Glacier National Park in July

[VA_REBEL]

We are planning to take a trip to Yellowstone and then to Glacier in July. 2 Questions?
Which side of Glacier to stay at ? The west or east, traveling with 2 teenagers , so need. To do things to keep them happy, like zip lines, horseback, amusement parks, etc.
Thanks for your help in advance!

[avoidcrowds]

We stayed in Rising Sun CG (east side, by St. Mary, no hookups). Can walk to the boat dock for a morning ride (highly recommended). Take the hike at the turnaround point.

Easy drive across Going-to-the-Sun road, but also suggest taking the Red Bus tour, as it is narrated. Lots of wildlife, so kids can be watching for mtn. goats, bighorn sheep, and bears. We saw all, plus moose and elk.

Also easy drive to Many Glacier, and more wildlife.

Take the kids out about half an hour before sunset, and watch for bears and moose around Lake Shurburne (Many Glacier Road). Tell them to not let a grizzly sneak up from behind. Really, there is lots of wildlife to see.

East side of Glacier is less-crowded than the west, but it also has fewer distractions. That's why we stayed on the east side. The best activities are driving to see as much as you can, and hiking to see even more. Logans Pass has trails heading out in multiple directions.

Enjoy!

[4runnerguy]

The kids will be more than adequately entertained by the quality of the natural experience at Glacier. Camp at Many Glacier. Head out for hikes during the day. In the evening after dinner, head over to the little store, buy an ice cream pop, sit on the front porch and watch the wild animals on the slopes above. The kids (and you) will realize they're not in Virginia anymore.

[Redsky]

"But kids these days would most likely be texting while riding." And so would their parents.

I have friends whose children are not digitally dependent but then so are their parents. Their home environments are very atypical but great places to spend time.

[Lauren]

I also am sad and must be missing something.

Let's see - Yellowstone and Glacier -- two of the most spectacular of God's offerings in the United States.

And looking for amusement parks and zip lines.

A day ride horseback - in those places - would not be bad. But I don't think they are offered. But kids these days would most likely be texting while riding.

Sad IMHO.

[katleman]

RFCN2 wrote:
The most spectacular mountain spot in the USA to me is Many Glacier. The campground there is OK for all size rigs. From there you can take the boat and hike up to see Grinnell Glacier (hope I got spelling right). Just the play of light on the lakes and surrounding mountains is worth the trip. Go to the lodge and sit around the open fireplaces. Watch the sunset.

A bit north is Waterton Park. The RV park there takes rigs of all size. The view from the close by Prince of Wales lodge is breath taking.

+1

Would highly recommend staying at Many Glacier. Long drive to get there but you are in the heart of the park, surrounding by streams, lakes and mountains. Took my teenagers there in 2009, no electronics, no problem.

Waterton park to the north in Canada is also worth a couple days (assuming you have passports).

[cindik]

My Son is very fortunate to work at Glacier, and I was very fortunate to be able to visit him last August. OMG, it is beautiful. He lives on the west side in the park. Highly recommend the Crown of the Continent tour on the red bus, leaving from west Glacier going across Going to the Sun road to east Glacier. We also did the zipline at Whitefish Mtn, the 7 zipline was awesome. Your teenagers would love that. Also, went on a rafting trip with West Glacier Rafting, would recommend them. Although, I was staying at a lodge, I made him drive me through the KOA in West Glacier, it looked very nice and close to the west entrance.

[Bluejay_Ford]

I recommend that you go to Glacier soon after Going to the Sun road opens. My family was very fortunate that the Sun road had opened three days before we arrived (June 25th). The reason that I suggest going early in the season is the runoff from the melting snow creates thousands of magnificent waterfalls.

[wintersun]

Kind of sad that kids today expect to be entertained by others and cannot enjoy the outdoors without their electronics. Something very important has been lost with our isolation from nature.

[wintersun]

According to the feds the earliest date at which the Going to the Sun highway will be open in 2014 is June 21st. July 2 is cutting it very close. Later in July there are likely to be more wildflowers in bloom as well.

[tsetsaf]

See you there! With the amount of snow they are getting it will be a race to open Going to the Sun by July. Coram or West Glacier Parks

[Bluejay_Ford]

You can whitewater raft and zip line at the north entrance in Gardiner Mt. We went to Montana whitewater company and had a great time. We paid $89 per person to raft the Yellowstone river (class III rapids) and zip line. We had a group of fourteen on this trip. The staff was great!

[leesan]

X2 for Mountain Meadow campground west side .Nice sites with full hookups. Check it out. If you stay on the west side you can always take a day trip to the east. We made the trip and took us around an hour or so and we had a chance to appreciate all the beauty of Glacier

[Lauren]

Depends on what you want - hiking and nature is the East Side, commercial stuff is on the West. Grinnell Glacier hike - done it twice, once with the boat and once the full thing from the lodge - is one of the most beautiful hike of the hundreds we have done over the years. Several other nice hikes (east side) are nice from long to short and easy.

Going To The Sun Road can be done over and over in my mind. Sooooooooo great.

[padredw]

We really enjoyed staying at the Mountain Meadow RV Park in Hungry Horse on the West side of the park. We highly recommend it.