Glacier National Park - beautiful mountains, lakes and waterfalls surrounding activities

Glacier National Park in Montana

Glacier National Park in Montana encompasses a large mountainous region of northwestern Montana, bordering southern Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. There are more than 100,000 acres of forests and alpine meadows. There are 200 lakes and streams and 50 active glaciers. The region of Glacier National Park is home to over 70 species of mammals and more than 260 species of birds. Glacier is an uncrowded park blessed with some of the world's most beautiful scenery. Montana's Glacier National Park hotel and camping accommodations are available locally, just check some of the ads on this page.

Glacier National Park is obviously named for the glaciers that produced its landscape. If you have lived your life in the south you might ask yourself what is a glacier? Well, a glacier is a moving mass of snow and ice that forms when more snow falls then melts in the summer. The snow accumulates and presses on the layers below it into ice. The bottom layer of ice becomes flexible allowing the glacier to move. As it moves the glacier picks up rocks and gravel. So with all of this mixture of debris, it scours and sculpts the land that it moves across. This is how Glacier National Park got its beautiful valleys, mountain peaks, and lakes.

A symbol of Glacier National ParkRed are it's vintage sedans called "Jammers". They are 25-foot-long sedans that seat 17 passengers. They have a unique canvas top that rolls back allowing passengers to stand and view Glacier National Park unobstructed. The jammer buses serve as the park's transportation system, allowing travel from one side of the park to the other along the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Transportation is also offered with a shuttle service to various locations and various trailheads along the only road through the park, Going-to-the-Sun Road. Shuttle buses also travel to West Glacier, East Glacier, Many Glacier, Two Medicine, Chief Mountain, and Waterton Townsite. There is also a Canadian transportation service.

The Going-To-The-Sun Road scenic highway bisects Glacier Park. It is 50 miles total and follows two of the park's largest lakes and cliffs below the Continental Divide. There are many pull-offs and wayside exhibits. Make no mistake, there are signs approaching Going-To-The-Sun Road within park boundaries, between Avalanche Creek and Sun Point, warning that no vehicle longer than 21 feet or wider than 8 feet (including mirrors) are allowed.

The spectacular and every changing landscape is a hikers paradise. There are 700 miles of maintained trails that take you deep into one of the largest ecosystems in the continental United States. However, there are plenty of trails for day hikes within the park. The visitor center has free maps of the popular trails in the park and the bookstores carry a complete line of trail guides to aid the more couragous hiker. Hiking is encouraged to experience Glacier National Park more thoroughly. Hikers planning overnight trips in Glacier’s backcountry must obtain a backcountry permit at a visitor center or a ranger station. There are private companies that offer guided day hikes and backpacking trips into Glacier.

There are numous tours and activities within and around Glacier National Park such as fishing tours, boat tours, lodge tours, scenic tours, horseback trail rides, guided hiking tours, and white water rafting. Glacier park rangers host naturalist activities and a complete list of programs can be found at the visitor centers and ranger stations throughout the park. Activities include evening slide programs, guided hikes, boat tours, and all day hikes.   Left - Blooming wild flower in Glacier National Park.

There are 13 campgrounds in Glacier National Park that provide over 1000 campsites. The lodges and inns located throughout Glacier National Park provide accommodations as well. Most visitor facilities are open from late May to mid-September. During the winter in-park services are not available although the park is open there is no road access.

Visit Glacier moose pictures for more information.

Home     Contact Us    Copyright © 2006-2009 MyTravelMag