Glacier NP to San Diego Advice

I am in the final stages of planning our trip to Glacier this July. I realized that there is incredible country all through the state of Idaho which is often overlooked in going to Glacier, Yellowstone, and the Tetons.

I am routing through Reno to Winnemucca in Nevada and then north on Hwy 93 to Boise. From there we will go to eight wildlife management areas on our way up to Whitefish. After the time in Glacier we are going south through Montana on I-15 with stops planned in Helena (whose museum has one of the best collections of Charles Russel paintings in the country) and to Butte, Virginia City and Nevada City, the Bannack ghost town (only 26 miles from Dillon at I-15), Craters of the Moon National Monument, and so forth.

With this routing we see a great deal of the Idaho wildlife and forest lands and there is no backtracking with the route coming back south through western Montana.

The total mileage is not much different but it will make for a much more interesting trip.

Both sides are nice. If on the west side head down the east side of the Flathead valley on Hwy 206 to Hwy 35 to Hwy 83 through the Swan Valley down to Seeley Lake and meet up with Hwy 200 and take it west to I-90, then east on I-90 to Drummond then down SR 1 to Philipsburg to Hwy 38 west to Hamilton and continues south on Hwy 93.

One of the nice things about Montana is that 90' easement on either side of the road makes for lots of Fishing Access sites any time it crosses a water way. These make nice boondocking sites as well.

Lots of NF campgrounds or boondocking sites on either side of Lost Trail Pass on the MT / ID border. Enjoy your trip

Thank you guys. We have 8 to 9 days to make this last stretch home. I would like to spend as much time as I can seeing Montana and Idaho as I don't know when we will ever get this far North again. We are saving Yellowstone for another time as I feel that is a destination spot and not a drive through and quick see. I like the idea of staying off the 15 and will do just that. Love scenic drives and small towns. Google maps has me going south on the West side of Glacier, is it better heading south on the east side?

As bb_94401 was describing, my best advice is to avoid the Interstate. There are so many ways to get to SD and not on an interstate. Just by hitting the state/federal highways south to Yellowstone, to Flaming Gorge, Vernal Utah, Dinosaur, Moab, Grand Canyon, Prescott, Quartzsite to SD, you could avoid I-15.

Or South to Yellowstone, Craters of the Moon, Boise, Burns, Oregon, US 395 south to Mojave City to SD. Great way to see some spectacular country.

I could give you lots of selections, all missing the Interstates and still keeping it about 60 MPH, but those easy distractions, take some of the time you might have.

Great country, if you only travel slow enough to see it.

b

While I-15 is the fastest way to go the 1,400 miles from the east side of Glacier NP to San Diego and goes past lots of nice NF land to the east in Utah, along with Bryce and Zion NP, you might consider an alternate route if you have more time.

National Parks during the high season aren't as much fun. We're having a better winter to date than 2013, which means that Glacier NP will have lots of snow in the high country and on the Going to the Sun Hwy. The predicted opening of June 20, 2014 for the highway may slip. It opened June 21, 2013 and the Logan Pass Visitor Center parking lot had 8 foot walls of snow at that time. Hope you are here in late July or August.

For the trip to SD consider staying closer to the eastern front of the Rockies on Hwy 89 until it merges with I-15 is prettier than Cut Bank to Shelby and the 15. Further south consider cutting over to Hwy 93 by taking US 10 (SR 1) past Georgetown Lake then SR 38 to Hamilton to pick up 93S for more very nice country. You could take Hwy 93 all the way to Las Vegas, yet there are lots of smaller state highways just to the west that provide even more experiences. At Challis, ID head west on SR 75 along the Salmon River to Stanley, then SR 21 to Boise, I-84 east to Mountain Home then south again on SR 51 and other roads to get to Elko, NV. Then back route it to Ely, then finally to LV and the 15 to SD

Just be sure to bring your own water; there may not be any left by the time you get here. ;)

Near Ogden is the Golden Spike Museum at Promontory Point Utah. In Ogden is the Browning Museum at Union Station.

okay here goes...

great falls mt - a great lewis and clark museum. see the worlds shortest river at giant springs. visit the cm russel museum.

helena mt - gateway to the mountains boat tour

butte mt - the upper city part most of the buildings are on the national historic registry. take a tour of the mine.

dillon mt - historic town and a great museum

short side trip west of i-15 and idaho falls - craters of the moon national monument.

from there id have to leave it to someone else. hope that helps with ideas for you.

Zion and Bryce are two of my favorite NP; but you have to get out and walk. Yellowstone is nice but it is always so darn crowded. If you don't have reservations for any of those places you need to do it now. My wife, for some strange reason, always wants to spend a day in Park City, UT and walk around (read spend $) and I just drink. There are many great places that are within 100 miles of I15 and a lot a side roads = it. The driving will be slower but much more to see and rewarding.

Yellowstone NP, Grand Teton NP, Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Arches for a start, maybe Death Valley.