Visiting Glacier National Park in 3 unique days
This unique 3 day itinerary to Glacier National park will provide plenty of time to experience the amazing nature and beautiful landscapes.
Glacier National Park is a beautiful place to vacation. From the scenic views, wildlife and endless trails to explore – Anyone will be able to enjoy their vacation getaway
What we loved most about visiting Glacier is the vast amount of remote trails that are available to hike. From quick walks off of the main road to backcountry trails, there are experiences for everyone will enjoy. Also, if hiking is not for you, take a boat tour on Lake McDonald to enjoy the beauty of Glacier at your own pace.
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Day 1: Arrive in Kalispell, Montana
Logistics
When booking a vacation, be sure to pick a flight that will land early enough in the day to enjoy time exploring Whitefish, Montana.
Flight
The most convenient airport to fly into for Glacier National Park is Glacier International Airport. Located 24 miles away from the Park’s west entrance, which makes this airport the closest to fly into for visiting the Park.
Rental Car
When visiting Glacier National Park, we recommend renting a car through Enterprise. The rental car service is offsite; however, Enterprise offers a complimentary shuttle service to take you to and from the airport.
Hotel
During your 3 day vacation to Glacier National Park, we recommend staying in two different hotels. On the first night of vacation, we recommend staying in is the Hampton Inn & Suites Whitefish. This town is conveniently located about 30 minutes away from the Park.
For the next two nights of the vacation, we recommend staying inside the park at the Lake Mcdonald Lodge. When booking accommodations at the lodge be sure to book well in advance as it is very popular and books up quickly. We loved staying on Lake Mcdonald. For our stay, we booked a small cabin that overlooked the lake and was right next to the main lodge.
Food
Dinner
To prepare for the adventure ahead, we enjoyed having dinner in downtown Whitefish at the Mackenzie River Pizza Co. Their unique pizzas were delicious and the brussel sprout side dish was absolutely amazing.
Bonus
One of our favorite drinks that we got to enjoy while visiting Glacier is the Rough Cut Hard Cider called Bear Food. We love a good cider and the Bear Food cider was one of the best ciders we have ever enjoyed.
Day 2: Glacier National Park
Activities
On the first official day in Glacier National Park, you will begin the day by entering the park via the famous Going to the Sun Road. When visiting the park, be sure to check if the Going to the Sun Road is fully open as it is closed most of the year due to extreme winter weather conditions that occur at the peak of the road.
Hiking
After arriving in the park, drive over to Avalanche Lake, a nice 4.5-mile roundtrip adventure. We loved this trail since it is not very strenuous, contains beautiful waterfalls and a gorgeous lake at the end of the hike. The Avalanche Lake hike is one of the more popular trails in the Park, so be sure to arrive early to ensure you will find a parking spot.
While hiking in Montana, we strongly recommend anyone to purchase Bear Spray before hiking. Bears are very common in Montana and you would rather have the Bear Spray on the trail than be stranded with no way to defend yourself.
Water Activities
At Lake Mcdonald lodge, you will find a variety of water activities for your enjoyment. Such as:
- Boat tour
- 8 hp motorboat rental
- Rowboat rental
- Paddleboat rental
- Double Kayaks rental
Exploring Glacier National Park is an excellent way to get fully immersed in the unique beauty of the Park.
Day 3: Glacier National Park
Activities
During your final day of vacation, we recommend staying around the Lake Mcdonald area to enjoy the sights that are within walking distance. Across the street from the Lodge, there are a variety of trails within the Sperry Trailhead network.
Located over 6 miles from the start of Sperry Trailhead is a chalet that was originally built in 1913 and consumed by a wildfire in 2017. During the trek, you will notice many trees that are still burned from the dangerous wildfire that spread throughout the region.
On our adventure, we decided to hike to Fish Lake, a 6-mile round trip hike to a remote lake. This hike is one of the less populated trails that we experienced. The fragile trees throughout this trail created a spooky hike that was very much worth the over 900 feet of elevation that was gain during the journey.
After the 6-mile hike, we recommend relaxing at the lodge and enjoying the final day in the Park. However, if you want a little more sightseeing, go check out the Sacred Dancing Cascade falls. We enjoyed walking over the bridge that spanned across the river in order to have the best view of the waterfall.
Need more convincing on why you should take a 3 day vacation? Check out our article here
