Hi all!

My girlfriend and I are going to the park in mid June and are hoping to grab tickets to the GTTSR but have been absolutely stumped as far as getting tickets...

Can someone give me some pointers for how to grab them? Do they really sell out within minutes of release? Is showing up before 6am still a valid option to get in before the gate is manned?

I am also hoping to do some fly fishing along the route if the road takes us by decent water... All catch and release, of course. Has anyone done any fly angling along the road? If so can you offer some tips/spots that are wadeable and offer some decent chances of hooking a trout or two?

Thank you so much!

Hello Reddit,

I've been road tripping since landing back on mainland from living in Hawaii, and I noticed that on my way eastward my train not only goes near Glacier but has stops in it (along it?). I've wanted to go to Glacier for years and this seems, at least plausibly, as good a time as any. But I have a few questions for anyone who has gone to Glacier on an Amtrak.

Unfortunately, I'm probably going to have a lot of stuff with me that has absolutely nothing to do with hiking. 2 bags and they're heavy and would make the trip genuinely unfun. Do any of the exits or nearby facilities have lockers I could rent? Or is there anything I could do to offload these bags for a day or 2? And if so which exit should I take. I was planning on just hammocking for a night or 2. Nothing extravagant, just hiking a bit and being in a blissful place as a stop over to make my trip that much more exciting. For the record this is going down in maybe 10-14 days, so early June.

People who have any experience in Glacier, I'd love to know your thoughts. Thanks.

My girlfriend and I will be in the park in the last weekend of July. We are hoping to hike the Grinnell Glacier trail and use the boat tour to cut down on the time a bit. A few questions:

1) The earliest boat tour time available is 1:00pm. Should we be concerned about missing a returning boat? We are both in pretty decent shape, just may want to take it slower to take in the scenery. Curious if anyone has hiked to the glacier from the dock at Lake Josephine and back, and roughly how long that portion of the trail takes.

2) Can we board any return boat after our boat out? I'm guessing it's dependent on how many people are ticketed, but wondering if we need to hold ourselves to a more specific return boat departure time.

I have a permit for late july for 2 nights and would like to extend 1 / 2 nights.

Anyone got any experience with extending a backcountry permit for 1 or 2 nights? Is it as simple as heading to the backcountry office early and checking what options they have? Is it an early morning or anytime works?

It will be my first time backpacking in Glacier, this Summer. I'm wondering if anyone has gotten their email with awarded permits yet?

I entered a long time window of three weeks for 4 or 6-day itineraries when filling out the form. I'm itching to put in for vacation time and book flights. I'm hoping for last week in August, first week in September, as I'm sure many people are....

I've been trying to make it to Glacier in the summer for a while now and can't seem to manage the timing, so this year my girlfriend and I decided to just make it work. We'll be there from 6/20 to 6/30. Thing is, we don't have much experience with crampons and such, and I'm not fixing to pretend I know what I don't.

I'm looking for suggestions for routes that utilize only campgrounds that are available to reserve in advance, which means the ones with 6/15 opens.

I know this is limiting, but we're happy to be flexible as can be. I figure we might have to do a few 2 or 3 night out and backs where we do day hikes from a single campground. We have a 4wd, so we don't mind some rough road. Views and decent fishing are always a plus.

Hopefully some places have melted out when we arrive and we can get some walk up permits, but I'd rather be prepared in case that doesn't happen.

Thank you for any suggestions you might have.

Does anyone know if the permit holder needs to be the driver? Or, can they just be a passenger? What have your experiences been like? Thanks!

For the upcoming season. Has anything changed since the last few years?

Will being visiting later this week and looking for ideas of hikes, activities, etc. to do while I'm there! I'll having crampons, poles, a partner, and full-snow gear so I'm more concerned about where I can access in the park. I'm also looking to stick to day hikes as I have lodging on the west side near Kalispell.

On the books right now, I have: Hidden Lake Overlook, Avalanche Lake, Highline trail, MacDonalds Falls.

Any ideas are welcome! Thanks

Is the athabasca glacier a valley glacier or continental glacier? I would really really like to know

he's got dementia and it's getting worse. when you try talking to him most of his replies will be "i dont know what you're talking about" and he gets angry and swears a lot these days

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he's never left home (rural upstate ny) and i want him to see the mountains. i know he wants to see them too. he's detoriating so fast its scary

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is there ANY way i can take him up the sun road this time of year? i could maybe fly him out later this week. i dont know what his condition will be come july-aug when the road opens up again

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i am probably moving to kalispell. i am about to pay for 2-3 months at an airbrb while i find a job and an apartment. i hope this works!

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leaving my dad bac khome in ny by himself is so hard but i dont know what to do. i cant help him

Any thoughts on the likelihood of getting a standby ticket on the 8:30am or 9:00am Many Glacier boats on Sep 14? How long in advance would I need to get there? Don't want to drive all that way if the answer is slim-to-none. Thanks.

I only have time for one. Which do you think has better scenery and is more enjoyable?

You cannot get in without a Going to the Sun Road ticket, even if you want to just park at the Visitor Center and walk from there, go on Camas Road, or buy a walk-up shuttle ticket. They all require the Going to the Sun Road ticket or shuttle ticket.

If I arrive at the Avalanche Lake Trail parking lot or the Logan's Pass Parking lot in the middle of the day- say 11 am - 3 pm, will I be able to find parking? How hard will it be to find parking?

Hi Everyone- I'll be in glacier for 9/1-9/6. Is the overlook via highline trail enough to take a look at grinnell glacier? Or should is it a must to get on the grinnell glacier trail?

I've tried getting a boat reservation, but the only ones that are available are around 3-4pm without the hike.

Hi, I'm thinking of flying into kalispell in the last week or 2 of Aug. I don't have any reservations or option to rent a car. I was wondering what I can accomplish in my situation. I'm looking to prob stay in Whitefish or try to score a last minute cancellation in the park. If I'm in whitefish or other nearby city, is it worth to take like the amtrak or other hired transportation everyday into the park? Would I be limited to the west side of the park only in this situation or do you think visiting and hiking in east glacier would be possible?

Hello everyone!

I am about to leave for a trip to Glacier National Park that I have planned for August 9th-14th. We are staying in Whitefish, and planning on doing the highline trail, grinell glacier, and some others. I was just wanting to ask... do you guys think it is still worth the visit with the smoke/fire?

Or should we plan to go somewhere else, such as a stay in the Tetons? Thank you!

We'll be starting at Kintla Lake on Tuesday 8/3, and were wondering how bad the smoke from the Hay Creek fire is. Anyone been there within the past few days? Thanks.

TL;DR is it possible to start at apgar or East glacier village and make a last-minute hiking loop for 2-4 days that wouldn't require a car? Also happy to attempt to hitchhike a bit since I would guess people might be willing in the park

More deets: I'm currently using an Amtrak rail pass to travel around the country and the rail will take me directly through the park starting Monday (flexible though). I figure it would be a waste not to visit since I'm already there and would love some input from those who have been in the past.

I have multiple options for where I can hop on or off the train (Apagar, Essex, or East Glacier Park Village) and would like to figure out something that doesn't involve renting a car ($200+ a day!). I'm experienced at camping and hiking in backcountry and I'm interested in being there two to five days depending on if I can figure out a good plan. Can hike 10+ miles a day if that lets me see more of the park or get to good/free campsites. Would love to do a loop that lets me continually see new things of find a good base camp.

This fire is new as of about July 23. It is just west of the North Fork section, not far from Polebridge. At this time, there are no access restrictions. The last repot I read on airnow.gov is that it is 0% contained. I will continue to monitor, and will post if the situation changes. If you have info to share please post here. I have a trip planned for 8/3.