Glacier National Park is an absolute dream. I am already dreaming of going back and what I want to do. We spent two days there and it was wonderful.
Apgar Visitor Center
We entered the park and did our first stop at the Apgar Visitor Center. This is located on the west side of the park – right past the entrance. Because of COVID, the actual visitor’s center was closed {insert tears here}. We are the type of people that love to read all of the signs and information and so we were bummed to not be able to look inside the center. But, we rolled with it {what else can you do, right?!}.
The weather was chilly. I’m talking low 40s chilly. Now, we Bernings love our cold weather, and luckily, we were prepared, so the cold itself wasn’t too much of a factor {and we would take it over the heat ANY DAY}. It was also very misty and damp, too. This made for some moody clouds – but we will get to those more later!
Lake McDonald Lodge
We headed deeper into the park and drove along Lake McDonald until we arrived at Lake McDonald Lodge. We would have loved to stay here. This lodge was built over a hundred years ago and resembles a rustic hunting lodge from Switzerland. It was beautiful.
We walked around and had to check out the real “entrance” to the lodge. The Lodge was initially only accessible by boat and so the entrance was toward the lake. The same historic boat, the DeSmet is still sitting docked in front of the lodge, which used to carry visitors to the lodge.
The kiddos loves running along the shore and throwing rocks into the water. But then it was time to hit the trails!
Unexpected Crowds
Probably the biggest shock of our experience in Glacier was how busy it was. Everything we had read said that visitors drop drastically after Labor Day. To be honest, I was a little worried about wildlife just because I was expecting a lot of empty trails.
That was NOT our experience.
We talked with one of the rangers about it and they were just as surprised as we were. They said this year has been so “weird” and nothing about it has been normal. Everything was shutting down but the people weren’t leaving.
Because of all of the people it did make accessing the trails a little tricky. There are truly only a handful of parking spaces at some trails and so we had to get creative. I was so happy though because we were able to do everything we wanted to by the end and that was definitely a blessing!
Also, because of COVID, the eastern side of Glacier was closed. We knew this going in but we knew that the park was big enough to still give us plenty to do during our time.
After all of our trails were filled around the Lake McDonald Valley we headed to the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Going-to-the-Sun Road
Now, if you are afraid at all of heights, this road is a no-go. However, it is also pretty impossible to avoid if you want to venture into the park. And, even though I have major fear of heights problems, you would definitely be missing out if you didn’t experience this road.
Since this day was such a stormy one, we actually couldn’t see much of anything from the road. I still can’t decide if that made it easier or not because you knew an abyss of death was next to you, but you couldn’t see it! Somehow the clouds and mist made it mysterious in a beautiful way though and Mark was loving it – and is super patient and understanding about my freaking out!
Sun Point Nature Trail
Our first hike ended up being about as deep into the park as we could get! And calling it a “hike” might be a little bold, it was more a stroll, but incredible. We did the Sun Point Nature Trail and it takes you out to this overlook over Saint Mary Lake and it is just beautiful. We were all in heaven and I think each of us commented that we could just stay out there all day. Our world is a beautiful place.
Hidden Lake Overlook
To do this hike, you park at the Logan Pass Visitor Center. You walk just past the visitor center to get to the trailhead. They only had the overlook section of the trail open because there had been bear activity on the trail from the overlook to the lake.
The trail itself is great. All three of our big kiddos were able to do it – no problems! It is a lot of steps but I would say about half of the trail is on a boardwalk.
What we will remember most about this is THE MIST. The “mist” was so thick. We were constantly walking in and out of it. This was the one hike that Lydie wasn’t too happy about {which is actually a HUGE blessing because hiking has been a bit of a struggle with her}. When we were probably 3/4 of the way there she was just really not having it, so Mark, Lydia, and Benjamin headed back down the trail.
Jacob, Sarah, and I continued on. When we got to the overlook there were probably about twenty people just standing around. And I thought we all got a good little lesson from Jacob and Sarah – aren’t kids just the best teachers sometimes?
When we got to the overlook there was nothing to see. The only thing you could make out was a couple trees just a little ways in front of us. I showed the kids a pictures of what we were supposed to see. And as they were both looking at it, Sarah said, “Well, I can see some trees right there!”. And Jacob said, “Oh yea, I can see it too!”. And another moment later, Jacob said, “Even though we didn’t see much, it was still a lot of fun!”.
I was so proud.
Most of the people were complaining about the conditions or calling the experience a “waste” and I was so grateful for the goodness of my sweet kiddos. They focused on what they COULD see and didn’t let what they COULDN’T see ruin their experience. So applicable to SO MUCH right now.
We had so much fun on our hike back. But the mist and dampness eventually turned into RAIN! We all looked quite a sight by the time we made it back to the car but we were giggling and having the best time.
If I could go back, I would definitely want to do this hike again!
Trail of the Cedars
Our final hike of the day was the Trail of the Cedars. This is one of those wonderful hikes because truly everyone can experience it. It is wheelchair/stroller accessible and is easy and beautiful. The trees are beautiful and it was a great way to end our day!
Wrap Up
We came back to our AirBNB, took hot showers, snuggled in jammies, ate some pizza and huckleberry ice cream, and enjoyed a family movie night. It was a pretty perfect day.
Absolutely gorgeous photos!! Sorry about the mist but it saved you. As scary as the Going-to-the-sun-road is, it’s worth it. Love the photo’s of the family.
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