Would Glacier be a good destination if we are not hikers?

I have a knee issue, so I am limited to short hikes. Is Glacier worthwhile if we can%26#39;t really leave the road? what would there be to do that doesn%26#39;t require more than a mile or two hike? If so, where is a good place to center? East Glacier or west? The park lodges are kind of spendy. We would also like to go to Waterton lakes. Any itinerary suggestions will be welcomed. We plan to go the first week of September. Good time?

Would Glacier be a good destination if we are not hikers?

Hey there! First off, the first week of September will be a wonderful time to be in Glacier...I would love to visit that time of the year myself!

Glacier NP is definitely the most beautiful place I%26#39;ve visited in the U.S., and I%26#39;m sure I would have the same opinion even if I never was able to hike the trails. There is so much beauty just along the Going to the Sun Road that you can easily see why this park is referred to the Crown of the Continent.

There are plenty of very worthwhile short hikes as well as drives/activities that you could do having a knee issue. Here are just some options:

Hike Trail of the Cedars (0.9 miles on a boardwalk/paved path)

Take a boat cruise on Lake McDonald or St. Mary Lake

Hike to St. Mary Falls and back (1.5 miles)

Walk to Sunrift Gorge and Baring Falls (0.7 miles)

Walk to Sun Point (0.5 miles)

Walk to Running Eagle Falls (0.5 miles)

Take a boat shuttle on Two Medicine Lake and hike to Twin Falls and back (1.8 miles)

Take a boat shuttle on Swiftcurrent Lake and hike to Grinnell Lake and back (1.8 miles)

Canoe/kayak on one of the park%26#39;s lakes

Take a horseback ride to Cracker Flats

Take a historic, memorable Red Jammer tour on GTTS Road

Hike around Swiftcurrent Lake (2 miles)

Drive around Highway 2, stopping at the Walton Goat Lick Overlook

Take a day drive up Polebridge Road %26amp; spend hours along the shore of Bowman Lake

Spend a day or two in beautiful Waterton Lakes NP

Take a boat cruise on Waterton Lake

Drive Akamina Parkway and marvel at Cameron Lake

Drive Red Rock Parkway and hike to Blakiston Falls (~1.5 miles)

Enjoy the many park lodges in Glacier/Waterton

SOOOOOO....in short, there are a plethora of activities you can still do if you are limited to only short walks and driving. I%26#39;m not sure how long you will be in the park, so I cannot give you a possible itinerary. I also will not say yet whether basing on the East or West side of the park will be better for you, although I do think splitting between the two sides would be ideal if you%26#39;ll be in the park for more than a few days.

Sean

Would Glacier be a good destination if we are not hikers?

Sean...

Thank you!! We really do want to see the park. We can pretty much take as much time as we want (well, almost). we are going to drive from Minnesota and want to hold the trip to 10 days to 2 weeks. How long we spend at Glacier simply depends on what else we do. We just thought this up, so are flexible now. The idea of staying west and east is a good one. What is the best way to do Waterton? A day trip up from GTlacier, so spend a night?

What a help this forum is!!!

I%26#39;m glad you%26#39;re finding TA to be helpful in your trip planning. I would say the best way to do Waterton would be to spend a night up there...perhaps the beautiful Prince of Wales Hotel if you%26#39;re willing to pay for it. It is situated on a bluff high above Waterton Lake...a beautiful setting! If you spent the night there, then you could spend the first day driving the Akamina and Red Rock Parkways (and do the few short walks) and the second day you could take the International boat cruise the second day. You could even hop off the boat at Goat Haunt and walk around a bit. Goat Haunt offers you a few short hikes (Goat Haunt Overlook at about 2.2 miles %26amp; Kootenai Lakes at about 5 miles). I think Kootenai Lakes would be very worthwhile if you could do 5 miles...I understand it is not a difficult hike in terms of elevation change.

So do you know what other places you might visit on your 10 day-2 week trip? Yellowstone, Tetons, Beartooth Highway, Theodore Roosevelt NP? You could easily spend 5-10 days in Glacier soaking up the scenery, but there are many other beautiful places in that part of the country. I%26#39;d say 5-7 days in Glacier/Waterton would be appropriate for you to really enjoy the park if you are not on any real time constraints.

Great suggestions, Sean! :0)

We%26#39;ve been to Glacier a few times, and because of time constraints, mostly have to just drive thru on our way out or back. We seldom have time to hike, and yet I have enjoyed it every time. We%26#39;ve stayed at Hungry Horse and Whitefish on the west side.

If you have time, you might find Hungry Horse Dam interesting. When we were there, it was late afternoon/ early evening %26amp; it was very secluded - great spot to maybe see a bear.

We also really enjoyed the lift ride up Big Mountain on the north side of Whitefish. If you have a nice warm day to do this, I think you%26#39;d really enjoy it. You can see into Canada, Glacier Park, %26amp; south into the Flathead valley. I would think at that time of year the fall colors would be spectacular.

You may enjoy taking one day to drive down %26amp; around Flathead Lake, maybe visit the National Bison Range. There are several small towns along the way with cool little specialty shops and antiques for sale. You may want to visit www.visitmt.com to order a 2009 Montana Vacation Planning packet. This site also has info on accomodations in the towns around the park - probably could find something really nice that isn%26#39;t as expensive as park lodging.

You should have access to all the roads in Glacier National Park but be aware that there is reconstruction going on all summer and you may run into some delays. The Going to the Sun road is scheduled to close in mid-September so more work can be done. Make sure you know the date it closes and be there enough ahead of that so you can enjoy it. Check out all the info on the roads here:

www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Absolutely!

In fact I would say Glacier is a perfect park for those who don%26#39;t hike. Why? Because Glacier%26#39;s scenery is all encompasing, and you are *in* the mountains almost all the time while on the road unlike most other parks. There are several examples of this:

1. Going to the Sun Road. Completely in the mountains but I don%26#39;t think it will be open all the way across in September of 2009. At least it wasn;t in 2008 and I think they are going that way again in 2009.

2. Inside North Fork Road: rough dirt road through a remote portion of the park.

3. Road to Bowman and Kintla Lakes: adventurous to say the least. Also Northfork Road and Flathead national forest drives.

4. U.S. 2 bordering the south of the park is gorgeous as well, with lots to see (middle fork Flathead, Goat Lick).

5. Many Glacier Road. Simplyhas to be seen to be believed.

6. Two Medicine area. Road access all through it and gorgeous.

You don%26#39;t even have to hike if you don%26#39;t want to see amazing scnenery - that%26#39;s the beauty of Glacier. It%26#39;s why Backpacker magazine readers rates it the best national park every time they hold a vote.

I like both the east and west sides. The east side is more rugged like the Tetons, but with more numerous lakes and IMHO easier to see wildlife. The west side is more green with more tree variety and also lots of lakes. For the most ';wow'; scenery without hiking, focus on Going to the Sun Road, Two Medicine(east) and Many Glacier(east). however, the west side should not be skipped. I spend 2 days on the west side and 5 days on the east side when I go there. You can see the various campgrounds here:

parkcamper.com/Glacier-National-Park/Glacier鈥?/a>

I find Two Medicine campground to be a great all around base, with a nice little store, great scenery, and a good fishing lake. For the west side, Apgar and Avalanche campgroudns make for excellent bases.

The road across the park should be open until Sept. 15. It will then be closed for ongoing repairs. You will be able to access Logan Pass from one side or the other till the end of Sept. Which side is open to Logan Pass will depend on the work schedule.

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