Glacier National Park, in northern Montana, is a spectacular destination with jaw-dropping vistas, breathtaking hikes and incredible family-friendly things to do. But what is Glacier National Park like at the end of June/ early July? What is open? What trails are able to be hiked? And how do you plan what to see when everything depends on the weather?
These are the questions I was asking myself, when planning our own family’s trip to Glacier National Park at the end of June. And I was surprised by how little information I could find on what I may expect. This is why I wanted to share with you our own family’s experience at Glacier National Park in June. Below I’ll show you what we found open/closed, provide pictures of what it looked like for us and let you in on 10 incredible things that you can do in this amazing national park.
Now I know that every year the weather is different and that the conditions will vary, but I’m hoping that here I can give you some insight into what you may encounter, so that you are better able to plan your own fantastic trip to Glacier National Park.
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK OVERVIEW- TOP AREAS
- West Glacier: on the west side of the park near the West Entrance
- The Apgar Visitor Center – Just past the West Entrance
- Apgar Village – There is food, lodging and camping here.
- Lake McDonald – There is a beautiful in park lodge here.
- Trail of Cedars/ Avalanche Lake Hike
- Going-to-the-Sun Road: This is the insanely scenic road that traverses the park from West Glacier to St. Mary.
- The lower portions of this road are open year-round. The upper portion (that crosses the mountains) does not usually open until late June.
- Click for Past Opening Dates (For our family in 2021, this road opened June 25th.)
- Important: The Going-to-the-Sun Road is fully open to vehicle traffic until October 1, 2022. The G-T-S-R will close on the west side from Apgar to Logan Pass on October 1. The G-T-S-R will remain open from St. Mary to Logan Pass until October 16, weather permitting.
- Logan Pass: This is the highest spot in the park, accessible by a vehicle.
- This is located along the Going-to-the-Sun Road, where it crosses the Continental Divide at 6646 feet.
- There is a big parking lot, Logan Pass Visitor Center and several hiking trailheads here such as Hidden Lake Trail and Highline Trail.
- This is a very busy spot in the park.
- Rising Sun: Located on the east side of the park, along the Going-to-the-Sun Road, next to St. Mary Lake.
- St. Mary Visitor Center is located here on the east side of the park along with some beautiful trails.
- Many Glacier: Accessed through a separate entrance on the northeast side of Glacier National Park. This is a popular alternative or addition to the Going-to-the-Sun Road due to its spectacular views and breathtaking hikes.
- Two Medicine: Accessed through a separate entrance, south of St. Mary on the east side of the park.
- This is also a popular alternative to the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
- Goat Haut: Accessed from Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada or from an overnight backpacking trip in Glacier.
- Visiting this area requires entering Canada and needs a passport.
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK MAP
10 FANTASTIC THINGS TO DO IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
(in Late June/Early July)
So now that you are a little more oriented to the top areas of Glacier National Park, let’s take a look at 10 fantastic things to do on your trip!
(This list starts on the West side of the park and goes to the East.)
1. LAKE MCDONALD
Lake McDonald is the largest lake in Glacier National Park and it’s absolutely gorgeous! This glacial carved lake is 10 miles long and nearly 500 feet deep. With crystal clear waters and a breathtaking mountain backdrop, Lake McDonald is a great stop to add to any trip to Glacier National Park.
Lake McDonald is located on the west side of Glacier National Park, and at the beginning of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. This is a beautiful introduction to this stunning national park and it’s open year-round. Near Lake McDonald you can find several hiking trails, boat rental options, campgrounds, lodging, food and the Apgar Visitor Center.
What We Did
We arrived in West Glacier in the late afternoon (we had driven from Yellowstone.) We checked into our hotel. (We stayed at the Great Northern Resort Lodge and really enjoyed it.) And then we drove to the Apgar Village. (You’ll go through the West Entrance into the park to reach the Apgar Village, so keep that in mind if there are tickets needed to enter. When we visited in 2021, tickets were only needed between the hours of 6am-5pm. We entered at 5:30pm)
In the Apgar Village we ordered our dinner to go (due to Covid) from Eddies Cafe, found some benches (off to the right) along the lake and enjoyed our dinner with a fantastic view!
This was the perfect way to start our Glacier National Park Adventure!
2. TRAIL OF CEDARS/ AVALANCHE LAKE
The Trail of Cedars/ Avalanche Lake hike is a 5.9 mile wooded, out and back trail, with an absolutely stunning finish!
The trailhead is located 15.7 miles from the West Entrance and about a 30 minute drive. There is parking along the right of the road right after the trailhead or in the Avalanche Creek Picnic area just before the trailhead. This trail is extremely popular and the parking spots fill up fast, so if you arrive later in the morning you will probably need to circle several times before a parking spot opens up.
The Trail of Cedars/ Avalanche Lake hike is in a lower elevation (near Lake McDonald) and therefore it is one of the first major hikes that is accessible in the summer. The Trail of Cedars is wheel-chair accessible and can be walked as a 0.7 mile loop by itself. This portion of the trail goes past some of the parks most impressive trees, including Western Red Cedar, Black Cottonwood, and Western Hemlock. But to see the stunning vista above you’ll need to hike the 2.3 mile one way wooded trail to Avalanche Lake.
Our Experience
Avalanche Lake is absolutely gorgeous! It’s picture perfect!
But honestly, the 5 mile roundtrip wooded hike to get there and back can feel really long. Most of the hike to the lake is slightly uphill and the scenery along the way, although pretty, doesn’t change a lot. The hike to Avalanche Lake is a nice wooded hike, but my youngest, being 10, had a harder time with this monotony of trees and the consistent slightly uphill climb for almost 2.5 miles. So keep this in mind if you are traveling with children. (But luckily this also means that the way back is primarily downhill and that was really nice for our tired legs.)
Avalanche Lake
When we reached Avalanche Lake, to me, it was so worth it! I can completely see why people rank this as one of the best hikes in Glacier National Park. The scenery at Avalanche Lake is simply unreal.
Once we reached the lake, we found a small beach area with benches were we relaxed, had a snack and enjoyed this spectacular scenery.
Hiking Tip: Due to the high number of bears in Glacier National Park, if you plan on hiking, make sure you bring bear spray with you so that you can hike safely.
There is also a pit toilet right before you reach the lake here too. (I love when longer trails have some type of toilet along the way.)
After resting and enjoying the scenery at this first area, we then continued further down the trail as it follows alongside the lake, for more stunning viewpoints. From here, the trail ends and we retraced our steps back.
Avalanche Lake Trail, combined with Trail of Cedars, took our family about 3 hours to hike (this includes 45 minutes of resting and relaxing down at Avalanche Lake.)
So if you are traveling to Glacier National Park in June and are looking for a great hike on the west side of the park, that will most likely be open, definitely check out the hike to Avalanche Lake.
3. GOING-TO-THE-SUN ROAD
The Going-to-the-Sun Road is the insanely scenic road that traverses Glacier National Park from West Glacier to St. Mary. This road is 50 miles long and takes approximately 2 hours to drive, without stops, but honestly driving this road will probably take most of the day if you plan on stopping at view points and doing some hiking.
The Going-to-the-Sun Road climbs to an elevation of 6,646 feet (at Logan Pass) and is closed due to snow during the winter. Historically, this road has opened at the end of June/ early July. For our family, in 2021, the Going-to-the-Sun Road opened on June 25th, the day we arrived.
Important Information Before You Drive
Before you begin your adventure on this amazing road, know that there are no gas stations within the park and that food & lodging are only at the Apgar Village and Lake McDonald Lodge (on the west side) and the Rising Sun area (on the east side of the park.) Also, if your vehicle is more than 21 feet long, 8 feet wide or 10 feet tall then you will not be able to drive on this narrow alpine road.
GOING-TO-THE-SUN ROAD HIGHLIGHTS
Tunnel View
At mile 23, about 0.5 mile before “The Loop” hairpin, there is a tunnel that features two extremely picturesque windows of the Upper McDonald Creek Valley. To get a closer look, just park in the pullout right before the tunnel (when heading west to east) and you’ll see a sidewalk that will take you into the tunnel to this gorgeous window view. (See picture above)
“The Loop” Switchback
The Loop Switchback is a must-stop destination, if you can find parking in the small lot beside the road. From here you can see Heaven’s Peak which stands at 8,987 feet. This is also the start of Loop trail, a popular hike that connects with Granite Park Chalet and the Highline Trail.
Traveler Tip: There are restrooms at “The Loop.”
Haystack Falls
Four miles past “The Loop,” going east, in Haystack Falls. I thought this waterfall was extremely picturesque as it descends under an archway built into the road. What an engineering marvel!
The Weeping Wall
One mile after Haystack Falls is the Weeping Wall. The picture above is from late June, where the melting snow drenches the road. But later in the summer, this will only be a trickle of water. I really like the view of the Weeping Wall while driving east to west. I think the mountain scenery in the background while looking this direction is incredibly beautiful.
The scenery all along the Going-to-the-Sun Road is insanely beautiful, so make sure you have your camera out and ready throughout your entire drive.
Jackson Glacier
Five miles east of Logan Pass (which I’ll discuss next) is the pullout to view Jackson Glacier. This is the most easily viewable Glacier in the park and it’s the 7th largest in Glacier National Park.
4. LOGAN PASS
Logan Pass is located 32 miles from the west entrance of the Going-to-the-Sun Road and it is the highest point accessible by vehicle, at 6,646 feet. It also sits on the Continental Divide and the panoramic views here are spectacular!
Here at Logan Pass you’ll find a huge (and incredibly busy) parking lot, Logan Pass Visitor Center and the start to several popular hiking trails like Hidden Lake and Highline Trail.
Logan Pass is also a great place to spot bighorn sheep, mountain goats and even a marmot. You may find these animals wandering by the parking lot or even in the road so keep a watch out for them. When we were at Logan Pass, we saw a marmot wandering near the stairs to the visitor center, a mountain goat nibbling on some grass right next to the parking lot and we actually saw a small herd of bighorn sheep cross the parking lot and run down the Going-to-the-Sun Road itself, before exiting up the mountainside!
5. HIDDEN LAKE TRAIL (in Late June)
Hidden Lake Trail to the Overlook is a 2.9 mile hike that begins just behind the Logan Pass Visitor Center. This is a spectacular trail! Yet, before our trip I had a hard time finding any information about whether or not it could be hiked in the end of June, and so below I want to share with you our experience.
First, this trail is absolutely gorgeous!! And if you are able to hike it, I would put this high on your list.
Our family hiked to the Hidden Lake Overlook on June 25th, 2021. This was the first day that the Going-to-the-Sun Road was opened this year, and yes there was a lot of snow on this trail, but it was in fact hikeable, even for Floridians like ourselves.
The trailhead to Hidden Lake is extremely easy to find. Just follow the sidewalk that goes past the Visitor Center and you can’t miss it. This sidewalk, then turns into a boardwalk that crosses a small grassy area. Keep your eyes peeled here for bighorn sheep. This is an area that they like to graze in and hang out. When we visited, they were everywhere!
Bighorn Sheep
Below is a picture of what the boardwalk looks like on this portion of the trail. And yes, this is also where we saw even more bighorn sheep. Hopefully you’ll get to see them here too!
After the boardwalk, is a decently steep (in snow) hill and the path was only marked with big yellow poles. At this point I almost turned around. I am not used to snow at all, growing up in Florida, and I wasn’t sure about making this trek up a hill through the snow. But my husband and kids encouraged me on and I’m glad I kept going.
So Much Snow!
As you can see, there were a lot of people hiking this snow-covered trail, and this was at 7am! People really do start exploring early here. (One warning, later in the day when the full sun is out, this snow would probably get icy and make this trail much harder to hike. So if you want to hike to Hidden Lake in late June, I would advise you to go as early as you can.)
What I learned, while hiking through the snow here, was to just go slow, take my time and watch where I stepped. Most people around us were going slow too. (This is one place where hiking poles and traction cleats for our shoes would have been extremely useful. Unfortunately we had neither of these items when we went, but we saw that the people who did have them were walking as normal as could be through this snowy uphill trail.) But luckily, my three boys were tromping through the snow just fine and we were all able to make it to the overlook at Hidden Lake.
Along the way the scenery was absolutely fantastic! Below is a small lake that we passed alongside our trail.
Beautiful Scenery
And then we made it to the overlook and it was breathtaking! (The first picture under this section is also from the overlook, but looking a different direction.)
To top off our adventure, while at the overlook, our family spotted 3 marmots scurrying around and we had two mountain goats pass almost directly behind us while we were standing on the overlook platform, admiring the scenery.
After soaking up this incredible scenery, we then retraced our steps back towards Logan Pass Visitor Center. Now remember that the majority of the hike to the overlook was slightly uphill, and while I didn’t think about this on our way to the overlook, I realized on the way back that walking slightly downhill in snow is much harder. Again, we just went slow.
The trail to Hidden Lake Overlook is absolutely spectacular! I hope that this information will let you better decided whether or not this is a hike that you would like to try in late June. (Again, weather conditions will vary, but hopefully this gives you some idea of what you may find.)
6. ANIMALS OF GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
One of the best things to do at Glacier National Park is to look for some of the amazing animals that live here!
Here’s a few of our Animal Highlights in Glacier National Park and where we found them.
Hiking Tip: Due to the high number of bears in Glacier National Park, if you plan on hiking, make sure you bring bear spray with you so that you can hike safely.
Glacier National Park is also a great park to invest in a zoom lens for your camera so that you can keep a good distance between yourself and the wildlife, and yet still get amazing pictures.
7. MANY GLACIER AREA
The Many Glacier area, on the east side of Glacier National Park, is one of my favorite areas in the entire park. Away from the crowds, Many Glacier feels so peaceful, so quiet and it’s absolutely gorgeous!
To get to Many Glacier, head north on US-89N for 8.5 miles from St. Mary Village to the town of Babb. Then turn left onto Rte 3. In 7.5 miles you will enter the Many Glacier Entrance into the Park.
Once you enter into the park, make sure you keep an eye out for animals. On this short 4 mile stretch from the entrance to the Many Glacier Hotel is where we saw a Grizzly Bear twice (the same one, according to the Ranger, on two different days), a Moose and a Red Fox.
The Many Glacier area is perfect to just sit, relax and admire the awe-inspiring views near the lodge or even take one of the many strolls around these gorgeous lakes. Yet, this area also has my favorite Glacier National Park hikes, including the breathtaking Grinnell Glacier Trail. (Which is the next highlight on our list.)
8. GRINNELL GLACIER TRAIL (in Late June)
Grinnell Glacier Trail is an absolutely stunning hike in the Many Glacier area. Yet, when our family arrived, in the end of June, we learned that the Grinnell Glacier hike was only open for the first 3 miles. We almost changed our plans. Yet the hotel staff recommended that we still should hike it because the scenery was out of this world. They also mentioned that we could combine it with the Grinnell Lake hike and even add the small spur trail to Hidden Falls. This is what our family did and it was spectacular! Combining Grinnell Glacier Trail (for 3 miles) with Grinnell Lake created a fantastic 9.3 mile family-friendly hike and we highly recommend looking into this option.
Below I will show you what the Grinnell Glacier Trail looked like for us on June 26th, 2021. Again, I realize that the weather will be different every year, but I’m hoping that this can give you a glimpse as to what you may find during this time of year.
The Trail
The first part of this hike is pretty flat and follows alongside Swiftcurrent Lake. From here the trail then follows alongside Lake Josephine. (There are boats here that you can take across to cut down the mileage of this trail, but we didn’t do this. The walk along this portion of the trail is very easy and it is so beautiful.)
Once we passed Josephine Lake we began our climb up Grinnell Glacier Trail. The trail here climbs about 450 feet in just one mile.
Hiking Tip: Due to the high number of bears in Glacier National Park, if you plan on hiking, make sure you bring bear spray with you so that you can hike safely.
For our family, at the end of June, Grinnell Glacier Trail was open for the first 3 miles. And our hotel was right, the scenery was simply breathtaking! And the viewpoint of Grinnell Lake (see below) was absolutely spectacular! (This viewpoint was near our turnaround point.)
Yet, even at this turn around point, there was no snow on the trail here and it was actually warm enough that we all ditched our jackets. This was something that I had not expected, especially since the trail was closed at the 3 mile mark. (I’m still not completely sure why this trail was closed where it was.) But just know this, even if you hear that part of this trail is closed when you are visiting, it is still completely worth it to hike the portion that is open.
9. GRINNELL LAKE TRAIL (in Late June)
From Grinnell Glacier Trail we retraced our steps off the mountainside and just followed the signs to Grinnell Lake. This is a fun and easy walk. I really liked all of the unique boardwalks, picturesque paths and the “one person at a time” swinging bridge to cross.
The Trail to Grinnell Lake
Grinnell Lake was very peaceful, beautiful and a great place to just sit and take in this amazing landscape. Or, if you are like my three boys, Grinnell Lake was a fantastic place to play in the snow! This was a huge highlight for us, being from Florida and only seeing snow when we travel.
After our relaxing rest at Grinnell Lake we began our trek back. But on the way we checked out the little side trail, near the lake, to see Hidden Falls.
Hidden Falls is a great waterfall that lies hidden among the rocks. It does require climbing some stairs to get to it, but I thought it was worth it to make this short extra trek.
Hiking Tip: There is a bathroom by Josephine Lake near the boat dock for your convenience.
For our family, our hike from the Many Glacier Hotel for 3 miles of the Grinnell Glacier Trail, then to Grinnell Lake, and stopping at Hidden Falls on the way back, made for a spectacular 9.3 mile family-friendly hike. This hike took our family a total of 6 hours but we were only walking for 4 hours and 20 minutes of this time. This is an absolutely fantastic hike and we highly recommend checking it out! And even though our legs were extremely tired by the end of the 9 miles, we all felt that this gorgeous hike was completely worth it.
10. PLAY IN THE SNOW IN JUNE!!
Again, this may go back to the fact that our family is from Florida and we only get to see snow when we travel. But Glacier National Park was an amazing place to see snow in June. Now granted, there was a lot less snow here than I had been expecting, but we still did see a bunch and our boys were able to have a blast playing in it.
For our family, we saw the most snow by far up at Logan Pass and on Hidden Lake Trail. There was so much snow up here that the top rated trail of Glacier National Park, Highline Trail, was completely closed due to the snow. (Highline Trail would have definitely made my top 10 list if it had been open, but unfortunately it’s not usually open at the end of June/ early July.) So if you are traveling during this time, you’ll unfortunately, probably have to miss this highlight.
But for our three boys, the snow itself at Logan Pass was an amazing highlight. (The snow at Grinnell Lake was great too, but there was a lot less here than up at Logan Pass.) In fact, our three boys had been looking forward to seeing snow in Glacier National Park for weeks! Sometimes it’s the little things that kids end up remembering the most, and for our family, the snow up at Logan Pass was one of those incredible, memorable moments.
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK RESOURCES:
What I Saw in Glacier: A Kid’s Guide to the National ParkGLACIER NATIONAL PARK DRIVING TIMES & DISTANCES
- From West Glacier to St. Mary Village (Going-to-the-Sun Road): 2 hours (50 miles)
- If it is not open, you can still see sites on each side of the park, yet you will have to drive around using US Hwy 2 to Hwy 89 (85 miles, yet still about a 2 hour drive.)
- Check out where the plows are currently here.
- St. Mary to Many Glacier: 40 minutes (20 miles)
- St. Mary to Two Medicine Valley: 1 hour (34 miles)
- From St. Mary to Waterton Lakes National Park: 1 hour + Custums delays (50 miles)
OUR FAVORITE GEAR FOR GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
(This is my favorite hiking shoe.)
(Perfect for refilling everyone’s water bottle on longer hikes.)
(This is one item I’ll never hike without.)
POPULAR TOURS NEAR GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
Have a Great Trip to Glacier National Park with Your Traveling Feet!
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2 comments
So enjoyed your pics and tips for hiking in June at GNP. My husband and I just got lodging at Many Glacier next June2023. Will definitely do the hikes you described. Based on yr experiences, I think we will start on West side at Lake MacDonald and do the hike ( populated one). The pics are amazing and I will remind myself that the crowds will be lovely compared to later in summer! Thanks again.
I really enjoyed your itinerary and comments. My husband and I are going for 3 days in early July 2024 and have reservations at Swiftcurrent Inn. While we won’t be with kids, he does have a bad knee so “family friendly” hikes are preferred until he gets surgery. Thanks again for all the details! Happy Travels!