Glacier National Park
I’m so excited to share our itinerary for a long weekend visiting Glacier National Park! It was an amazing trip and the park was absolutely incredible.
To prepare, we got a Going-To-The-Sun Road three day car pass around three months before when the pass tickets opened up. I recommend checking Glacier’s website early to learn when upcoming tickets become available, and set a reminder in order to snag one! The website will also tell you what other passes may be needed.
Watch my travel vlog on YouTube, and read our itinerary below!
DAY 1: Seattle to glacier
It’s an eight hour drive from Seattle to Glacier National Park, so we hit the road early. We made a quick lunch stop in Spokane at a good plant based restaurant, Rut. Our lodging for the trip was at Under Canvas Glacier, so we headed there to get settled into our tent.
DAY 2: Logan Pass & Grinnell Glacier overlook
I think my husband, Brian, knew that he had to spring the hardest hike on me the first day! We woke up before dawn to head to Logan Pass Visitor Center to try to find parking. We had been warned about parking, but it was a nightmare and we circled the lot for a good 20-30 minutes before we fought for a spot.
Once parked, we hit the Highline Trail on our way to Grinnell Glacier Overlook. We originally thought the trail was 11 miles, but it ended up being 16 round trip since we had taken a different route. It was the most beautiful hike I’ve done since you’re walking along beauiful ridge lines the entire time with spectacular views! I was hurting the last two miles so it was definitely long! Wear very comfortable hiking shoes and pack lots of food and water!
DAY 3: rafting
After a big hiking day, we wanted to rest our feet and recover a bit. We spent the morning making stops along Going-To-The-Sun road in West Glacier and sitting by Lake McDonald enjoying the scenery and deers that were roaming around.
In the afternoon, we headed to Great Northern Resort for half day white water rafting. We were able to book the excursion through Under Canvas. A bus took us up river, then we went in a raft in a group of four for a few hours. We went in late August, so the river was lower and less intense than earlier in the season. The guides had recommended coming in July for the biggest rapids! The river was beautiful and it was a great way to spent the afternoon.
DAY 4: East glacier
We got up early again (for parking!) to hike Avalanche Lake in West Glacier. It was much easier than our other hike, and the lake at the end was really serene and beautiful. When we finished it was still early, so we headed to East Glacier to explore past Logan Pass. We stopped at different stops along Going-To-The-Sun road and ended up booking a St. Mary’s Boat Tour. It was so fun to see the park from the water, and the guide did a great job. It was a perfect wrap up to the trip!
DAY 5: Glacier to seattle
As we hit the road for our long drive home, we stopped in Whitefish for breakfast. I’ve heard great things about Whitefish, especially for the winter ski season, so it was fun to finally get to stop and visit!
Under Canvas Glacier
Under Canvas Glacier
Hiking the Highline Trail
