Glacier National Park

I'd like to ride to Glacaier National Park during the last week in June.
Anybody have any experience during that timeframe? Too cold or just right??

Never ridden it, but my sister lived in Kalispel, MT right there... We were there for her wedding in May a few years back, and temps were pretty reasonable for riding. I'd say June would be fine. But it does get cold at night/morning... so take a few easy layers.

If you are going in through Cour d'Alene and Sandpoint from the west, there's a great place for Breakfast/lunch on the west side of the highway north of bonner's ferry, 10 or so? miles short of the cutoff to Kalispel... multi-service truck stop/gas/general store. They have a restaurant there with huge bay windows overlooking a lake, with the Sawtooth Mt's in the reflection. Incredible place for Breakfast, I tell ya... and damned good biscuits and gravy too

Jim,

I rode there in 04 and I'll go on record that you'll be hard pressed to find a prettier place no matter where you ever ride.

I'll post more photos shortly so you can see what I mean. I stayed at a Best Western at the south end of Flathead Lake in the town of Polson. This photo is looking out of my room. I'd say from memory that Polson is about an hour and a half from the entrance to the park.

Here is Glacier taken the first part of July in 04. Trust me, you want to go to Glacier.

Glacier

RTRandy said:

Here is Glacier taken the first part of July in 04. Trust me, you want to go to Glacier.

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Okay I want to go to Glacier. At this point we're planning on staying in Browning.....

Glacier Park

Hi Jim:
You're asking about one of my favourite areas. I live just north of Glacier, and ride it often. The best months to do it are June and September, because there aren't as many tourists getting in your way in the good parts. During the last week of June, the tourist numbers will be starting to get up there, but it still shouldn't be too bad. In September, you get the spectacular colours.
I like to ride the loop counter-clockwise, so that I'm on the mountain side of the road on the Logan Pass part, and less likely to need a parachute if I miss a corner.
If you're coming in from Wisconsin, I recommend that you go all the way to East Glacier before turning north on 49 to the park gate at St. Mary. This way you can ride the Kiowa Cut-Off over Two Medicine Ridge, Montana's answer to the Targa Florio. I usually do this as dessert after the main course of Going to the Sun and the Marias Pass (ah, if only I had a Chesterfield Aprilia to ride through there....). At St. Mary, take the Logan Pass to West Glacier, and then ride back east over the Marias Pass to complete the loop.
DO NOT MISS (sorry) having coffee, lunch, a snack, or whatever, at the Isaac Walton Inn in Essex.
Now, about the weather. Logan Pass is really high, and it can snow there in any month (although it's probably no worse than in the Peter Egan state). If you do encounter snow, which is very unlikely, you will be able to ride through it, because the ground will be warm enough so that it doesn't stick. If you don't want to, just double back and take Marias Pass (highway 2) to where you want to go; it's quite low. The Logan generally opens about the middle of June, depending on how much snow they have had the previous winter. You can phone the Park office to confirm this, but by the end of June they'll be open for business.
Finally, if you're just doing the trip to sight-see, and not to carve corners, you can skip the Marias part after you get to West Glacier and continue on to Kalispell, and Whitefish. DON'T MISS (sorry again) spending a night at the Grand Hotel in Kalispell (you will score huge marks with your wife/girlfriend), and ask them for directions to Moose's Saloon (within walking distance). The Grand will let you park your bike overnight right out front in the drop off area. Finally, do not stay in Browning, stay in either East Glacier or St. Mary; there is lots of accomodation available. You'll love this trip. E-mail me if you have any other questions.
Rinty

One nice thing about Glacier is there's a size limitation on vehicles allowed in the park, hence you won't find those giant RV bus like things as you might in Yellowstone park. I believe it's a 20 foot maximum. One more shot for good luck.

Voni said:

My favorite time of day to ride the Going to the Sun highway is just after sunrise. NO traffic. So very sweet!

Later in the day it feels like a parade. Passing doesn't work because there are always more SLOW vehicles. Go early in the day for riding. Later if you just like to look at scenery.

Or do both!

Voni
sMiling

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I second that. Morning is the best time to get out on the road. Most of the slowpokes are still in their beds. It can be foggy or cloudy on the west side of the pass, but it's usually clearer (and warmer) on the east side.

Usually June is pretty good in Glacier Park. Although, three years ago we went down in late June and they had re-closed the pass due to avalanches. It had been open the week before, but some heavy rain and wet snow brought down the unmelted snow pack blocking the road. It would have been my wife's first time riding over the pass. In fact she had never been over it at all, riding or driving, still hasn't. Instead we rode up as far as we could from either side. Might have to make the trip again this year. From Calgary its an easy weekend trip or a long day trip depending on the route and stops.

It's best to be flexible about what day you attempt Going-to-the-Sun Road, many days Logan Pass will be in the clouds. It can and will snow any day of the year. It won't be dark until 10pm that time of year and it's light really early.

The Kiowa cut-off isn't always open, you'll want to check with the locals at East Glacier, the tribe, the state and the feds fight over who should maintain it and sometimes no one does.

Don't overlook (middle) Two Medicine Lake, although the road is in-and-back, it is one of the least traveled in the park.

If you are riding GS, then a whole world awaits you on the west side, check the North Fork of the Flathead River, the finger lakes up the inside road on the west side of the park (from Camas) and from there you can ride all through the Whitefish Range and the Stillwater Forest. You could kill five days easily and never be more than a couple of hours to a town.

There is significant construction on Going-to-the-Sun Road but they aren't closing the road as originally planned:

"June 15 ÔÇô September 15, 2006, the following schedule will be in effect during this peak visitor season:

Weather and road conditions permitting, the entire 50ÔÇômile Going-to-the-Sun Road will be open for twoway motorized traffic. Visitors may expect a maximum of 30ÔÇôminute delays for a oneÔÇôway trip across the Going-to-the-Sun Road during peak hours (10 a.m. ÔÇô 3 p.m.) During non-peak hours, (8 ÔÇô 10 a.m. and 3 ÔÇô 8 p.m.) travelers may experience up to 1ÔÇôhour delays for a one-way trip across the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Definitive nighttime delays are unknown at this time; however, delays may occur between 8 p.m. ÔÇô 8 a.m."

I'm a local, email me if you'd like more info.

glacier part

Montana:

What was the main reason for building the Kiowa Cutoff? It seems to me to be more than just a scenic road for tourists, i.e. it accesses ranchlands and parts of the reserve. Maybe that's what the dispute is over regarding the cost of maintaining it. It's certainly needs some work, but it's still one of my two favourite roads, the other being 31 A in B.C.

Rinty

I suspect the Kiowa route was there before the boundaries of a national park were established. It is used for tribal lands access; the whole area is open range. At any moment huge black cattle step out of the brush into the road. It's also called the Looking Glass Highway, named after a native chief.

It's a harsh environment and many years the road has significant slumps and cracks. The National Park Service doesn't like to spend the money since it's outside the park boundary, the State considers it tribal and the tribe doesn't claim it.

When it is closed to traffic, it makes for one heck of a great bicycle route. If you like the skinny two-wheelers, every full moon in the summer there is a midnight bicycle ride from Logan Pass down the West side of Going-to-the-Sun Road.

This is bringing back memories. My girl friend (now wife) rode Glacier in '82. We got lucky and stayed in one of the park service cabins on the lakeshore looking right at Gunsight Pass. The "old" couple in the next door cabin were from Chicago and the husband half of the couple had, as a young man, worked building Going to the Sun Road as a member of the WPA during the depression.

I can't help with current ride suggestions but I do remember talking to some riders before we got to the park and recall one of them advising me to be careful of looking at the scenery too much because it would "pull you right off the road." That was good advice then and I suspect it still is.

John

My friend and I were in Glacier National Park this year in the second week of August and the weather was very changeable. Of course this was more so as the elevation became higher. For example Logan's Pass was extremely dense fog on one side of the mountain, and then I turned the corner and the sky was clear and sunny. It was so neat though! Each time over the pass was a little different, and the Going to the Sun Hwy was outstanding. Just take the types of clothing that you would for any mountain area and you will be fine...and take your camera with a big memory card.

Going to the Sun was great this July especially right after Laguna Moto GP races on the way to Mid Ohio.

Breakfast or Lunch

And don't forget pancakes! Hungry Horse is about 7 miles West of the park entrance. I stayed at a nice motel across the street. Could have eaten here all week.

The weather can be changeable. A group of us rode home to St. Louis from the Spokane rally. The weather looked great on Logan Pass but suddenly changed as very dark clouds rolled over the mountains from the west. We got caught at the bottom as we left the park--lots of strong wind and cold rain and it looked horrible back in the mountains toward Logan Pass.

Don't stay in Browning. It's a pit.

glacier

Jim:

Well, you've got a nice collection of scary Logan Pass weather stories to digest, and let me offer this in summary:

This is one of the great mountain roads in North America, and the rhythm of going through the corners is akin to skiing deep powder. If your bike has an aftermarket exhaust, you will also get the glorious boxer symphony amplified by the cliff faces next to you, as you power out of the corners.

While the weather is certainly changeable, your RT is well designed to handle it, and if you encounter weather, you will only be in it for a relatively short time.

Go for it.

Rinty

Yeah, as Marilyn describes, it's just that Eastern Slope that sucks, uh, blows!

I'm part of the "boat people" family, meaning, associated with the operations of the tour boats in Glacier National Park. We've had to clear the snow off the boats at Swiftcurrent and Two Medicine Lakes on 4th of July. Sometimes it's too windy to send out the tour boats. Sometimes it's heaven on earth.