Photo:
TerryDOtt / CC BY 2.0
Glacier National Park is the “Crown of the Continent”, a million acres of the northern Rockies in Montana, where knife-edge peaks, hanging valleys, turquoise lakes and the last of the park’s namesake glaciers meet along the Continental Divide. The legendary Going-to-the-Sun Road threads its heart, and grizzlies, mountain goats and bighorn sheep roam a wilderness that feels vast and gloriously intact.
Ancient rock thrust up and then carved by ice gives Glacier its dramatic profile, horns, aretes and U-shaped valleys cradling cold, clear lakes. Cedar-hemlock forest in the wet west gives way to alpine tundra along the Divide and drier prairie-edge forest in the east. It is superb wildlife country: grizzly and black bears, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, wolverines and moose.
Summer through early fall is the prime window, when the Going-to-the-Sun Road is fully open (usually late June or July into October), the high trails clear, and wildflowers peak. Snow lingers on the passes into summer and returns in fall. Winter is deep, snowy and quiet, with the high road closed and travel limited to the valleys.
The park sits in northwest Montana, reached via US-2 with the Going-to-the-Sun Road crossing between West Glacier and St. Mary; Amtrak’s Empire Builder stops at the edge. Timed-entry vehicle reservations apply in the busy season, and a free shuttle runs the Sun Road, but a vehicle is needed to reach and move around the park.
Drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road over Logan Pass, hike the Highline, Grinnell Glacier and Hidden Lake trails, and paddle or cruise Lake McDonald and the Many Glacier lakes. Backpackers link the high country on classic routes, and wildlife-watchers scan the meadows of Many Glacier and Logan Pass for bears and goats.
This is core grizzly country. Carry bear spray, make noise, travel in groups and store food properly. Mountain weather changes fast with cold and storms any month, snow lingers on passes, rivers and waterfalls run cold and powerful, and many trails have steep exposure, so plan carefully and start early.
A park pass and, in the busy season, a timed-entry vehicle reservation are required. Check the current system and book ahead. Backcountry camping needs a permit, and the Sun Road’s opening varies with snow. This page is a general overview, not a live conditions report; always confirm current road status, reservations and permits with the National Park Service before your trip.
Set this declination on your compass, then align it to the map's north lines; it is the angle between true north and magnetic north, refreshed each year.
