Ever since Aaron and I went to Yosemite, nothing has compared. Sequoia National Park was second place, but Yosemite is always number one. When we got our assignment in Helena I knew that Glacier National Park would be a good competition.
Glacier National Park is 1 million acres and actually crosses into Canada. Weather here can be extreme as it straddles the Continental Divide. Glacier National Park actually closes much of the park during the winter months due to weather, so we had to get up there quick! Aaron and I stayed at the St. Mary's KOA in the east side of the park and soon realized when we got there, our last day there was the end of their season. Not to mention, there was no where else to stay in St Mary's. The East Glacier entrance does have a few places to stay, but we wanted to stay in St. Mary's due to location. Also, Grinnell Glacier is an awesome 11 mile hike that we really wanted to do, but they closed the road on September 17th for maintenance. Of course, there are plenty of other trails to do in the park besides that trail and we decided we will have to go back one day and hike to Grinnell Glacier.
For those interested in seeing the wonderful fall colors and have a place to eat after, do not stay in St. Mary's at the end of September. Nothing was open or had food while we were there. If you bring your own you'll be all set, but we did not and ended up eating frozen hot pockets from the KOA and then the next night going to East Glacier where a few restaurants were open.
The drive going to Glacier was filled with falls colors and lots and lots of farms, cows, horses, and very small towns.
We rented a cute cabin at the St. Mary's KOA that consisted of a microwave, mini fridge, bunk bed, and queen bed. It was a lot cheaper than getting a place with a bathroom so we figured we could make it work. We had to bring our own bedding and towels too. It was the perfect little cabin and the location was awesome! Less than 5 minutes from the park!
Just as we entered the park, there was a wide open field on the right and people were parked along the road. There was a little black bear walking around!
There are a ton of great places to pull over and look out at the beautiful landscape along the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Here is a spot we pulled off at just before Jackson Glacier.
Jackson Glacier Overlook is a must see in Glacier! Hopefully this is still around for years to come as all the glaciers have been shrinking.
After this we drove to Hidden Lake Trailhead.
The Hidden Lake trailhead is located in the Logan Pass Visitor Center and parking was horrible. We had to park almost a half mile down the road.
This trail is 1.5 miles and all up hill. It is an easy trail since it is all wood paved so though it is up hill, it is pretty easy!
The weather was not the best, but we made the best of it!
We were hoping to see some grizzlies here since they hang out near the lake, but we did not see any.
After walking back to the truck, we continued our drive down the Going-to-the-Sun Road. We pulled over and enjoyed our sandwiches!
These next few pictures are photos we took on our way to Avalanche Lake trailhead, which is in the Trail of the Cedars Nature Trail. Going-to-the-Sun Road is so beautiful we could not resist, but to take lots of photos!
Next was hiking to Avalanche Lake which is about 5 miles round trip. Going through Trail of the Cedars is beautiful too!
This trail is between easy and moderate. It was not bad at all and definitely a must!
After this we drove to Lake McDonald.
We turned around here and headed back. We stopped quickly at McDonald Falls.
The drive back to St. Mary's was beautiful as the sun was going down!
We even saw mountain goats!
Might be hard to see them in the picture, but they were so cool!
Then we went back to our little cabin and heated up hot pockets from the KOA since nothing was open!
The next morning we enjoyed some muffins and oatmeal that we packed. Yes, the cabin had Wi-Fi, but no bathroom. The KOA also had coffee and chai lattes! We were in no rush to get out on the trails since we had 2 hikes planned. It was nice to be able to relax in our quiet cabin.
Eventually we got ready and headed into Glacier! We decided to save St. Mary Falls, Virginia Falls, and Baring Falls for this day since we knew the weather was not going to be good. These are all accessible from one parking lot. Our first trail was St. Mary Falls to Virginia Falls, about 4 miles total and easy!
We saw an adorable deer just off the path too!
Then we got to St. Mary Falls!
As you hike to Virginia Falls you go along the Saint Mary River and there are great places to take pictures!
Then you get to Virginia Falls.
After that we hiked back to St. Mary Falls and had a bite to eat...with a friendly squirrel.
Then we headed to Baring Falls which is about 2 miles round trip from the parking lot.
After this we hiked back to the car. It was so pretty hiking next to Saint Mary Lake and Saint Mary River! We could see Virginia Falls too!
Then on our way out of the park, we saw a little black bear in the same spot as our first day!
Since nothing was open in St. Mary or was out of food, we headed down to East Glacier to have dinner. The drive was beautiful!
Leo's Elkhorn Eatery was open and serving Montana beef!!
Then we headed back to our cabin in St. Mary before heading home the next day. The St. Mary KOA was awesome and in a great location! Glacier National Park was amazing and ranks as Aaron's second favorite National Park...Yosemite is still number one. Maybe one day I'll find a park that beats it!
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