I used to think I had to travel to New Zealand to experience the vistas we took in this summer in Glacier National Park. Located in upper Montana and stretching across the Canadian border, this park is the most scenic of all our national parks.

There are many ways to enjoy Glacier, but allow me to share with you our path.

 

East Glacier

We entered the park as most do from the Flathead Lake area and Colombia Falls. Our path took us around the southern edge of the park on Highway 2 leading to East Glacier.

If you like authentic trading posts, make sure you allow some extra time as there are several along the way. The ride from Columbia  Falls to East Glacier took about two hours.

East Glacier is home to the historic Glacier Park Lodge and Resort. This is a classic grand old park hotel with a log frame throughout including the oversized lobby.

It looks almost the same today as when it opened, and I can easily imagine Teddy Roosevelt beaming with the excitement of the end result.

There is even a nine-hole golf course on property worthy of the trip. You should avoid really early or late golf here as they have large, four-legged natives on this layout — as in bears.

The real reason to go to East Glacier is to take in Two Medicine Lake, especially the Upper Lake. The scenery is breathtaking. Huge dramatic snow covered glacier mountains rising up from the shores of the pristine aqua colored lake.

Only seeing this in person can do justice to the vista. We rented a canoe and made it about half way down the tree-lined shore before making a wise turn for home.

You see, we had been paddling downwind and the return trip was twice as hard. Still it was a great workout in an exhilarating arena.

 

St. Mary Lodge

We decided to spend the next night on the far eastern side of the park to get an early start for our trip across the Sun Road. Luckily, we found the St. Mary Lodge and Resort.

National Park lodging often means Spartan accommodations. Not  so at St. Mary’s Lodge, which is run independently and caters to travelers looking for more comfort.

The resort borders a river and looks out to St. Mary’s Lake and glaciers nearby.

There is a wide variety of lodging options here including the Great Bear Lodge built in 2001.They also have cabins and even private home available for larger groups. Everything you need for your stopover is within walking distance at St. Mary’s, including a grocery store and gas. The remoteness of this location makes one appreciate having all these necessities close-by.

St. Mary’s Lodge features several dining options including the Snowgoose Grill known for its Buffalo steaks and locally caught St. Mary’s Lake whitefish.

The resort also features one of the best gift shops in the Park. For more information visit stmarylodgeandresort.com.

 

The Sun Road

While its official name is the Going-to-the-Sun Road, locals simply refer to it as the Sun Road.

This majestic path takes travelers up, down and through the heart of Glacier National Park. One stop you won’t want to miss here is Logan Pass. The scenery is awe-inspiring and so is the hike.

We made our way up boardwalks and across snow fields to a high perch looking out over Hidden Lake. Mind you, it was July and there was still enough snow for a couple of impromptu snowboarders to show off.

At the top, we walked next to a family of wild mountain goats who paid little attention to the gawking hikers. These docile creatures seemed exhausted as they had probably just climbed up from the emerald shores of Hidden Lake far below.

As you leave Logan Pass, make sure to notice the trail, which seems to have been cut right out of the glacier on your right. The Sun Road takes a vertical drop from here to a river valley leading to Lake McDonald, which was our next stop.

The Lake McDonald Lodge is the most popular of Glacier National Park’s lodging. This authentic Swiss Chalet-style structure sits on a knoll and includes elegant lakefront dining.

For more information on Glacier Park Lodging visit glacierparkinc.com.

The Glacier International Airport in Kalispell is about a 40-minute drive from West Glacier.

Again we used Hertz here and were very pleased with the service. There is a reason why they are Number One. Their fleet is unmatched. Visit hertz.com for more information.