As campers, pulling our 25-foot trailer behind the pickup, we
have enjoyed both East Glacier's campgrounds and the one at
Apgar Village at the west end of Lake McDonald. For tenters
there are even more choices within the park. And we have even
stayed at the rental cabins at West Glacier's Apgar complex.
There's not a bad place anywhere.
For this paddler of canoes and kayaks, Glacier park offers some terrific waters. Upper and Lower St. Mary lakes on the east side and McDonald and Bowman Lakes on the west are all great places to paddle and explore. Winds can be tricky though, because when they shift to westerlies the lakes can get rough. Rough or not, paddling into those winds can be a lot of work. Doing it in a kayak is easier than a canoe, for kayaks present less surface are to the winds.
Hiking is clearly a major attraction of the park. One of our
favorites is the trail up to Avalanche Lake, a forty minute
climb to a beautiful small lake surrounded by high cliffs. From
the lake shore one gets good views of mountain sheep, but bring
your binoculars because they stick to the high country and are
bashful of hikers. Catch and release trout fishing in that
crystal clear lake is great fun too.
We prefer to visit the park in the off-season, before Memorial Day or after Labor Day, but some years it gets pretty cold then. We have been caught in the snow at East Glacier in October, over a foot of it. If anything that snow made it all even prettier there.
And oh yes, the Lodges and other facilities may not be available except during the summer. Don't let that dissuade you, for the joy of having the park pretty much to yourself more than compensates for limited facilities and support.
