Glacier park Montana

[kwplot34]

We are heading to Glacier state park in Montana in July. Was on line looking at their campgrounds and looking for opinions on which one to stay at. We have a 26 foot class C. We will probably stay for at least 3 nights.
Thanks in advance for your opinions and thoughts.

[tsetsaf]

What's that line about opinions again? Anyways here is all the info you need to pick for yourself See em yourself

[Kavoom]

Good choice. The KOA is within a couple of miles of Glacier and does have full hook ups. I haven't stayed there. Be sure and review. We have a travel trailer in our future.

[STANG23L]

Last summer I stopped in to check out Glacier the 4th of July week. Found East and West entrance campgrounds to be packed. So I stayed half way between on 2 at Glacier Meadows.

People where super friendly and quite with plenty of room to roam. Drive did not bother me to get to east or west entrance. Gave me more time to enjoy the views off 2!

[kwplot34]

Thanks everybody for the suggestions. Made reservations at the West Glacier KOA for 4 days, and a Red Bus tour for one full day. Should be a great trip.

[kwplot34]

kknowlton wrote:
No one has mentioned private CGs yet. If you want hookups, you will need to opt for one of those. We stayed at the KOAs on both east & west sides of the park. West side is very nice, has a breakfast cafe & ice cream shop in it, but not much shade; most sites are geared for big rigs. There are some backins with some shade which most Class Cs would fit into. East side was not quite as nice, no shade at all, but an amazing view of some of the mountains inside the park. Both are close to the park entrances. Not a lot of choice in private CGs on the east side, but there are a ton of them on the west side, some quite wooded & pretty, all with some combination of hookups. (And all reservable, I believe.) Scenery on the east side will be more spectacular, but both sides are beautiful.

Whether you stay inside or outside the park, I strongly recommend you take one of the red bus tours while you are there - you WILL need to reserve ahead of time. (BTW, these tours do pick up at the KOAs, as well as inside the park.) The guides know their stuff, and the ride is fun - AND all of you will get to see the scenery. As others have mentioned, you won't be able to drive your MH across the park on Going-to-the-Sun road due to size restrictions (nor would you likely want to!) so the red bus will get you oriented. The park also has shuttle buses, but expect them to be crowded and you may need to wait a while to get back on one.

Apgar CG is heavily wooded, in the pines, very pretty, but not much view. St Mary's, on the drier east side, has little shade and smaller trees, but does have a lovely view. No hookups, as with most NP CGs. If you don't need hookups, any of the bigger NPS CGs inside Glacier would be great - but I echo the comments about making sure you'll fit into sites. Some sites we saw in some of the CGs were definitely too small and unlevel for any camper, even for a small popup.

Would anybody happen to have some information on the KOA campground on the west side? which city or an address? I like the idea that the tour buses will pick you up there and full hook ups.

[Lauren]

But the upside is you do not have to fight the traffic or circle and circle and circle parking lots for a space skipping pull offs because there is no space and both of you get to enjoy the scenery instead of the driver missing things because they are driving.

Time your drive - leave early morning.

[2gypsies1]

ORbiker: No, you will not fit a 42' 5'er in Glacier RV Park. It's for smaller rigs.

[TyroneandGladys]

Lauren wrote:
Only downside to bus tour over your toad or tv is that you are doing the Going To The Sun Road on THIER schedule, not yours.

But the upside is you do not have to fight the traffic or circle and circle and circle parking lots for a space skipping pull offs because there is no space and both of you get to enjoy the scenery instead of the driver missing things because they are driving.

[Horsedoc]

We stayed at Glacier CG a few years ago when we had a 36 foot coach and had no problems with the MH and tow. It is 'in the woods' but the access roads were fine. 42 foot fiver might be a little tight however, when trying to maneuver into some of the sites on the upper side. The staff was great with recommendations of sites to see and local information/history.

[bukhrn]

ORbiker wrote:

Kavoom wrote:
Glacier campground on the west side is a good choice for rv park. You are in trees nice people run it and a Mile from the entrance. We live up here in Helena MT. This our go to no muss no fuss choice and we'll priced. And you can gET a site when you want it mostly. Or best go to Kananaskis country in Alberta, but that's another story. Google the name. Good park.

Kavoom
Will Glacier CG fit a 42 ft 5'er?

Thanks

We've stayed there twice, can only remember a couple sites that you MIGHT fit into, there are only water & electric sites.
Give them a call to see if you'll fit. http://www.glaciercampground.com/

[ORbiker]

Kavoom wrote:
Glacier campground on the west side is a good choice for rv park. You are in trees nice people run it and a Mile from the entrance. We live up here in Helena MT. This our go to no muss no fuss choice and we'll priced. And you can gET a site when you want it mostly. Or best go to Kananaskis country in Alberta, but that's another story. Google the name. Good park.

Kavoom
Will Glacier CG fit a 42 ft 5'er?

Thanks

[Kavoom]

Do NOT drive anything with a trailer. I have personally seen side mirrors get broken off on the Going to the Sun Road. I guess that would be four mirrors in two incidents. I put my mirror in on the road side. And of course it isn't you, it is the other people who are looking at the scenery while being scared to death of falling off the mountain and thus take their half out of the middle and cut the curves and there is no room to maneuver. And those big red buses you will likely want to take drive the road for a living and with an assurance that makes others nervous. If you want to enjoy the scenery, don't drive.

[2gypsies1]

kwplot34 wrote:
Did not think about private CG's thanks for the suggestions. So if we want to tour the park we will need to take a tour bus correct? we do not have a towed vehicle.

Here's the official park's website with lots of good information for you to read. It tells all about Going To The Sun Road. There is a vehicle restriction of 21' so your RV is too large to drive on it.

There are free shuttle buses and you can get on and off on the way up. If you didn't want to do a tour, that's the way to go.

Going to the Sun Road is the only place you can't take your RV. There are many other places on both sides of the park that you can drive.

https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gttsrfaq.htm

Every national park and national monument has a web site with tons of information on things to do, road information, campground information, etc.

[kwplot34]

Did not think about private CG's thanks for the suggestions. So if we want to tour the park we will need to take a tour bus correct? we do not have a towed vehicle.