Jackson and Glacier NP

medicfernando

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Posts
101
Location
Salt Lake City
We will be heading up to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone on August 24th. Will be there in the Gros Ventre are for two nights then off to Glacier NP for the next 5 nights. After that to Stanley Idaho for 3 nights via a stop in Couer D'Alene for a night. If anyone is in any of those areas, say hello. Will post report and pics after the trip. Cheers
 
just a heads up, there is a fire happening around stanley right now. we had planned on heading that way this weekend, but decided against it as the wife wants pix and the last 2 times weve been through that area, the smoke from fires happening at the time kinda ruined the photos she got.

not sure what part of stanley you were planning on staying, but redfish lake camp area and lodge has been evacuated as of 7-24 and I havent heard any updates. i also heard there are temporary road closures to give right of way to fire personel, but nothing permanent. they did say to avoid the road if possible, but were very explicit in saying that there is still LOTS of places to camp/stay and not to avoid staying in the area. i think they are worried about losing bussiness. i would really hope the fire is out by the time your going to roll through, but it is fire season here and its extremely dry right now. just something to keep an eye on.

the sawtooths are absolutely beautiful, theres also a lot of natural hotsprings in that area, hopefully they get the fires out soon.

let us know the dates you plan on actually being in the stanley area. we could easily pop in and say hi if the dates jive.
 
Be careful out there! I'm subscribed to the Facebook updates for YNP and Glacier, and there have been quite a few reports of deaths or serious injuries recently, from climbers falling to a family of three getting hit by lightning in Glacier. Crazy.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. Unfortunately areas around Stanley seems to burn every year. Sounds like this one is actually close. If necessary we will alter our return route. We are always definitely careful and safe as possible without altering our ability to still have fun and adventure. Thanks again
 
Bring your passport, when your in Glacier you'll be so close to Waterton NP. When you do the "Going to the sun road" over to St Marry's you can take the Chief Mountain Hwy up into Waterton, its worth a few hour stop there.
 
gnty said:
Bring your passport, when your in Glacier you'll be so close to Waterton NP. When you do the "Going to the sun road" over to St Marry's you can take the Chief Mountain Hwy up into Waterton, its worth a few hour stop there.

And do the drive into the Many Glacier area. Beautiful up there! The campground is first-come, first-served, and often fills up in the morning, but it's in a really nice location. We couldn't get a spot, which was a bummer.

I couldn't convince my wife to do the short drive up into Canada (10 miles or so from the Many Glacier road). I wanted to get my son into Canada for his first time, even if we just drove over the border and back again. My wife pointed out (probably rightly) that it might take us a long time to get back into the USA if Customs wanted to go through all the cabinets in our van. So, we skipped it.
 
BrianW said:
And do the drive into the Many Glacier area. Beautiful up there! The campground is first-come, first-served, and often fills up in the morning, but it's in a really nice location. We couldn't get a spot, which was a bummer.

I couldn't convince my wife to do the short drive up into Canada (10 miles or so from the Many Glacier road). I wanted to get my son into Canada for his first time, even if we just drove over the border and back again. My wife pointed out (probably rightly) that it might take us a long time to get back into the USA if Customs wanted to go through all the cabinets in our van. So, we skipped it.

Very beautiful area! You were soooo close, to bad you weren't able to make the extra few minutes over the border or even the short drive to Waterton, your chances are actually much better that customs would not have done anything but asked a few questions. Are you back in Philly? I spent a couple years there, great area!
 
gnty said:
BrianW said:
And do the drive into the Many Glacier area. Beautiful up there! The campground is first-come, first-served, and often fills up in the morning, but it's in a really nice location. We couldn't get a spot, which was a bummer.

I couldn't convince my wife to do the short drive up into Canada (10 miles or so from the Many Glacier road). I wanted to get my son into Canada for his first time, even if we just drove over the border and back again. My wife pointed out (probably rightly) that it might take us a long time to get back into the USA if Customs wanted to go through all the cabinets in our van. So, we skipped it.

Very beautiful area! You were soooo close, to bad you weren't able to make the extra few minutes over the border or even the short drive to Waterton, your chances are actually much better that customs would not have done anything but asked a few questions. Are you back in Philly? I spent a couple years there, great area!

I wanted to, but my wife nixed it. We wanted to make sure we had enough time to drive home and still see things en route. We'll probably head up to Niagara Falls or something to "bag" Canada for my son.

Yes, back in Philly now.
 
Great suggestions, thanks everyone. We plan to take the passports and go into Canada. We were thinking of trying to get a spot at the Apgar campground. Any other suggestions on nice campgrounds would be appreciated. Any other must do's or must see's? Thanks again
 
We liked Apgar for its convenience in being able to get into Apgar Village on our bikes for ranger talks, ice cream at night, the shuttle transit center, etc. Was nice to leave the SMB parked and easily ride our bikes places. There's even a bike path that goes to West Glacier. It does seem to attract the bigger RVs, though, as the sites are arranged in such a way that you park parallel to the campground loop roads, making it easier for trailers and whatnot. See the attached photo below. Kind of like just parking on the shoulder of a road, rather than pulling into a site that is perpendicular to the road. Also, if you are on the left side of the loop, your side doors will open toward the road rather than the campsite, unless you turn your van around (against traffic). Maybe other loops were different, I didn't notice. Not the most private of sites, but we weren't there much anyway. It's also one of the only CGs that can be reserved, but we got a site for two nights just by showing up.

The other campgrounds on the west side of Going to the Sun Hwy are very nice, and more private. But they don't really have much around them as far as facilities go. Our 8-year-old son was with us, so having ranger activities, ready access to huckleberry ice cream, the ability to swim in Lake McDonald (see pic), etc., was a plus at Apgar :a3:

Sprague Creek is a small, private-feeling CG right on the lake, but it fills up quickly. I did see another SMB camped there when we were driving through looking for a site, but nobody was "home" to talk to. Avalanche CG has some nice hiking nearby. I've stayed there in the past and it was a nice CG.
 

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