An RV trip to Glacier National Park (boondocking)
Glacier National Park was a bucket list destination for our family, and it didn’t disappoint. It is now holding the place for #1 National Park for us!
We visited Glacier in August 2021 and feel this is a great time of year to go.
Much of the summer crowd has died down and the weather was great.
The only downside to our trip was all the smoke from nearby fires. Thankfully, our last day in the park was clear and we got to see the park fully and clearly, in all her glory!
Where we stayed
We travel in a 42 foot long fifth wheel, and were meeting up with friends for this trip. We decided to boondock outside the park, in a place we found on Campendium, and it was a great choice. Cell phone service was ok there, but it seemed to go out often, making it unreliable for working. Having Starlink next time will be a huge help!
(If you are unfamiliar with boondocking, it is simply camping without hookups. Read more our boondocking setup HERE)
We stayed in North Fork Rd Dispersed Camping in Columbia Falls, MT. It’s a large open area surrounded by gorgeous mountains. We loved staying here and met some really nice RVers who were neighbors during our stay. We were able to dump and fill tanks at the Conoco in town for a measly $5. We also found a stream nearby with cold, fresh mountain water that we utilized to fill gallons of water for drinking!
(We ran it through our Berkey filter before drinking. Use code: WANDER10 for 10% off your Berkey purchase HERE. )
What we did in Glacier National Park
**Some parts of Glacier NP use a reservation system from May-September to control crowds. You can learn more about that HERE.
The most well-known and beautiful part of Glacier is the famous Going-To-The-Sun Road, which requires reservations during peak season. We weren’t able to get a reservation until the third day we were there, even booking well in advance, so we looked in to things we could do without a reservation.
Not all entrances require a reservation, so the first day we entered through the Polebridge entrance and drove down quite a bumpy, twisty road to get to Bowman Lake. We brought in our inflatable kayaks for some fun one water. The Park Rangers did check the kayaks when we entered and we had to get a tag put on them signifying they had been inspected.
Our day at Bowman Lake was incredible. It was absolutely breathtaking, and we met up with some instagram friends there that became real life friends (@AdventurtunityFamily)! We enjoyed time on the water with them and even some IN the water (it was chilly). It’s a great way to spend time time in the park without a reservation, if you don’t mind trekking down a challenging road for a while to get there!
Reservations aren’t required after 4PM anywhere in the park, so the next day we drove in and explored Lake McDonald, which was a lot of fun! The crowds were gone and it was beautiful just relaxing by the lake. Lake McDonald is massive. It is the largest lake in the park so there are a lot of options for parking and hanging out.
Once we had reservations, we were able to spend more time in the park, but it was more crowded. We enjoyed Avalanche Lake Trail, which was 5.9 miles, and there was a bear spotted along the trail that we just missed. The trail led us to Avalanche Lake, which its a stunning site. We played in the water a bit and explored the lake. It was hazy from smoke, so we didn’t get the pristine views we’d seen in photos, but it was still an incredible feeling to be there in person.
On the way back, as we crossed a bridge over some beautiful emerald water, someone in our group decided they wanted to jump in the river, and we all decided to do it! It was a thrill and a cool experience we will never forget!
One of the most beautiful hikes we’ve ever done in ANY park would have to be the Hidden Lake Overlook hike. It’s a 2.9 miles hike round trip, but you can hike a longer distance to continue down to the lake. We would’ve loved to hike down to the lake, as we were told there was some cool wildlife by the lake, but we were battling 50-60 miles winds and it was pretty uncomfortable.
We decided to head back after snapping some photos of the stunning lake. The hike was full of colorful wildflowers with snow capped mountains in the background and presented one of the most stunning hiking backdrops we’ve ever witnessed.
**This section of Glacier requires a permit or to enter after 4pm.
We bought our e-bikes into the park one day and enjoyed a bike ride around the park, riding through Apgar Village and around Lake McDonald. The kids enjoyed skipping rocks on the lake and getting to see it from different viewpoints as we rode around. E-bikes really aren’t necessary in this area, as most of the bike trails follow the perimeter of the lake and is pretty flat.
Lake McDonald seemed to be the place we visited most in the park, as it was located not too far from the entrance (compared to some other spots) and wasn’t ever crowded when we would go in the later afternoons.
Driving down Going To The Sun Road is an insanely gorgeous drive. The views will leave you speechless and there are a lot of points to pull over, get out, and soak it all in. The day we drove the entire road, we saw a grizzly bear on the side of the road! It was our first grizzly sighting ever, so we will always remember that drive!
**This section of Glacier requires a permit
Glacier will always hold a special place in our hearts, and we can’t wait to return!
We want to do more hikes next time and experience even more of our favorite US national park!
Have you ever been? What is your favorite part? Let us know in the comments!