National Park Travel Blog

Facilities, trails, and roads continue to open in Glacier National Park according to park officials. Starting Saturday, May 22 the Lake McDonald Lodge and the Lake McDonald Camp Store will be open to visitors. Also beginning this weekend, Glacier Park Boat Company boat tours and rentals will be available at Lake McDonald and Swan Mountain Outfitters horseback rides will start at the Apgar and Lake McDonald corrals.

Sprague Creek and Apgar Campgrounds are open. Primitive camping (no running water) is currently available at Bowman Lake, Cut Bank, Kintla Lake, Logging Creek and St. Mary campgrounds. St. Mary Visitor Center is now open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the Apgar Visitor Center is currently open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This weekend the newly-rehabilitated historic west entrance station also reopens for the summer season.

Park trail crews are busy installing bridges and a number of trails are now cleared and accessible. Although severe weather and dense fog prevented plowing on Thurday, May 20, weather permitting, the west side plowing crew continues snow removal in the Big Bend area after a recent avalanche deposited 15 to 20 feet of snow on the Going-to-the-Sun Road (Sun Road). An initial or pioneer cut has been completed to the Triple Arches area where the average snow depth is five to ten feet between avalanche chutes and 15 to 20 feet in the avalanche chutes. The east side crew has been replowing from Siyeh Bend towards the East Tunnel where snow is approximately 20 feet deep.

Vehicles can currently travel as far as the Avalanche Campground on the west side of the Sun Road and to the Jackson Glacier overlook on the east. This weekend there will be no road work on the Sun Road; therefore, no road work restrictions are planned for hiking and bicycling access beyond Avalanche and Jackson Glacier Overlook. Hikers and bicyclists will be allowed beyond Avalanche and Jackson Glacier Overlook, weather permitting. All park visitors are reminded: To allow for spring Sun Road rehabilitation, the earliest possible date that the entire Sun Road can open to through-traffic across Logan Pass is June 18, weather permitting. All other park roads except the Cut Bank Valley Road are now open for motorized traffic. The entire Inside North Fork Road opened on Monday, May 17.

Construction crews are making progress on the Lake McDonald - Sun Road paving project from the Apgar Transit intersection to Avalanche Campground. Work started Monday, May 17 and is expected to take about three weeks. Work may be performed on future weekends except during the three-day holiday weekend honoring Memorial Day, May 29 to 31. Overlay road work will end at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 21 to accommodate traffic to Lake McDonald Lodge for the Spring for Glacier event. Visitors should plan for short delays of 15-to-30 minutes where overlay paving is occurring. With spring road work along with plowing, caution is urged on both the east and west sides of Sun Road as road conditions can vary.

For more information about Glacier National Park including lodging, things to do, weather, and webcams, visit http://www.nationalparktravel.com/glacier.htm. Remember that reservations are accepted up to one full year in advance, so make your reservations as early as possible.

Many Glacier Hotel is a historic hotel located within Glacier National Park, on the east shore of Swiftcurrent Lake. The building is designed as a series of chalets, up to four stories tall, and stretches for a substantial distance along the lakeshore. The building has a Swiss alpine theme both on the outside and on the inside. The foundation is made of stone, with a wood superstructure. The outside is finished with brown-painted wood siding, and the window framing and balconies have wood sawn in Swiss jigsawn patterns. On the inside, the four-story lobby is surrounded by balconies, whose railings are patterned after Swiss designs.

Many Glacier Hotel was built in the period between 1910 and 1915, when the Great Northern Railway was establishing a series of hotels and backcountry chalets in the park. This was part of an effort by Louis Hill, president of the Great Northern Railway and son of James J. Hill, to establish Glacier National Park as a destination resort and to promote the area as the “American Alps”. To this end, Hill chose a Swiss chalet style for the hotels and chalets. The Glacier Park Lodge (previously known as the Glacier Park Hotel) and the Many Glacier Hotel were intended to be the core structures, while the chalets and campgrounds were sited in the backcountry within an easy day’s ride or hike from one of the hotels or another chalet. The chalets were intended to entice visitors to leave the hotels and see the backcountry in a more rustic manner.

Today, the hotel still maintains its historic character, in part by not placing televisions in guest rooms. Most rooms either have views of Swiftcurrent Lake or the surrounding mountain scenery. Facilities include the Ptarmigan Dining room, the Swiss Room Lounge and Interlaken Lounge, Heidi’s Snack Shop, and Grizzly Track Traders Gift Shop. The hotel is a contributing property in the National Historic Landmark, Great Northern Railway Buildings district.

Many Glacier, named after the numerous glaciers on surrounding mountains, is a hiker’s paradise and an excellent place to view wildlife. If you’re visiting the area and looking for an easy way to get acclimated to the region’s hiking, then take a walk on the Swiftcurrent Nature Trail. This 2.6 mile loop around the lake starts at the shore south of the Many Glacier Hotel. The trail traverses a 400 year-old spruce forest as well as a 70 year-old lodgepole pine forest that was planted after a forest fire in 1936.

Before hiking in the Many Glacier area, be sure to stop by a visitor center or ranger station to pick up maps and learn about any trail closings due to bear activity. Many Glacier offers all kinds of adventure for the outdoor enthusiast including boat tours, horseback riding, mountain hiking, fishing, backpacking, photography, wildlife viewing and much more.

If you plan a visit to Glacier National Park this summer, be sure to make your lodging reservations as early as possible. Reservations for lodging inside the park are accepted up to one year in advance; and subsequently, many lodges and cabins sell out well in advance. For more information about Glacier National Park, visit National Park Travel at www.nationalparktravel.com/glacier.htm. If you’re interested in the Many Glacier Hotel, visit http://www.nationalparktravel.com/manyglacierhotel.htm.

Glacier National Park is more thought of as a summer destination than a winter one.  Subsequently, many people may not be currently thinking about Glacier National Park when it comes to vacation-planning.  Nonetheless, it is important to consider the fact that Glacier National Park is heavily visited during the summer season.  It’s also important to understand that Glacier National Park accepts lodging reservations up to one year in advance; and therefore, it’s a good idea to make your Glacier National Park lodging reservations as early as possible.

If you’re planning to visit Glacier National Park next summer, then now is the time to start making your reservations.  Popular lodging in Glacier Park includes the Lake McDonald Lodge, Many Glacier Hotel, and Village Inn.  There are many other lodging options inside and outside of the park as well.  Lake McDonald Lodge and Village Inn are both located on the shores of Lake McDonald on the west side of the park while the Many Glacier Hotel is located on the east side of the park. 

For more detailed information about lodging in Glacier National Park, visit www.nationalparktravel.com/glacier_lodging.htm.  Get started today, and begin making your Glacier National Park reservations for next summer!