to explore Many Glacier and Two medicine, rental car is necessary,

Where to Stay?

  • Best option is to stay inside the park – either camping or lodging.
  • If you are exploring West side of the national park between Lake McDonald and Logan Pass, then it is best to stay on the west side of the park.
  • If you are exploring east side of the park (between Logan Pass and St Mary’s), and Many Glacier area or Two Medicine area, it is recommended to stay on the east side of the park (near to St Mary’s or Babb).
  • Car drive from West entrance to east entrance will take ~2 hrs.