Land of Liberty Explorers

Overview

In 1891, the Great Northern Railway crossed the Continental Divide. To drum up business for its new line, the railroad advertised the natural beauty of the area. The company started lobbying Congress to create a national park. George Bird Grinnell and the Boone and Crockett Club soon started advocating for creation of a park.

Far away in northwestern Montana, hidden from view by clustering mountain peaks, lies an unmapped corner – the Crown of the Continent.
George Bird Grinnell, 1901

Congress created the national park in 1910. The Great Northern Railway promoted the park as “America’s Switzerland” and built chalets and hotels with Swiss themes. We visited the park in July of 2020. Our original plan was to spend two nights in the Lake McDonald area and then 2 nights in Many Glacier, but we had to change our plans because of the COVID-19 pandemic made getting to Many Glacier impossible. Instead, we made the best of it and spent four days exploring the west side of Glacier National Park.

We saw this moose right after we entered the park!

Rocky Point Trail

We arrived in the park on a rainy the afternoon. The Going-to-the-Sun Road was only open to the Avalanche Creek parking lot and that lot was completely full. Even though it was rainy, we decided to make the best of it and hike this 1.5 mile trail. The trail is hilly, but features some lovely wild flowers and a unique view of Lake McDonald.

Trail of the Cedars and Avalanche Lake

Trail of the Cedars is a .9 mile loop trail. It is wheelchair accessible with sections of pavement and sections of boardwalk. The trail passes through lush forest of cedar and hemlock that grow along Avalanche Creek. One of the highlights of the trail is a narrow waterfall.

The Avalanche Lake Trailhead is located on the Trail of the Cedars. The Avalanche Lake Trail is a 4.6 mile out and back trail. It is more rugged than the Trail of the Cedars and definitely steeper!

The trail ends at Avalanche Lake – a beautiful high mountain lake surrounded by sheer cliffs on three sides. We liked this trail so much that we did it twice during our trip to Glacier National Park, the second time was a little drier!

Goat Lick Overlook

The Goat Lick Overlook is located about 2 miles south of the Walton Ranger Station on Highway 2. Minerals essential to mountain goat survival are plentiful at this spot, and the park’s famous mountain goats come down from the high peaks to have a lick here! We saw several mountain goats including some young ones! In this area you can also see the extensive bridge work needed by the railway.

Lake McDonald Lodge

We stayed in a Synder Hall room at Lake McDonald Lodge. Synder Hall was originally built as a place to hold meetings and dances, but was transformed into a dorm for park workers before being renovated for Lake McDonald Lodge guests. For more on Lake McDonald Lodge and other awesome national park lodges, check out our post about historic national park lodges.

Lake McDonald

Lake McDonald is biggest lake in Glacier National Park. It is 10 miles long and nearly 500 feet deep. It is famous for the colorful rocks that line its shore and the views of the high peaks behind it.

Johns Lake Loop

We enjoyed this trail through the forest to Johns Lake and back to Lake McDonald Lodge. The trail is about 2 miles and shares a path used by horses to Johns Lake.

After reaching Johns Lake, the trail heads back out to the Going-to-the-Sun Road and crosses the horse bridge that overlooks Sacred Dancing Cascade. It continues along the river to McDonald Falls.

Polebridge

A ranger at Lake McDonald Lodge suggested that we drive up to the Polebridge Ranger Station and visit Bowman Lake. He suggested stopping at Polebridge Mercantile & Bakery for a pastries on the way. The bakery is famous for its huckleberry bearsclaws!

Kintla Lake

When we arrived at the Polebridge Ranger Station, the parking lot for Bowman Lake was full, so the rangers suggested taking the very bumpy 15 mile, 15 mile per hour road to Kintla Lake. The road takes forever! Kintla Lake is the fourth largest lake in the park. It is very close to the Canadian border. We hiked a bit of the trail around the lake shore and enjoyed beautiful views of the lake and fun wild flowers on the trail.

Bowman Lake

We stopped at Bowman Lake on our way back to Polebridge. It is six miles from the ranger station on the same rough, bumpy road. We enjoyed the breathtaking mountain views from the lake shore. Mule deer were plentiful here, and we got to watch some young deer play in the water! Bowman Lake is the third largest lake in the park, and definitely a nice spot to visit.