View Full Version : Glacier National Park
I surprisingly wasn't able to get much info on the Net on good trips to do in Glacier National Park. Looking for a week long trip - 15-20 miles per day. Obviously want to see the best of the best that GNP has to offer. Any you guys/gals been out there and have some suggestions?
Backpacker Magazine had a feature on Glacier a couple of years ago when it won their "Best Park in the US" reader poll. They mentioned a few trips, so you might check out their website. The CDT through the park is suppose to be about as good as it gets. Note that it is required to get a permit and to stay in designated campsites the whole way. You have to pick out your sites before you go, and some may not be available. Flyin' Brian got stuck by the man with a few 17 mile days when he went through.
mindlessmariachi
01-27-2004, 11:31
I went hiking in GNP this past summer. You need to go to the Park web site and find out how to reserve backcountry sites. Do this ASAP otherwise you could have a tough time getting spots and stringing together a good hike. That said, i didn't get my registration done last year until about early july, for an august hike. We ended up going to the lesser used eastern side of the park (which turned out to be a blessing, because wildfires were consuming the western side). I can't remember all the names of the places off the top of my head, but I think my favorite spot was Triple Divide Pass; i'd recommend that hike to anyone!
The info i got from the NPS website for Glacier was that permits will begin to be issued on April 14th. Any permits requests received between April 1 and 14 will be put into a hat and drawn randomly on April 14. After that it is first come first serve.
CDT through the park is a good recommendation. Thanks
Any more?
Start at Goat Haunt in the north by Canada and head south on the CDT through the park, resupply, and head through the Bob Marshall and Scapegoat wilderness complex, also along the CDT. You can resupply just after leaving the park and also at a ranch further on. Head to Rogers Pass at the south end of the wilderness. Take a look at http://www.phlumf.com/cdt/cdt.htm
The first two sections of Jonathan's CDT hike are through Glacier and the Bob. From Lincoln, you could Greyhound it somewhere. This would be a little under 300 miles in length, which is a longer than you are looking for, however. I think just the park part would be a little over 100 miles.
A great week long trip starts at Waterton Lakes and follows Jim Wolf's recommended route (not the official route) of the Continental Divide Trail. The trail is near or on the divide much of the way to the town of East Glacier. Make your plans early and reserve your campsites (required). I hiked this section in 1998 with a digital video camera - you can see the result of my trip in "Crash and Burn," the mini-documentary I produced, in Lynne Whelden's How To Hike the Continental Divide Trail video. This is a great, once-in-a-lifetime hike.
Spirit Walker
06-03-2004, 10:32
I loved your video. It was the best part of the movie.
That said, yes, the CDT route is terrific - any of the routes. We did the Belly River and the Highline routes and both were beautiful. In the south, if the weather is good, do the high trail from Pitamakin to Dawson Pass rather than the lower route - it is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Any of the trails in Glacier are worth doing. We would like to go back and to the Nyack route and the east -west route up near the border.
There is a Falcon book that details all the trails in Glacier. It is worth getting. Or get the CDTS book on northern Montana and it describes the CDT options.