Anytime humans go out to play in nature, we know everything can change in an instant. And that includes the weather. We played in Glacier for 3 days, and we saw the exact same mountains, lakes, and waterfalls in totally different ways.
Glacier was pretty rainy while we were there, but that’s why it’s so green and that’s why it has so many phenomenal waterfalls. Perhaps my last post made it seem dreary – it was anything but.
The most amazing part, though, is that you can look out from a viewpoint on one day, and then the next day (or even the next hour) see it completely differently! I desperately want to make a philosophical statement here, but I’ll let you do that on your own.
I hiked to Hidden Lake on day 1; C tried to hike it on day 2 but got rained out, then successfully hiked it on day 3. The first photo below is the one that I took, the bottom 2 are the ones that C took. Just as he was about to leave the lake, it started to “turn” that gorgeous blue color. You can see hints of it on the bottom right picture.
Similarly, on day 2, we couldn’t see Jackson Glacier at all due to the clouds and rain. Day 3? No problem (pictures below are from Day 3, obviously). Plan to spend more than one day in this park so you don’t miss out on anything.
If you were wondering, the glaciers are disappearing… as depicted on the trash bins in the park. So if you wait years to go to Glacier, you’ll definitely see a different park.
On day 3, we also hiked to St. Mary Falls, which I highly recommend. It’s an easy, less than a mile, beautiful hike to a gushing waterfall. Perfection. It bears repeating that parking in Glacier is a bear (😂). Take the shuttle if at all possible or plan to drive up and down looking for a spot and possibly not getting to go on the hikes you want.
Glacier Park was the winner for our favorite park, overall. Better than the hoodoos in Bryce and the sunlit desert mountain views in Zion. Better than 5,000 year old trees and the southernmost glacier in the US at Great Basin. Better than the geysers and Grand canyon of the Yellowstone. Which are obviously all amazing parks. But Glacier even beats out Grand Teton which was breathtaking. Just go!
Next up: Theodore Roosevelt NP. While it was not on our original itinerary, we are so glad we stayed north and hit it up. It’s a tiny park that doesn’t get a lot of love, but if you’re looking for wildlife in the summer – Roosevelt is your park!
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(Photo credit: The featured photo at the top of the post was taken by my husband on his iphone 6s. How amazing is that?)
Trynia Kaufman 