polly229

Husband and I are scheduled to land at Kalispell/Glacier about 11PM Aug. 30. Need a place to spend the night - comfortable bed, clean is all that matters - that is reasonably near a decent grocery where we can stock up on a few provisions before heading to Lake McDonald for 2 night, Many Glacier for 3 nights. Reading that the airport is between Kalispell and Whitefish, I booked a motel just south of the town of Whitefish so as not to have to backtrack. When I finally got around to looking at a map, I discovered that Whitefish is a bit west and not exactly on the way to Glacier NP. Also it appears that the Safeway, which I figure is probably the most complete grocery, is well north of town. Am now thinking that maybe spending that night in Kalispell wouldn't be any further out of the way and might have a better grocery store.

Does anyone who knows the area have an opinion?

John

IMHO Kalispell would be a better choice. There is a Holiday Inn Express aprox. 15 minutes from the airport with a Super Walmart across the street open 24 hrs.
Other choice of hotels and full groceries also available also in Kalispell.

polly229

Thanks, John, I suspected as much. Will see what I can find around Kalispell.

kureiff

I agree with John's suggestion.

starrs

Kalispell. We stayed at a Hilton Garden Inn that was nice. Plenty of shopping opportunities in Kalispell.

I'd pick a decent hotel as close to the airport as possible. Have fun! We just got back from our trip and loved Glacier.

polly229

Have cancelled my Whitefish reservation and booked the Hilton Garden on both ends of the trip. Not sure why I didn't bother to look at a map before I decided to go to Whitefish, but at a month ago, this was a bit last minute (for a nat'l park certainly) and I was a lot more concerned about getting rooms inside the park. (And surprised that I could get anything so late.)

We are really looking forward to Glacier, which will be our 18th park (and about that many nat'l monuments or forests). It's the last of what I think are most people's "must see" parks and I suspect it could be our #2 favorite in the contiguous US, though I doubt anything can top our favorite, Yellowstone. Although we'll take a jammer trip or two so we can both enjoy the views, I just hope I'll be able to drive from Lake Mc to Many Glacier without having a nervous breakdown. (No way I could let my husband drive. While it might be horrible in places, if anyone else were driving, I'd have to take tranquilizers and lie on the floor in the back of the car, whimpering. In fact, I'm a little worried about that happening on the bus - the whimpering part, anyway.)

John

There is a Roseaurs Market a couple of hundred yards from Hilton. From there it will take you 45 minutes to the west entrance to the park, doing the speed limit.
Remember there is FREE shuttle service up and down the GTS Road. Buses run every 20 to 25 minutes depending on traffic, construction and bear jams. This is, of course, simply an air conditioned shuttle service, on and off at prescribed stops and NOT a tour as are the jammers. Shuttles do NOT go to Many Glacier and service ends Sept.6 this year.
Also, Mon thru Thursday the road is closed from 9 pm till 7 am for construction purposes. Open 24/7 weekends.
Have a great time. I enjoy the park year round!!

polly229

Yes, I knew about the shuttles but will have to get the car from Lake Mc to Many Glacier some way. Thanks for the info about the road being closed 9PM to 7AM weekdays. Knew they were doing work (aren't they always at nat'l parks?) but didn't know about a full closing. No problem about the 7AM since we're not morning people, even in places with beautiful sunrises. But that shoots the prospect of driving GTS after dark, a technique that worked for Chain of Craters Rd. in Volcano National Park. ;-) (When I saw Chain of Craters in the daytime, it was intimidating but I figured I could do it without driving off the edge in the day if I'd managed at night.)

minnehappylis

You will be fine on the drive. The traffic moves slowly and you can pull over to let people pass in many spots. My daughter has worked at Swiftcurrent Inn on the Many Glacier road the past 3 summers. Glacier is apparently addicting! My favorite places to eat near Many Glacier are Park Cafe in St. Mary's (great food and pie)and The Cattle Baron in Babb (for a steak or buffalo). Have a wonderful time!!

spirobulldog

polly, I have been to 23 parks, and I think all but a couple were "must sees". I loved all but about 3 of them(they were just ok). So don't stop at 18.
Heres my list that I have been to, I decided to try and list them in order of my favorites
Yellowstone
Yosemite
Arches
Zion
Grand Canyon(3 trips including rafting)
Kenai Fjords
Carlsbad Caves(twice including wild cave tour)
Sequoia/Kings Canyon
Crater Lake
Lake Clark
Redwoods
Mesa Verde
Grand Tetons
Death Valley
Canyonlands(twice)
Great Sand Dunes
Mammoth Cave
Capitol Reef
Petrified Forest
Joshua Tree(born there)
Smokey Mountains(just drove through it)
Hot Springs



Headed to Lassen and Redwoods next week. Have Reservations for Glacier and Bryce next Summer and Big Bend over spring break.

starrs

Well, if you are taking a jammer tour (I'm assuming over the Going to the Sun road, why not take Hwy 2 from West Glacier to East and Many Glaciers to get your car from one side to the other?

We LOVED the Red Bus tour and took the 10 am bus out of Lake MacDonald. We reached Weeping Wall just before noon - and heard rumors that they were about to open up the road. Our driver (Benny) turned the bus around and we were one of the first through the barricade.

They were doing a lot of road construction while we were there, so you may have to wait for construction delays.

We stayed off Hwy 2 and made the drive several times. It's a pretty drive AND you have a great photo op at Goat Lick Overlook.

Anyway, if you are stressed about driving over GTTS in your own car, I think you'd enjoy the drive on Hwy 2 and see some pretty sights.

polly229

I'm remiss for not thanking all of you for the information. Once I settled the Whitefish/Kalispell issue, I moved on to preliminary planning - enough to get flights and most hotels - for a New England trip in Oct. Forgot to check back on this thread. But appreciate the restaurant suggestions, Manyhappylis. Though I don't go to nat'l parks for the excellent cuisine, it's nice to find something sorta good to eat from time to time. Actually, Swiftcurrent is where we're staying, decided to do this too late to get any historic lodge rooms, which is actually okay since only the lobbies are anything to write home about.

Believe me, Spirobulldog, I don't plan to stop at 18 (thought have doubts I'll ever finish them all). Have been to 12 on your list, several 2 or 3 times, plus Denali, Glacier Bay, Everglades, Acadia, Virgin Islands, Hawaii Volcanoes, and Virgin Islands. We were planning a Colorado Plateau loop following a conference in April but I decided to wait a year and do it in late May '11 so we can go to the North Rim of the Canyon and maybe avoid snow altogether. That trip will take us to back to Bryce, where we'll start by driving Rt. 12 to Capital Reef, then Arches, Canyonlands, and Mesa Verde. (And Canyon de Chelly, Natural Bridges, and Hovenweep, nat'l monuments.) Next March we're planning a trip that will allow us to stop by Hot Springs. Somewhat farther down on my to-do list is a trip that includes Big Bend and a return to Carlsbad after over 40 years. I envy your wild caving tours but doubt we're up for that any longer at our ages, but my husband and I met caving (wild caves in WVA, VA, TN) 44 years ago; once we moved to FL 33 years ago, we had nowhere to cave, but we miss it. Interesting that Yellowstone is your favorite and Yosemite is second; most people seem to prefer Yosemite over the others. I'm with you on Yellowstone, though; we've spent 8-9 days there twice and hope to go again sometime. But Yosemite is down the list a bit for us, probably Denali, Volcanoes, and Virgin Islands would be before Yosemite.

Starrs, I'm going to suck it up and try GTS on the way from Lake Mc to Many Glacier; if I'm sufficiently traumatized, I'll do Hwy 2 to get back. I think I read that west to east is in the inside lane (or I remember that because I WANT it that way); if I'm right, that will help. But at least there's an option if I don't want to do it a second time. When we went to Meteora I considered doing the Katara pass on the inside lane direction but getting where we wanted to go on another route was too out of the way, so we skipped that drive and added another day to Rhodes. I'm sure I'll have anxious moments on the bus, too, but I'm way better than I used to be.

starrs

I believe that east to west is the inside lane. From Many Glacier to MacDonald = inside lane. They were doing a lot of construction when we were there so between Weeping Wall and Logan Pass was mostly one lane. They will probably be gone by then.

I really enjoyed the Hwy 2 route. The best pics of our trip came from Goat Lick Overlook. Loved the train tracks with covered sections. It's an easy, flat road winding through the forest. Just a thought.

The Red Bus was a blast! I don't think you'll have a problem. Hope you don't

enzian

Going west to east on the GTTS road (from Lake McD toward St. Mary you are on the edge side up as far as Logan Pass. It is straight down . . . but there is a nice sturdy stone wall between you and the drop.

If you are seriously worried I suggest you take Starrs' advice and take the southern route on your eastbound trip, then return by way of the GTTS road when you be on the "inside" lane, away from the edge.

polly229

Think we will do the Evening Discovery Tour out of McDonald Lake the 31st (last day), which will give us plenty of time to get groceries in Kalispell and to the park, check in, maybe even take a short hike before the tour. That will give me an idea of what at least the first part of GTS is like. Then I can decide how I want to get to Many Glacier. Originally thought not to do Hwy. 2 at all because one of the other trips we've been talking about is a train trip, maybe taking the Empire Builder from Chicago to Portland or Seattle and stopping at East Glacier for a couple of days en route, which would be a good time to explore that part of the park and general area. But it's also possible that spending a week in the Glacier area will move that route down on the priority list and if we decide to do a train trip, it might be the CA Zephyr. So we really should do Hwy. 2 one way or the other just in case. I'll check out the wall Enzian mentioned. May conclude I should do it east to west but at least I don't have to decide that now, can wait till we get there and decide on the basis of actual evidence, not a wild guess. One of my worries in parks on mountains is how much of the road will actually be there. First time in Yellowstone a lot of the road from Roosevelt to Canyon appeared to have slid off the edge - pot holes I wouldn't have wanted to drive into. Thank goodness that had been repaved the next time I went and although there are always bad road sections, at least the ones I found on the second trip weren't on a mountainside. Obviously GTS isn't in excellent shape since they're apparently doing some major work. (Though maybe with the harsh winters and narrow roads they're always doing major work. I think so in Yellowstone, anyway.)

starrs

I think the construction is just maintenance.
We stayed at the bottom of the park on Hwy 2. We drove to and from East and West Glacier several times and it's a breeze to drive. Flat. Pretty scenery. No stress. They were doing repaving on a section and I'm sure the section being repaved will just move on down the road this summer.

We liked our location. We LOVED driving past Goat Lick Overlook so many times because we could stop and check out the goats. The best pics came right before dusk which was about 9pm.

If you like trains, stop at the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex. Turn off when you see the signs and take the little road through Essex to the Inn. It was built as lodging for the railroad workers and there's lots of railroad memorabilia there. Also busy, busy hummingbirds at the feeders on the back porch. We mostly just got out to stretch our legs and look around, but I would love to see the railway car rooms. Anyway, stop and check it out.
http://www.izaakwaltoninn.com/

Oh. We ate breakfast at a little place on Hwy 2 and the owners also sell the tix for the boat ride at Many Glacier. We bought the tix for the 2pm ride from them and were glad we did. Other breakfast guests were in the "stand by" line for the same boat ride. The boat ride was wonderful. We opted not to get out and take the hike at Lake Josephine - and were glad we didn't. The boat picked up some folks who had been on an earlier boat and hiked - and they had crossed paths with a bear. Actually the bear followed them on the trail for a while. I would have been terrified. The wife was wearing really sweet perfume and think the bear was just trying to figure out where the smell was coming from. But, they hooked up with 2 more people and then caught up with more people and it wasn't until there was a group of 8 on the trail that the bear decided to stop following and go back off in the woods. They had great closeup pics of the bear, but no thanks!

We grabbed stuff for dinner for two nights at East Glacier and liked the tiny town. Stop and look at the East Glacier Inn while you are there. The lobby signs advertising the spa sure was tempting. If you are stressed from the drive, you may want to treat yourself and get a massage.

We went from Hwy 2 to Babb on the "fast" route and then worked our way down to Many Glaciers and then later Two Medicine. The next day we headed west to West Glacier and Lake MacDonald. We reserved the jammer ride on the drive over and felt lucky to get a 10am reservation for that morning. At the time the GTTS road was not open. The opening was past due but the predictions were it would be open the next day. When the red bus got to Weeping Wall (and the current end of the road) rumors were flying that the road would open at noon. Benny turned the bus back around and we were one of the first vehicles past the barricade.
On the jammer we sat on the right, so going east from Lake MacDonald I was on the outside - the edge. The previous poster is correct, there is a very solid wall along the edge. I drove GTTS in the 80s and don't remember it being there. Maybe it was. But if you are scared of heights or being "on the edge", sit to the left in the jammer coming out of Lake MacDonald. We got to Logan Pass and then came back down on the same route. Our seatmates were late, so once again I was sitting on the outside coming back down. I didn't mind. I enjoyed it. I felt VERY safe on the jammer, and it was a treat to just sit back and enjoy the views and not stress about driving.

I agree that road construction will be going on somewhere in the NPs during the summer. There's just such a limited window of opportunity to do the repairs and maintenance. BUT, having said that, the roads in Grand Teton, Yellowstone and Glacier were in very good condition. The delays at Yellowstone were to build a new bridge.

Enjoy. I was looking forward to the trip but forgot how much I love the western parks. I'd go back in a second if I could - especially to escape the heat. Oh. In mid-June I was wearing a fleece sweatshirt in Glacier. Be sure to pack something warm.

John

Construction on GTSR is NOT just maintenance. It is a major overhaul and is a ten year project now in it's 4th year. Road was built in 1932 and has never had major work done, just simply "band aid" type work.
The work being presently done when complete hopefully will hold us, with minor maintenance, for another 40/50 years.

starrs

Sorry. I stand corrected.

polly229

Yes, I had read that there was a major redo in the works. Since the Park Service is chronically short of money, I suppose only the worst of the worst gets fixed. Hope they get it done in 10 years - I'm still waiting for the Hoover Dam bypass that I believe was originally scheduled to be completed in '06 (except they didn't get started till '05); next time we went, the signs said '08 and in '08 they said '10.

I will certainly take warm clothes since I have had to find a Walmart or buy an overpriced tourist sweatshirt in several parts of the west in late April and I don't need any more. I look at maps saying "road closed in winter" and think, "well, it's May, so the road will be open". I'm finally learning that if you're going to travel shoulder season, it could be better to aim for Sept. than May in numerous national parks - it might snow a bit but at least the Feb. accumulation will be gone. But I'd rather be heavy on warm clothes and have to buy lighter weight if I've packed wrong - cheaper and I can at least wear it again at home.

Like you, I have bear concerns. An ex-boyfriend of my daughter's told me about a hike on his day off one summer when he was driving a bus at Glacier and he and his companion were followed back to their car by a bear - for about an hour, 2 miles. I'd become one of those people who visits parks and never gets farther than the overlooks if I were followed for an hour. Husband is not much help about making noise; once when we were hiking about 5 mi. in an area near Yellowstone Grand Canyon that had several warning signs, one freshly handwritten, he barely said a word and I had to sing all the bear songs I know (except Teddy Bear's Picnic ) the whole way while struggling with the elevation change. But I thought that the Lake Josephine hike would be safe since there would probably be several other people fairly close by and I thought we'd do it. Rats! I've seen numerous bears in Denali from the bus or a viewing platform and bears in AK and Canada from a boat and I would love to see a bear or three in Glacier - from a bus, a boat, or a car.

I plan to reserve the Evening Discovery Tour in a week or two since our first day is the last day it's offered, but I thought I could book the boats after I get there. That way I'll have a better chance of avoiding rain (unless it rains the whole time). I wonder if I will have any trouble booking those trips the day before.

It's not that we're big fans of trains - last Amtrak experience was almost 25 years ago with a bunch of 6th graders going to Washington, DC - but read a couple of travel articles that talked about some of the scenic train trips and have a friend who has done many of them and is encouraging us. And having company from Tucson next week arriving by train; they like taking the train, so I will get their comments on it. But the Isaac Walton Inn sounds like it would be a nice stop, for the hummingbirds, if nothing else. Like to see western hummingbirds since they have so many kinds and we only have ruby-throated.