Glacier National Park - Things To Know, Before You Go

We've just spent the last 28 days at Glacier National Park. And being there 28 days, we have really, really learned a lot about it. And what we want to do today is we're going to share with you everything that we learned so that you will have the information. Yep, because this is a place you're going to want to go and these are the things you need to know before you get there. So the first thing, if you're planning to go, you better plan. Yeah, Glacier National Park is a very busy national park and you're not going to just drive in and find a place to stay or be able to get into the park. We actually started doing our research last fall as far as what campgrounds and where to stay because you know we're RVers. We found out that most campgrounds do not start taking reservations until January. Now, I don't know how hotels are. We don't stay in hotels, so I'll leave that up to you to research. As of January 1st, we called or actually we went online and got our reservations for our campground. We had friends that tried two weeks later and our campground no longer had full hookup reservations available for them. And when you're staying that long, you want full hookups. We don't blame them. We were there 28 days. So they had to find a park farther out. You're really going to want to plan in advance for where you're going to stay, but also you want to learn as much as you can about each side. The west side is a lot of people go there because there's tons of cities, a ton of activities to do, and sometimes that increases the price. But we we end up staying on the east side where there are fewer restaurants, no grocery stores, gas was out the roof. Out the roof. Out the roof. So you need to study both sides. We like the peace and quiet of the east side and we like being three tenths away from that park so we could get in there. Yeah, it was so easy to just run down. We could have walked to the park entrance, literally. It was that close. And so try to learn as much as you can on which side you like based on do you like the peace and quiet. Because from where we were to get to grocery stores were a couple hours. Yeah, we were a good bit. So that being said, if you're staying on the east side as we did, stock up on groceries before you go there. You are not going to want to use their teeny tiny convenience store grocery. And the next thing as far as planning is you've heard about it. You've got to have a going to the sun road pass if you want to go through the amazing over the mountains to see the beautiful overlooks that overlook the lakes and see the mountain views. You've got to have that pass. So Lynn's going to tell you a little bit. So if you want the pass, I think it goes on sale. It's a little different every year, I think. And it starts out like right around ish the first of April. So and we tried a couple of hours after it went on sale because we actually forgot about it. And could not get a pass. Absolutely could not get a pass. They were sold out. If you were like me, you're thinking what? I know I have no passes to get in and I've got 28 days there at the at the campground right there at the park. You start worrying. What do I do? So we have those for you. So timing is everything when it comes to going to the Glacier National Park. Let me tell you this year was the earliest the Glacier National Park had opened since 2005 and it actually opened on June the 15th. Last year was the latest. It did not open until the middle of July. Now the reason they keep this road shut is because it goes straight up and you know what you get at the top of the mountains? You get a lot of snow. And they will not open the road up until the snow has gone away where they feel like it's safe for you to drive. We did not have any idea as to when the road would open when we made these reservations. So I consider I ask you to consider that when you plan your trip because going early in the summer you may meet some of the tourists but you may also miss a lot of the things that you want to see. So the best time to go is probably July and August. The weather is going to cool off quite a bit in September and October and they have known they have been known to have snow in those months. So another question you may have is what do I need to bring with me when I go to Glacier National Park? Now let me tell you this list is long. It's so long we're going to use Danny's phone. Danny. Yeah first thing I want to say is that Glacier National Park is a very busy park. So the first thing you need to pack is your patience. You're going to need those top most. The first thing that we want to talk about is America the Beautiful Pass that you want to consider having. You really want to have that because the most you're going to be able to get a pass for I think is seven days if you just buy it there and if you're only going to be there for seven days that's great for you. We were there for 28 days so our America the Beautiful Pass really paid off. We were in the park every day except for maybe two or three days during the 28 days. We would have spent a fortune. Yeah right. So the America Beautiful Pass is a must if you're going to be long. And remember it's $80 for a year so if you're going to go to more than two parks in that year it's probably very cost efficient to buy that American Beautiful Pass. And remember for the seniors those that are already above 62 you can get a lifetime pass. Make sure you look for the word lifetime when you sign it up because I think there's two senior passes but that's $80 for a lifetime. And then there's other uh military I think they get lifetime passes too. Other things that you can get the lifetime pass. Now don't tell anybody but next year someone gets their lifetime pass. You're telling my age? I'm not gonna tell your age but next year I'm really excited about that. Make sure you pack your bug spray. Let me tell you bugs were horrible in Glacier National Park. The mosquitoes would absolutely pick you up and carry you off. But also when you're buying your bug spray be sure you look for if you can find anything that says that it will fight against flies. Flies were just horrible on some of the trails and they ate us even more than the mosquitoes did. And let me say this it's not 24-7 that you're fighting the the flies and you're fighting the mosquitoes so you're not going don't think you're going into a bug infested park. But there's certain times of the day especially as the sun's starting to go down seems like the bugs come out to eat. Yeah they come out to eat they want to eat you. Remember the bug bug spray and sunscreen. You are in the mountains and a lot of trails go through a mountainous terrain. No trees so you're not going to have a lot of shade. You're going to be in the direct sun a lot. Something we learned pretty early was uh pack water. You've got to have water if you're going any kind of hikes and you're in that sun. And don't forget snacks. And we we packed lunch most days. Yeah we packed lunch a lot of days so you didn't have to leave the park and go back to your camper and then go back into the park because there's nothing to eat in the park. There are no restaurants except like at the Westgate entrance I think there's a restaurant a couple of restaurants over there. But the rest of it there are no restaurants so pack your lunch. So something else you want to do is you want to layer your clothing when you go to the park. Every single morning we got up we had to turn the heat on because it would get down to the 40s and the 50s and the camper cooled off. So you have to take out in jackets but by about 10 or 11 o'clock you're walking you're hiking you're getting hot the sun's coming out and it'll get to 70 or 80 degrees so then you want to get rid of the jackets and you want short sleeves and shorts. So layer that clothing. Other thing that I want to make sure you're aware of this is not a flip-flop type of hiking place. Oh no. Make sure you bring your hiking boots. There's rocks there's uh edges so you want to make loose gravel so you want to make sure you have good traction to be safe. You have to be able to outrun someone in your group when the bear starts chasing you. And it's hard to do in flip-flops. It's hard to do in flip-flops so don't wear flip-flops hiking. So one thing you need to be sure you do is get to the park early. Don't wait till nine or ten o'clock and think you're going to drive in there and find a parking spot. It is not going to happen. We actually had to change one of the trails we were going on one day because there was zero parking on the trail that we wanted to do. So we just had to go we just went until we found a parking spot and that's the trail we did. So the earlier you get the better the parking is going to be for you. But also going early morning you are way more apt to see the animals on the road. There are so many animals in Glacier National Park and you're just going to see more of them the earlier you go in the day. And stick around because a little bit later we're going to tell you about our favorite place that we called wildlife at every time we went. And just so you know as much as we love our fur babies they are not allowed on any of the trails in Glacier National Park. They can go on the going to sun road as long as you're in your car. They can get out at the overlooks and look around with you but do not take them on the trails. There are wild animals there are bears and you want to keep them safe. It's for their protection. Let's talk about the places where you are almost guaranteed to see wild animals. Before we do that let's talk about wild animal safety. Oh yeah. Yeah we really need to talk about that. Let's be safe before we go see them. Yeah let's be safe. Let's know what to do before we go see the animals. Glacier is a park that is full of animals. We saw three grizzlies one one drive. I think we saw three. Did we not see a fourth one somewhere? But anyway at least three. Three. We maybe did see a fourth one. I think the fourth one was on the trail that we were on. But there's a lot to know when you're going into a park where there are so many vicious wild animals. Right so the first thing we'll talk about is bears. You've got to have bear spray and don't have it in your backpack where you got to take it off because a bear can sprint 30 yards like that and if you're just 30 yards from they're going to be right on top of you. So a lot of people wear it on their chest or on their hip. Some people we saw some people that were just literally carrying it in their hands having it ready. Right and the next thing is and we were kind of worried so we we went all out we got the bear horn the bear spray and we even got bear bells. Yeah bear bells. You know what the ranger told us about the bear bells? The ranger says bear bells are considered dinner bells for bears. That it does not make they do not make enough noise that it intrigues the bears and they want to come and see what they're all about. So she had me all decked out with bell bears. We did that before we knew that they were a really bad idea. And I think he told you that the only person that the bear bells help is the bear bell company. Yes so that being said we got a couple of bear bells for sale if anyone's interested in them. Don't know what we're gonna do with those. Yeah and the the next animal to be aware of and you probably won't think about this one is the moose. And those two the bear and the moose they say be no closer than 100 yards. That's a football field eight bus lengths. You must be that far away because they're quick and those they fight with their hoofs and they come down your head you're gonna be gone. Yeah the moose were they were really cool to watch but you definitely want to do it from a distance. And we end up seeing quite a few moose. We'll talk a little bit more about that in a second. And then the last thing is other wildlife. They say stay at least 25 feet away from other wildlife and sometimes they just walk up on you. So you gotta you gotta be I think you had a deer. We had a deer walk up on us. Daniel put that video here I'm sure. But he just walked right up to us. We had to back up to get out of his way. Right so let's be careful. Yeah and whatever you do don't throw food down. Don't leave food laying around anywhere and don't ever try to feed those wild animals. You'll get in Now we haven't forgotten about those secrets on how to get in when you don't have a pass to get into go into the sun road. But before we do that we also know you want to know about where to see the wildlife. And we did see a lot of wildlife while we were there. You go to some national parks and you think I hope I see a bear. I hope I see a moose. I hope to see this. I hope to see that. We saw it. We saw it all. Yes and there's a great chance you see it if you do a Manny Glacier and go to Fisher Cap Lake. And we were told that if you go there most evenings you're probably gonna see a moose. And we went one evening we saw a mother moose and two calves. Two calves I guess what they're called. And a baby deer. They were all just playing together. Yep and another place that we saw a big bull moose was Red Rock Lake. It was on a trail. It was in the lake as we were going on a trail up to Red Rock Falls. Beautiful big bull moose. Yeah he was huge. It was amazing. Also in Manny Glacier we're coming back on Swift Current Trail and what did we see? We saw a bear. We saw a grizzly. He was really close. The grizzly was really close. We were about 30 feet away from it and uh or 30 yards away from it and it probably wasn't very smart to be there. So we went went further on and she did catch a few seconds. Yeah and we'll put that up. And then there's other trails be ready to see uh bighorn sheep. We saw other moose elsewhere. Goats. So many wildlife. There is a herd of uh bighorn sheep that hang out. No no there's a herd of rams. Aren't those rams? They're bighorn sheep but yeah. Yeah that hang out up right at Logan's Pass. We saw them every morning and every evening and they were just hanging out like they on the place. They go through the parking lot and there's multiple ones. They're beautiful beautiful animals you know. So those are some of the tips of where to see some animals. Danny I think it's time to tell them our secrets to get into the park. Should we give them away? Yep we should give away our secrets to get into the park. We've been there we're gone now. And there are ways to get in the park because like I said I was worried. I just gave a credit card with very limited refund policy on a campground for 28 days and was unable to get passes. But the first thing we learned was okay you don't have to have a going to the sun road vehicle pass to get into the park. There are multiple ways you can get into the park without them. Number one you can get on the red bus. Uh there is a fee for this. Maybe Danny will look it up and put it here somewhere. I don't know what it is but the red bus will take you all through the park give you all the interesting information. It's a guided tour. It's a guided tour. Uh if you have a pass to go on any of the uh boat rides that serves as your pass into the park for that day. So if you're going to go on a boat ride. Yeah any of the activities such as horseback. Any of the activities horseback riding anything that serves as your pass for the day. But you can also go down to either of the visitor center and hop on the shuttle. The shuttle will take you through the entire park. It stops at all the main points along the way. It will let you off. Something will come back later and pick you back up. Yeah every 15 to 30 minutes. Yeah I rode the shuttle the day I did the uh Highland Trail because we came out 15 miles down below and we rode the shuttle back to the uh visitor center on the east side and then Danny came over there and picked us up so he didn't have to wait for us because we only had one car obviously. Yep. So the shuttle is another way. And it's free. And it's free. They're not going to charge you to get in that shuttle. That's how you can get in there at any time without having a pass. And they're using that to try to cut down on some of the traffic. Yeah and you're not going to be able to find parking anyways so the shuttle is a great idea. How about another secret? Yeah we've got another secret for you. Every day they release so many of pass so many of the passes to going to the Sun Road to Medicine and Manny Glacier. So here's what you do. All right so you want to make sure you get these because what you're purchasing today is good for the next day or in the case of the going to Sun Road is good for three days. But they release them at 8 a.m. Now the first day we didn't really set an alarm so it was about 8.06 and they were sold out. And I mean there were probably 800 passes 600 800 each day released. Most people sleep later than we do so we were so we missed them that going to the Sun Road pass that day but we did look at Manny Glacier and got that section for the next day. So but what we started doing from that day forward was setting our alarm for 7.59 that meant hey you better open up your phones or open up your computers. Yeah and we were both on our phones on the website. They have an app that you can download which makes it really easy and we were both on our phones and just whoever got it first the other one stopped. So the great news is we were able to get one of those passes every time we tried. Every time we wanted in we got a pass. So that helped a lot but if you're like us and missed it that first day or slept late or you sleep late we've got another secret for you. Yeah so here's the next secret. If you are an early riser get up and go into the park before 6 a.m. Yeah great time to see a sun sunrise. Yeah we're not those people. We get up early but we like to have our coffee first. Yeah we get up but we gotta have time for that coffee and just to chill out a little bit. But anyways we never made it before 6 a.m. But once you're in you're in you're there for the whole day as long as you want to stay. Or if you're like us and you sleep a little later or you just don't want to get going that early you can go in after three. Yep and sleeping late we always get up about six. Yeah but even at home we're up at six in the morning. We just didn't want to get up at four to get in there but but if you can go in after three and you don't need a pass to go on the sun road or to the other sections. So you get to do so much and it stays daylight until 10 and I think some days we're almost to 11 when we first got there. Yeah. Because it's uh so sunny there until so late. So it's yeah. You can stay in the park like really late because I'm not kidding you we we got to where we were up to 11 30 and 12 o'clock almost every night just because it was daylight so late. Yeah. That's unusual for us. Stayed up past past 10 o'clock. Wow. Yeah. We were out there getting sunset pictures uh at 10 o'clock. Yeah. 11 o'clock. So so those are some secrets and we'll put a link to that uh app that you can use to get it get it get the pass and uh any other links we'll put down below for you. Now this being said if you know something we don't be sure you put it in the comments below so that we can share it with others. Yeah we want uh our viewers you know let's communicate to each other about ways to get into the park or things to get see in the park. Yeah. Also if you have seen any wild animals or if you have a certain area that you think is the best to see wild animals put it in the comments below so that other people will know it and can share in your experiences. So we just spent 28 days in Glacier National Park so we've got a lot to share with you. Some of our favorite places some of our favorite trails. Yeah. So be sure you hit that subscribe button so you'll know before you go because we're going to tell you all the secrets we learned about everything. Right. Until next time God bless and many safe travels. And Go RV America!