Roadtrip to Glacier National Park
visiting & planning a road trip to Glacier National Park, Montana
5-Day Glacier National Park Road Trip
DAY 1: Seattle > Leavenworth, WA > Coeur d’Alene, ID
The drive from Seattle to the West Glacier National Park entrance is 9 hours without traffic. While we were able to do the entire drive straight through on the way home, we broke it into two days on the way to the park. We left Seattle mid-morning and drove to Leavenworth, WA, a Bavarian village nestled in the mountains, to explore, have lunch and a few beers. Leavenworth is an hour out of the way and not a necessary stop but fun to add if you’re visiting WA for the first time and are splitting the drive into a few days.
After lunch, we drove another 4 hours to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, a quaint destination town on Idaho’s second largest lake. We arrived just in time for sunset at Tubbs Hill, where there were tons of trails to hike and coves to swim in, then spent the remainder of the day exploring their downtown.
Tubbs Hill
DAY 2: Coeur d’Alene > Glacier National Park & Going-to-the-Sun Road
*Due to a wild fire and road closures, this took us 3-4 hours longer than anticipated and derailed our plan but I’ll still summarize our original plan!
We woke up early to drive the remaining 4 hours to Glacier National Park’s West Entrance. Before starting the 50-mile scenic Going-to-the-Sun Road, we stopped at the Apgar Visitor Center to admire Lake McDonald. Lake McDonald is known for it’s multi-colored rock floor and glassy, clear water surrounded by mountains. Often best to catch the sunrise here for minimal crowds! Shortly after Apgar Visitor Center, you’ll come across the trailhead for Trail of the Cedars, an easy loop to stretch your legs, and Avalanche Lake, moderate trail to a crystal clear lake.
If you’re entering the park closer to sunset and need to get across to St. Mary and the east entrance, I would recommend driving as much of the windy road in the daylight as possible! If you have time to stop for a hike, I would recommend something closer to the east entrance like St. Mary & Virginia Falls or Sun Point Nature Trail.
Regardless, factor in enough time to drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road without rushing because it’s truly one of the most scenic roads I’ve ever driven and the views were never ending! Because of the hikes we prioritized, we stayed at St. Mary Village on the east side of the park. There’s a sporting store, grocery store, restaurant, ice-cream shop, gas station & bakery all within the village. It was convenient, clean and I would recommend staying here if you’re hoping to explore Logan’s Pass and Many Glacier.
At 7PM MST, we entered the Next Day rolling lottery to get a vehicle reservation for Many Glacier since we didn’t have one secured prior to the trip and easily secured a permit for the following day.
Avalanche Lake
DAY 3: Exploring Many Glacier & Hiking Grinnell Glacier
Although we had a vehicle reservation, we still left the lodge at ~6am to drive 30 minutes to the Grinnell Glacier Trailhead since parking fills up fast. We were able to secure one of the last parking spots shortly before 7am. Once we found parking, we used a picnic table to make coffee, have breakfast and prepare lunches for the day. The trailhead begins starts from a campground so there are bathrooms on-site and a place to refill your water.
Another popular hike within the Many Glacier entrance is Cracker Lake due to it’s vibrant turquoise lake. We decided to hike Grinnell Glacier instead because it provided more consistent views along the route and essentially looks down on Cracker Lake. Cracker Lake is a great option for a more moderate hike with more shade.
Hiking Grinnell Glacier was a full-day hike for us! At 10-miles and 2,000+ ft elevation gain, we were able to take our time completing the hike at our own pace since we had an early start. This allowed us enough time to take our time hiking (lunch break, photo ops, allowing wildlife to pass), hang out and swim at the glacier for a few hours, and swim in Swiftcurrent Lake on the way back. As an avid hiker, I thought this was a difficult hike especially since the trail is very exposed with little shade along the way.
View over Cracker Lake
Helpful tips:
We packed enough food to have two different lunches along the trip and a few beers.
This trail was heavily trafficked with wildlife! Both in the distance and on the trail itself (rams, bears, we saw it all). Be sure to have bear spray easily accessible and brush up on your wildlife skills.
The glacial water temperature is around 30 degrees, with icebergs floating in it. If deciding to enter the water, don’t do it alone and remember to enter slowly to reduce risk of shock!
If you want to cut back on hiking mileage, there is a boat reservation that will take you across Lake Josephine to save some mileage.
The trail is very exposed with little opportunity to rest in the shade. Pack sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, shade hoodies, etc. and try to start early in the day.
There are plenty of lakes to swim in on the way back if the glacial water is too cold!
There is a toilet closer to the top of the trail
DAY 4: Hiking Highline Trail
Logan’s Pass is one of Glacier’s most popular visitor centers and we were lucky to snag one of the last parking spots again right before 7am to hike the Granite Park Chalet via the Highline Trail.
The Highline Trail has constant, incredible views the entire trail and the crowds continued to lessen the further you went. Because we started at 7am, we were able to tackle the first quarter of the trail in the shade but after the sun came over the peaks, we were in the sun the remainder of the trail. The Chalet at the end had snacks and drinks for purchase with picnic tables to take in the views and a bathroom!
Because the entire trail has a ‘wow’ factor, I don’t think it’s necessary to do the entire trail like it is to do Grinnell Glacier. You can easily turn back around whenever you want and you won’t miss much! Haystack Butte is a perfect place to turn around if you’re interested in doing Highline without having the commit to 10+ miles.
There are a few ways to hike the Highline Trail:
Starting at Logan’s Pass, hiking to the Granite Park Chalet and back, or turning around whenever you want. Haystack Butte is a perfect place to turnaround! Hiking to the Granite Park Chalet and back puts the trail at around 15 miles.
Starting at Logan’s Pass, hiking to the Granite Park Chalet to the Granite Park Trail and catching the shuttle back to the parking lot. This will shed ~5 miles off the trip and what we did!
There’s also the option to add the Garden Wall, a steep .8 mile up to look down on Grinnell Glacier, as part of the trip if you have the energy!
DAY 5: Logan’s Pass & Return to Seattle
We went back to Logan’s Pass for our last day to do an easy, scenic and well paved trail, Hidden Lake. You can hike down to the lake or stop at the overlook. The trail is very popular due to its accessibility and paved pathway but easy to avoid crowds if arriving early enough.
To leave, we drove the Going-to-the-Sun road east to west and grabbed lunch at The Sitting Duck on Flathead Lake before making the drive back to Seattle!
Trail Recommendations
West Glacier
East Glacier
Logan’s Pass
Resources
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Yes! Vehicle reservations are required during peak summer months from 6am-3pm for daily entrance to Going-to-the-Sun Rd (West), Many Glacier & the North Folk entrances. Reservations are release 4-months in advance on a rolling basis and Next Day vehicle reservations are available at 7 pm MDT for next-day entry on a daily rolling basis. Reservation details
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Because visitors are allowed to enter the park before 6am without a permit, parking lots are typically full by 7am. Even with a permit, I would recommend getting to the parking lot by 7am if hoping to hike in the morning and beat the heat.
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There are a few ways to get around the vehicle reservation if needed:
Enter before 6am or after 3pm
Enter the Next Day lottery the day before at 7 pm MDT
Reservations not required for the Going-to-the-Sun Rd East Entrance (St. Mary) or Two Medicine Entrance
Visitors with lodging, camping, transportation, or commercial activity service reservations in a vehicle reservation area can use their service reservation to gain access to the portion of the park for which they have a service reservation. Additional activities
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It is recommended to carry bear spray during peak summer months. During my visit I saw multiple black bears and a grizzly bear. Bear safety
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We did not have service! Download your maps offline (AllTrails, Google, etc.) to be able to use them without service.
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I would recommend 3-4 full days to get a good feel for the park and explore multiple entrances.
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If you’re not much of a hiker, there are still a ton of things to do within the park! Rent kayaks, paddle boards or row boats at Apgar Village or Many Glacier Lodge.
