The grand finale of our traveling summer was a road trip to Glacier National Park. This was Graham’s year to have the free 4th grade national parks pass. For Owen’s 4th grade year, we used the pass to go to Yellowstone. Graham wanted an equally awesome experience. In fact, we contemplated going back to Yellowstone because it’s just that amazing… But, very quickly, Graham settled on Glacier and we started to strategize on how to make that happen. I’m so glad we did!
In a way, this was a redemption trip. We had one day in Glacier in 2023 and, sadly, it was a dud. The park was so busy we couldn’t find parking anywhere. Part of Going-to-the-Sun Road was massively torn up. Jeremy didn’t want to turn around to see if any parking spots opened up behind us. We did a quick drive, a short hike, and then got Jr. Ranger badges at the Apgar Visitor Center. We were done with the park by early afternoon. It was a bit of a letdown. We know Glacier is popular and we saw that reflected in the crowds. We didn’t get to explore the park for our ourselves and it felt like a missed opportunity.
So, yes, this was our chance to do Glacier again and, hopefully, have a much more positive experience. I’m happy to report that our second attempt at Glacier was a success! Hooray! We arrived in Kalispell in time for lunch on Monday. We went grocery shopping and checked into our hotel a bit early. After we settled on what we could leave at the hotel and what we needed to keep with us in park, we took off for Logan Pass. We ate a picnic dinner in the minivan before doing the Hidden Lake Overlook hike at Logan Pass. It was a beautiful hike! The mountains were stunning and the wildlife was fun to spot. We saw a couple of marmots, a bunch of squirrels and chipmunks, and a herd of big horn sheep cut us off from the trail as they passed by. It was a very up close wildlife encounter! After our hike to the Hidden Lake Overlook, we took the Highline trail to where it becomes a cliff-face that you must hold a cord to walk along. Graham dreams of hiking this dangerous trail some day. I do not. This can be a man hike. I will bring my Kindle and read in the van. I will not hike a trail that people have fallen off and died. I know my limits! The other excitement of the Highline trail was a grizzly bear was sighted nearby. With bear spray ready, we kept an eye out, but sadly/thankfully, we didn’t see it. I much prefer to spot grizzly bears from the safety of my vehicle, not on a trail.
Tuesday was moose day! It was our mission to find a moose and we found three! Graham was disappointed that we didn’t see any bull moose, but I’ll take any moose, any day. It’s special no matter what. We took a morning hike to Aster Falls in Two Medicine. We saw our first two moose on this trail. We did a picnic lunch at Two Medicine before driving over to Many Glacier. We took an afternoon hike to Red Rock Falls and saw our third moose in Fishercap Lake. Jeremy had researched these hikes for moose spotting and they were winners! We had dinner at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. We explored the Many Glacier Hotel our way out of the area. Driving back towards Logan Pass, we saw two black bears berry picking near the road! The hikes on Tuesday were great for wildlife spotting and our waterfall destinations were pretty. Because Two Medicine and Many Glacier aren’t accessible from Going-to-the-Sun Road, it was exciting to explore new parts of the park.
Wednesday was our low-key day. We drove over to the east side of the park in hopes of spotting grizzly bears. Sadly, we did not find any. We were a little too late in the morning. We enjoyed a picnic lunch at Rising Sun before heading back to the west side of the park. We did some souvenir shopping at Lake McDonald Lodge, West Glacier, and the Apgar Visitor Center. The boys enjoyed getting wet at Lake McDonald and perfecting their ability to skip rocks. We had dinner at Glacier National Pizza in West Glacier. We ended our day in the park by walking the Trail of the Cedars and stopping at all the lookouts along the westside of the park. There are many places to the enjoy the waterfalls of McDonald Creek. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at The Huckleberry Patch for pie and milkshakes. It was a very tasty way to end our day!
Thursday was our final visit to Glacier. We checked out of our hotel early and prayed for parking so we could do one last hike. The parking at Trail of the Cedars is also for the hike to Avalanche Lake. It fills up quickly and often you can be out of luck. Thankfully, we found parking and were able to do one final adventure! The hike to Avalanche Lake had the most elevation gain of the hikes we did, but it was through a shaded forest, so it didn’t feel too bad. The lake and surrounding mountains were beautiful and worth the effort. The only improvement would have been less haze due to wildfires. We had pretty clear skies at the beginning of our trip, but the smoke was moving back into the area by the end. We had a mule deer decide to take the trail right in front of us on the way back. We followed behind her for a quite a well. It was certainly a unique experience! I’m so glad we got one more hike in before hitting the road for home.
We made it to Coeur d’Alene for dinner on Thursday. Jeremy and I got our CDA favorite – Meltz Extreme Grilled Cheese. Yum! We treated the boys to Gooeys at The Coeur d’Alene Resort. Jeremy and I stay at the resort every year for a conference, so it was extra special to have these tasty treats in August when we usually only get them once a year in April. We walked the floating boardwalk at the resort before heading to our hotel in Spokane Valley. Overall, it was a great trip from start to finish! We saw so many beautiful sights and wildlife. We took awesome hikes and enjoyed good food! It was definitely a road trip we won’t forget any time soon! Adventuring together is my favorite thing!
Amy Scott's Thoughts 