Glacier National Park recs

[SkeezeBall]

I'm planning to head to Glacier National Park sometime this summer for the first time. It'll be me, the wife, and our 4 month old heading to Montana for the first time.
We were thinking about camping first for 2 days, then spend 3 days in a lodge/cabin, and then finish up with 2 more days of camping somewhere but our plans are flexible.

There are a ton of FCFS camping options so it's hard to gauge which are best and which will have spots available. Any recommendations for camping and lodges/cabins would be appreciated.

Here's some criteria for what we're looking for and some questions:
-Looking for scenic campground near fishing lake/river and some shorter hiking trails with big scenic rewards
-Primitive campground is fine or even preferred as long as the road is manageable in a stock 4WD truck
-Looks like most don't take reservations so preferably a site that has a high probability of being available...
-It's a long drive from Colorado with an infant. Should we just say fuck it and get a reserved campground or stay in a lodge/cabin the whole time?
-Dogs are really allowed anywhere in the park. Is it worth even bringing the pup if he's going to be stuck in the truck all day? I figured he'd be happier at a friends house or in dog boarding.
-Are there any badass backcountry or primitive cabins in or near the park we should stay at?

[Garth Bimble]

Rustic camping isn't my thing anymore but www.gaynorranch.net has some nice cabins a little SW of Whitefish. They're off the beaten path some but not rustic so maybe a bit more than what you're looking for.

And please don't leave your dog locked up in a truck all day. Board or leave him home.

[hikesalot]

I highly recommend staying in the Many Glacier area. When we went we had a 5 yr old. We camped (tent) at the Many Glacier campground, got a spot by the river. Beautiful, peaceful, nice campground. It was a great area to do small hikes also. There is also a great lodge there at Many Glacier, we ate at the restaurant there once. That would be a great place to stay also, but may need to reserve. We loved that area, more than anywhere we camped in RMNP or Yellowstone (Tetons were right up there, but Many Glacier is more remote with less people). I would leave the dog at home.

[andrew]

I've also tent camped at Many Glacier. It's kinda roughing it but not really with the lodge next door. I camped there as part of a cross-country drive, staying at a hotel close-by the night before so we could get in a reserve a site relatively early.

I think you might want to reverse your cabin/tent plan. Stay the first night or two in a hotel so you know you have a place to lay your head after the drive. After the hotel/cabin, get your site reserved then take a hike. After camping, you have a place to freshen up before the drive home.

From Many Glacier, the hike to Iceberg Lake was pretty sweet. I did it in mid-July, and the lake was still mostly frozen over with a few sections of the trail over snow.

[FireStrom]

Think there are some cabins in Polebridge. Off the beaten path and good access to north fork of the flathead as well as some stupidly scenic glacial lakes back in the park. bowman was one of them I think. The town itself is surrounded by FS so if you do bring the pup you'll have some more options.

[stizzmt]

Second for Polebridge, definitely one of the coolest little outposts in the lower 48 with a great bakery to boot and a crazy little bar. They have some rentals available and the view is fantastic. Plus as the previous poster stated there is plenty of FS land around for your pooch to run around on and get eaten by a wolf/grizzly.

Bring bear spray and carry it wherever you go...not a joke.

Also one more thing, consider driving down the hungry horse reservoir and staying near spotted bear.

[toast2266]

The east side of the park (Many Glacier) is more scenic than the Lake McDonald / Apgar area and its a bit less crowded.

If you have a dog, Polebridge is an excellent option; scenic, relatively uncrowded, etc. You can stay outside of the park and make quick jaunts in. In the rough vicinity of Polebridge, you could check out the Schnauss and Wurtz forest service cabins. Both are fairly large, but will likely already be reserved. There's also tons of vacation rentals around Polebridge, so you could probably find a cabin / house to rent (albeit for a lot more $$$ than the FS cabins).

As others have mentioned, there are lots of cool spots outside of the park as well. Hungry horse reservoir to the south, Isaac Walton area near essex, and a bunch of the stuff to the west of Polebridge (red meadow, etc.).

[SkeezeBall]

Thanks for the intel. TGR always delivers! This gets me started on where to look. Thanks everyone

[SkeezeBall]

Seems like most descent cabins near Polebridge and lodging at Many Glacier are booked. I don't want to risk driving 15hrs with an infant to try and get a camping spot at Many Glacier. Therefore, my options are Wurtz Cabin or Fish Creek Campground.

I'm leaning towards Fish Creek CG but was curious if I should wait until next year and stay in Many Glacier. Thoughts?
I'm going to look into making a trip to Yellowstone if this Glacier trip doesn't work out.

[Headless]

Fish Creek is nice, especially if you're there in July or August, since there's good swimming in Lake McDonald right in the campground. We went there to swim a lot when our daughter was little. If you're coming from Colorado the west side of the park is pretty fun because it's so much wetter and northwest-y than what we have here. Many Glacier is a whole other ballgame in terms of dramatic scenery and wildlife, and though the climate and terrain is a little more like our mountains, it's all on just such a grand scale (plus grizzlies!) that if you're making the drive up there you really should check it out. In my experience it's not that hard to get a campsite if you can be at the campground first thing in the morning to start scoping out who's packing up. So, maybe book two or three days at Fish Creek, then break camp super-early and head over to MG for another two or three? And don't bring the dog, he'll just be miserable in the park.

Also, if you're planning to make the drive from Denver to Glacier in one push with an infant, well, you're a braver man than I was (or your infant is magic); we needed a motel--and the accompanying beer--somewhere between Sheridan and Bozeman, at least until our daughter was about three.

[BigDaddy]

If you're entering the park from the east (most likely), check out the Park Cafe.

Great last meal to fatten up on for the grizzlies.

[SkeezeBall]

She's sleeping 10 hours at night so I might get most of the driving then but I'm planning to break up the drive over two days. I'd really like stay in Many Glacier for a bit so maybe we'll try Fish Creek first and MG next. If we don't find a site then we could always go back to Fish Creek.

[406]

Personally, with a baby I wouldn't camp without a RV in the Glacier area. Leave the dog at home.

I'm also a fan of the Pole Bridge/North Fork of the Flathead area if you want to be off the beaten path. Nice USFS campground right on the river. But as it is your first trip, you might want to stick to the highlights/more popular areas.

Sprague Cr campground is awesome, right on lake McDonald and small, might be hard to get into.

Avalanche Cr, hidden lake, and Virginia falls are all nice easy scenic hikes.

Bear Spray absolutely.

I recommend driving up(or back) via the East side of the rockies, hwy 287. Stop in Augusta, MT and get a steak at the Buckhorn Bar.

[Harry]

Many Glacier hands down. 3 lodging options: campground, Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, or the Many Glacier Lodge. All right together. Tons of great hikes of all abilities. Boat rides & horse rides too. Absolute best area of the park IMHO.

[yeahman]

My favorite is always the Big Creek Campground on the North Fork of the Flathead. Sites right on the river, fishing, etc. Located just outside the park, it is forest service. Reservations can be made but there are also first-come first-served sites.

http://www.recreation.gov/camping/bi...O&parkId=75369

[kokomas]

family and i are heading up to glacier area saturday through wednesday, staying on east side outside park the first two nights and in whitefish the following two nights. does anyone have any recent beta on the fire and what the chances are the road will be fully open any time soon?

[Headless]

GTS opened from the west side yesterday and we went up to the pass for a scramble. The car traffic up to Avalanche was epic (never seen anything like it), and it took a while to park and catch a shuttle ride. On the flip side, they were strictly limiting cars past there, so the trip from Avalanche up to the pass was great, much better than a typical July day. Most of the turnouts were empty so the views were amazing and the shuttle flew along. At Logan, once we were away from the overlook trail the crowds totally vanished.

We got a pretty good look down into the east side and the plume of smoke was still pretty prominent, so I'd guess it's going to be at least a few more days before the road is open all the way. Expect lots of congestion in the parking areas, but arrive early, take full advantage of the shuttle system, and enjoy. The high country is nearly devoid of snow (very dry year) but the wildflowers are going crazy, and if you get even a little bit into the backcountry it's amazing right now.

[kokomas]

awesome thanks for the update. will be on the east side of the park tomorrow night, can't wait. would anyone recommend a short hike with some payoff from the east side? will be with nervous wife and toddler on my back

edit: oops i see the east side of the road is closed. is many glacier still open? worth staying on east side for two days or should i divert and spend four days on the west side? thanks!

[concretejungle]

I'll just piggyback this thread. We'll be in West Glacier for a family gathering the week after Labor Day. Any recommendations for trail runs (max 10-12 mile or so)?

Thanks for all the info so far.

[NWskibum]

I'd spend a limited amount of time in the East side. Here's a link to a few suggestions:
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/sto...hway/30807723/

[Brianskis]

I'll just piggyback this thread. We'll be in West Glacier for a family gathering the week after Labor Day. Any recommendations for trail runs (max 10-12 mile or so)?

Thanks for all the info so far.

Iceberg Lake is incredible and right at 10 miles round trip. Bring bear spray!

[concretejungle]

Iceberg Lake is incredible and right at 10 miles round trip. Bring bear spray!

It's cool I can outrun my wife. Thanks for the help.

[kokomas]

well we just scored a room at the many glaciers lodge sunday night, i guess people cancelling. sweet

I'd spend a limited amount of time in the East side. Here's a link to a few suggestions:
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/sto...hway/30807723/

thank you, good link