Glacier National Park

Established in May 1910, the park encompasses over 1 million acres (400,000 hectares), has over 130 named lakes, over 1,000 species of plants and hundreds of species of animals. With over 700 miles (1,120 kilometers) of trails, this park is a hiker’s paradise. Sadly, we did not plan enough time to hike.

We entered Glacier National Park from the eastern side by St. Mary Visitor Center. Getting here we encountered some construction and, unexpectedly, a herd of white cows and some wild horses.

We drove along the Going-to-the-Sun Road up to Logan’s Pass. This is one of the highlights of the park. It is a 50 mile (80 km) road spanning the park from the eastern entrance to the western entrance. Built during the Great Depression, this road winds along the mountainsides and has some of the best views. The road is also one of the most difficult roads in North America to snowplow in the spring. Up to 80 feet (24 m) of snow can lie on top of Logan Pass.

Once we reached Logan Pass Visitor Center at the top we turned around and headed back. The visitor center is located right on the Continental Divide. There is a sign but we didn’t want to wait in line to take our picture by it. #betterthingstodo

It was on the way down that Joel indulged my need to take hundreds (maybe even thousands…hehe) of pictures and he pulled over at almost every turnout along the way. Here are some more pictures from our drive (including a picture of the weeping wall from the other side…it should actually be called waterfall wall).

We ended up back at Saint Mary Lake, the second largest lake in the park. Wild Goose Island rises only about 14 feet (4.3 meters) yet is one of the most photographed views along the Going-to-the-Sun road. It is the tiny speck in the lake behind us.

We both kept saying this was a great way to spend the day. ❤️ After leaving the park we headed north into Canada…more to come in our next post.