Glacier National Park in Northern Montana is a beautiful wilderness park. There are many trails and hikes to discover in this park. However, non- hikers can enjoy the stunning landscape here as well.

The village of West Glacier is just outside the west park entrance and that is where we spent 4 nights. It is a convenient place to stay with an RV park, cabins, Cafes, gift shop, and a small grocery. Glacier NP can get very crowded during the summer months. In order to control crowds, the park has a reservation system for driving the Going to the Sun Road. You can purchase a reservation on the park website if you want to drive the road or you can choose to take a tour bus. We chose to let someone else do the driving and booked a tour with Sun Tours. We toured in a 24-passenger bus with large windows and comfortable seats. Our tour guide was a member of the Blackfeet tribe and shared the history and customs of the Blackfeet. The Going to the Sun Road is a marvel and is one of the most spectacular drives in the country. We were there in August, but it was a cool and cloudy day. That added to the beauty as the ever-changing clouds provided different views. The road is narrow and twisting in some areas with steep drop offs. It was nice to enjoy the scenery without having to pay attention to driving.

Another tour that we enjoyed was a boat tour on Lake McDonald. We drove to Lake McDonald Lodge to do a one-hour tour on the historic wooden boat the “DeSmet”. If you have tour tickets you don’t need a vehicle reservation to access the park the day of your tour. The boat tour leaves from the dock at the Lake McDonald Lodge. This gave us an opportunity to explore the lodge and grounds. This is one of the nicest National Park lodges that we have seen. The lobby is beautiful and there is a nice bar/lounge with excellent food.

The tour of the lake was fun. We learned about the lake and the history of the lodge and the boat we were touring on. There is a ramp down to the dock and easy access to the boat for those with mobility issues.

After our boat tour we drove to the trailhead for the Trail of Cedars. The Trail of Cedars is a level self-guided nature walk that is less than .5 miles round trip. It is the perfect opportunity to get out and experience this beautiful park. The walk takes you through a grove of large trees alongside the river. There is a wooden bridge over a small waterfall. It is accessible for all levels of fitness.

When you are visiting Montana, you would be remiss if you don’t enjoy some of the many huckleberry products. Just a few miles from West Glacier is the town of Hungry Horse. The Huckleberry Patch store and restaurant is a great place to sample some huckleberry pie with huckleberry ice cream.