Quality of Campground Facilities

Can anyone give any insight on the quality of the campground facilities and campsites in Glacier? I%26#39;ve done a good amount of camping in Yellowstone and Grand Teton, so if anyone has camped there as well...maybe they can compare?

We%26#39;re likely camping at 2 Medicine, Many Glacier, and possibly Rising Sun campgrounds (St Mary campground if we run into problems getting a site at Many Glacier or 2 Medicine).

Thanks

Quality of Campground Facilities

I haven%26#39;t camped at Yellow so I can%26#39;t do the compare, but I%26#39;m sure others here have. I ahve camped at all these Glacier sites. Most are level, bathrooms are clean and basic. Water is available within a short walk. Fire pits and grates and a picnic table/bench. Of the 3, in order, I like Many, sun and two. SPrague on the west is nice but very close to the road. St. Mary campground is my least favorite. Have camped at Apgar the most. Single biggest problem to me is the motor homes that run their generators in the evening and ruin the quiet.

Quality of Campground Facilities

k2kelley...thanks for the advice.

Do you camp at Apgar the most often because of its convenience to the Kalispell/Whitefish/Columbia Falls or is it a great place to camp for other reasons? My current plans are kind of neglecting the west side of the park, but I wonder if I should alter them to include more hikes/activities in that area?

Also, any reasons why you like Rising Sun over 2 Medicine campground? Rising Sun is appealing to me because of its central location and the fact it has showers. But previously I%26#39;ve read good things about the 2 medicine area, and we plan on doing the long loop hike there (can%26#39;t remember the name of it). If you think 2 Medicine is more worth just a day visit than it is staying a couple nights then I%26#39;m tempted to switch over to Rising Sun for more days.

We have a total of 6 nights we%26#39;ll be camping. Definitely doing 3-4 nights at Many Glacier. The other 2-3 nights are still up in the air.

Campgrounds are similar to those at Yellowstone, but in my opinion, are in more scenic locations.

I stayed at Many Glacier for all 10 nights but visited most others during my trip to Glacier last September.

Many Glacier is my favorite for several reasons. The scenery, access to camp store and shower, access to hiking trails, etc. The only problem with Mnay Glacier is the 1 1/2 hours it takes to drive to Logan Pass.

Rising Sun is really centrally located and also has camp store and showers. The location is not quite as scenic.

Two Medicine is the second most scenic area of the three but lacks showers and is also 1 1/2 - 2 hours to Logan Pass.

This year I%26#39;m moving around based on the hikes I%26#39;m doing and I%26#39;m looking forward to trying some of the other campgrounds. My agenda goes something like this:

September 4-6: Rising Sun Campground

September 7: Sperry Chalet

September 8-9: Bowman Lake Campground

September 10-11: Two Medicine Campground

September 12-19: Many Glacier Campground

September 20: Apgar Campground

Toddnick...wow, 2+ weeks of camping on Glacier. That%26#39;s a nice trip planned. Is the food/beverage selection pretty slim pickings? Where did you purchase and re-stock most of your camp food when you last camped out there? I see there is only 1 shower stall per gender at the campground....did this create some difficulties?

I like sun for the location to showers, store and GTTS. Also, as I am a photographer, it is an excellent close location for sunrise shots over wild goose island. 2-med is also nice, just more work to get around from there. I assume the loop to which you refer is up the valley to oldman lake, over ptamahkin pass, around to dawson pass, down past no name lake and out to the lake, back to head of lake.

As i come from Spokane, Apgar was simply convenient. Service close and my fav., the West Glacier Bar.....You are best for scenery/close hiking east and south before apgar from my perspective.

Yes, I%26#39;m excited about 16 full days camping in the park. 10 nights just wasn%26#39;t enough last year.

For food and beverage; I%26#39;ll probably eat out 6 or so of the 17 nights (Park Cafe, Northern Lights Saloon, Serranos, Sperry Chalet at least) and cook at the campground the rest.

When I go shopping, I usually buy enough perishables for three nights at the campground which is about all I trust in a cooler. So I%26#39;ll start by stopping in Kalispell when I arrive and then I%26#39;ll have to make about three more stops in Browning at the Grocery store (it%26#39;s only about an hour from Many Glacier or 1/2 hour from Two Medicine). The grocery store in Browning is really a full supermarket with all you would need.

The camp store at Swiftcurrent has firewood, beer, pop, microwave food, some dry provisions, books, and souvenirs.

At Swiftcurrent where I stayed last year there were 3 or 4 showers for men (you buy tokens for 8.5 minute showers at the Swiftcurrent camp store), I never had a problem getting a shower but keep it mind it was late in the season, the week after Labor Day.

K2KELLEY...Thanks again for the advice. I will be flying into Spokane and driving to Kalispell on a Friday afternoon/evening. Do you recommend stocking up on groceries in Spokane or Kalispell? Or is there no real difference in price/selection between the two? Would I be better off making the detour to the REI in Spokane to purchase bear spray and stove fuel, or better off picking these up in the area west of GNP?

TODDNICK....I had been eyeing Browning on google maps as a possible place to re-stock, but wasn%26#39;t sure about whether it had a full supermarket or not...Thanks for the insight. Were there any particular areas of Many Glacier campground that had more favorable campsites, that I should possibly target (if I%26#39;m lucky enough to have campsites to pick from in early July)?

I prefer the sites down by Swiftcurrent Creek (site numbers 92-109). You have a slightly longer walk to the Swiftcurrent store/showers but I like being near the water. (I was in site #100 last year). Here is the campground map if you haven%26#39;t seen it yet.

nps.gov/archive/鈥ampgroundmap_many.jpg

Prices between Spok. and Kalispel should be similar but no sales tax in Mont., and closer to your destination so buy there. Same with the bear spray.

Toddnick...Last night I ran across your trip report on Glacier National Park Chat website. Great narrative and photos. Some of which have made me consider altering our plans a bit. I originally intended to stay at 2 medicine campground a couple nights before moving onto many glacier for 3-4 nights. But you mentioned how you nixed your nights in 2 medicine after staying at many glacier. Was this choice more for convenience, better facilities, better location, or something else? I like the idea of stay at one (maybe two) campgrounds and not dealing with bouncing around too much. If you had 6 nights of camping to plan out, first time visiting the park, we plan on doing most of the hikes you tackled...how would you divide them up?

1rst night has to be at Going to the Sun (or hopefully not St Mary, possibly 2 medicine) because we will be starting out on 4th of July weekend and likely won%26#39;t make it to Many Glacier in time to get a good site. The next 5 nights are up in the air.