Many Glacier - Road Trip 2019

The gal at the VC in St Mary told us the road into Many Glacier was ‘horrid’, but the 70 mph hiway up to Babb was in very good condition.  She was half right, the hiway was in good condition.  But she must not have driven in San Diego, there are roads in our neighborhood with worse pot holes. We parked at the Many Glacier Hotel, as the ranger said the campground was full.

I was not surprised the campground was full, Many Glacier is full of ’Obscene beauty’.

There is a 2 PM tour of the hotel that Fran would like to attend.  With lots of time we take the short 2.5 level walk around Swiftcurrent Lake.  It’s an easy walk, with views back to the hotel,

and the surrounding mountains

Opposite the hotel is a boat dock, where the boat-n-hike tour.  The passengers are unloaded and hike the quarter mile trail to Lake Josephine and board another boat to continue the journey.  Then a 1.25 mile hike to Grinnell Lake.  I suspect the views from all the lakes are spectacular.

The trail eventually reaches the campground, which we decide to walk thru and discover there is a site available.  We quickly decide to take it and fill out the self-registration form.  And we SCORE! The walk back to the RV is through a meadow that is alive with wildflowers.

The next morning we take the hike up to Swiftcurrent Falls, another easy hike.

with fabulous views from the trail.

The falls are really quite unusual as we watch the Swiftcurrent River take multiple paths as it cascades.

As we are returning we come across another mule deer along the trail.

It’s hard to say goodbye to Many Glacier, it was an awesome serendipitous stop.

There are so very many resources on the Internet for planning a trip to Glacier, as well as many blog posts. Search your favorite blog for their experiences at Glacier. I trust and like the inspiration gained from https://ohtheplacestheygo.wordpress.com. You'll find John and Pam's 'nimble' hikes in Glacier HERE.

For my personal thoughts:
West Glacier - it's the center of activity, where pretty much all the outings can be scheduled.  This is where the families should go. A couple days should cover most of the sightseeing. But more time would be required hiking.
St.Mary's - Definitely worth a couple days, but put on your boots.  Free shuttle to Logan Pass.
Many Glacier - Not to be missed and enjoy the huckleberry cobbler!

No Bad Days at Many Glacier, the highlight of our week in Glacier National Park.  Next time I could spend the entire week here!