I went on a college road trip. We stopped on our way to the Canadian Rockies for a field course. I loved it. We camped at a private campsite outside of the park. Hung out in a great western bar just down the road, log cabin style. That was the first place I ever heard Willie Nelson's "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys." It had just come out and was on the jukebox. This was the 80's, we had jukeboxes. I hadn't seen the movie "Electric Horseman" yet but it always reminds me of that trip. We were only there for a day. Hiked Logan's Pass, the wildflowers were amazing. Drove on "Going to the Sun" highway. I think Glacier was one of the most impressive places I have ever been. We drove through the Montana prairie to get there, really gives you a sense of what the west was like when buffaloes roamed the plains . . .

We went a few years ago and rented a lovely VRBO near the west entrance. I’d recommend it but not large enough for your group. There are lots of accommodations in the park but generally national park accomodations are too retro/primitive for my taste. As I recall there wasn’t a whole lot outside the west entrance in terms of grocery shopping or dining. Since we couldn’t find any groceries we ate out at the very few nearby establishments which left something to be desired. We were there for the park though so the other stuff didn’t really matter.

We went after Labor Day and it was still pretty busy. I think if I was going during peak summer time I might stay in the park to avoid lines to get in, parking issues, etc.

Better hope there is still a glacier by then. See it before it is gone forever.

Sigh.

We have been twice. There are pros and cons to both the east and west sides as to where to stay. They both offer easy access to Going tothe Sun road theough the middle of the park, but that is not all there is to the whole park IMO. It is beautiful, large and so much to see and do.

The west side is the more inhabited for sure and offers the town of Whitefish nearby which is a great town to visit (and eat) for a day at least. Or you could stay there if you dont mind the drive. Kalispell is the larger town close to the west entrance and has plenty of activity. We stayed in a cabin at Lake Macdonald and loved the boat ride there to get a feel for what was around there our first day. Hiked several of the trails around that area. But keep in mind it is a long drive either through Going to the Sun road (if open) or via highway 2 to the East Side and to the other portions of the park. Parts of Highway 2 is interesting and scenic itself, but long.

The east side entrance is near St Mary’s. But you can go south of there to Two Medicine and find beautiful hiking trails and scenery that should not be missed. And then north of there we stayed at Many Glacier Lodge which is on a beautiful lake. You should try to drive there at least and hike one of the easy trails around the lake and walk through the lodge if you have time.

That's how we entered the park, on Rt. 2 from the east. Very much lacking in a lot of facilities which is what I loved about it. We camped so that wasn't an issue for us. Of course that was 1980 . . . I'm envious. I've always wanted to go back and see more. But now that I hear how crowded it has become, it just seems kind of sad. I'm not sure I have it in me to hike and stay in the back country anymore. I certainly couldn't do it with my husband, he complains constantly while on vacation if the weather and accommodations aren't perfect. I mean like, if there is a crack in the shower stall tile, I'll hear about it . . . sigh.

We went to Whitefish when we were there - a nice side trip when we wanted to go somewhere with more services. My favorite part of Glacier NP was the rainforest - so beautiful and I had no idea there was a rainforest there. We always go to popular national parks in the fall after school starts and they're still pretty busy. We went to Glacier right after Labor Day and a few parts of it were already closed for the season but I preferred that over the larger crowds.

We have no choice, we have to go in the summer when the youngest is home from school and the oldest is able to take vacation time easily (he works at a college). With traffic considerations, seems like we should stay IN the park if we can. Or, I’m seeing a couple of VRBO houses that are supppsedly a mile from the entrance.

Thanks all, this is good info!

We have been to Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, and Acadia — all in the summer months.

Whitefish looks great, definitely want to check it out!

We stayed in whitefish and are glad we did as there were services and stores there just be aware that the parking lots fill early for the most popular hikes or you have to wait until later in the pm when they start to empty look for ranger walks and talks as they are always so informative

When you guys refer to services, what do you mean? I wonder if staying inside the park for a whole week might be too much "remoteness"...maybe a few days in the park and a few days in Whitefish?

We were just there last week. We stayed at a motel on Lake McDonald which was beautiful but would not recommend the motel. There really did not seem to be many places to stay OR to eat on that west side of the park. Part of that was Covid. If I were to do it again, I would rent a cabin or home and deal with most meals on our own. I would plan for it to be a very remote vacation. Loved Whitefish and Big Fork. Kalispell was a little more "normal town" like. Flathead lake is incredible.

We also stayed two days here which we loved:

https://www.vrbo.com/2013041?adultsCount=1&noDates=true&unitId=2577558

Services like gas stations, quick marts, grocery stores, restaurants, drug stores...that kind of thing so you can get what you need be it bug repellant or some energy bars or water or whatever.

Make sure you head to Many Glaciers which is incredibly beautiful. It is not on the going to the sun road. There's a hotel there where we stopped for lunch and hung out on the deck overlooking this view...

Yes to a few days in the park and a few days outside. I can only take so many days inside a national park - we did stay inside Yellowstone when we went there.

You also have to be prepared to really freestyle because several of the hikes we planned to do were closed due to bear activity. It was also blisteringly hot when we were there so we just posted up on the side of the lake for a day and that was actually delightful. We used Glacier Raft Company right outside the entrance for rafting and that was also very fun.

We did not get a chance to get up to Waterton in Canada, but I understand that's beautiful too.

Also, we were advised to stop at costco when we arrived and buy bear spray, so we did. We didn't need it though. The more crowded trails had lots of people all of whom seemed to be carrying bear spray. My friend has traveled extensively with a family member who is a biologist and has studied wild animals around the world...she requires everyone working with her to carry bear spray in the mountains.

We did stay in the park on the west side for 3 nights and it was incredibly convenient to access the trails nearby or drive a few miles early enough to get a parking spot for the others. Then we moved outside the park to Whitefish and stayed a couple of nights, then to Kalispell. A lot of moving around but we did it for convenience as we only had a little over a week that trip.

The second time we went concentrated on the eas5 side. We used park lodging near Two Medicine (beds were terrible but the lodge was beautiful). I have heard they updated the rooms since 2017 and they needed it. Then we moved to a small motor lodge outside St Mary near the East entrance and it was surprisingly nice and convenient. I cannot recall the name at the moment. Then we spent 3 nights at Many Glacier Lodge which was very nice. There were several trails accessible frim the lodge. They had regular transportation over to the campground side which was also the trailhead for many nice hiking trails.

Good luck with your planning. With several family members, i dont blame you a bit for staying in a VRBO if convenient to an entrance. It allows for laundry, some meal and snack prep and for everyone to spread out a little. And wifi!

We didnt have bear spray but we did use Bear Bells. On almost every trail we saw a park ranger or two and they were advising hikers if they had seen bears. We never saw any except on a boat ride late one evening.

You'll have a great time. The scenery is incredible.

I know you are already excited Sueb! You will love it!

Um. https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/06/us/montana-grizzly-bear-attack-trnd/index.html

My niece and three others did the Glacier Park Half Marathon , then they planned to do a 17 day ride cycling down the Continental Divide. They was 25 miles from where the lady was killed and had planned to stay the next night in that park. They traveled 20 more miles and decided to end their trip for this year....thank goodness!!