The Perfect 3-Day Glacier National Park Itinerary
Glacier National Park is located in Northwestern Montana and is a destination to quench your adventurous thirst. Trails, check. Views, check. Wildlife, check. History, check. No wonder that this park is consistently ranked in top 10 lists of national parks in the US. The factors that play into Glacier being an amazing park that it is are : Diversity in views and activity and plenty of options for various levels of activity, Access to the park itself as well as the options for accommodation and food.
Montana in itself is a beautiful state that is spread across the northern US, and is the 4th largest state by area. The state is filled with mountains, glaciers and canyons, so much so that the Spanish literally named it after the Spanish word Montana, meaning mountains.
In this note we will be covering all the three aspects that we introduced you to about the park and provide some tips, interesting places to visit as well as restaurant recommendations so that you can get inspired to make a trip to this beautiful paradise this summer!
Access to the Park & Best Time to visit
By Road
The drive to West Entrance from Seattle/Portland is about 10 hours non-stop with a bulk of the drive on Interstates. The roads are in very good condition and should be a breezy drive. When you do get tired on this long road trip, there are several large cities that you can do a pit stop in, including our favorite recommendation: Spokane WA.
We were truly blessed, that for this trip we partnered with Toyota USA to test out their latest Plugin Hybrid – The RAV4 Prime. This car is just so fantastic with every possible feature a modern tech laden car can boast of. You should definitely check out this car and shout out to Toyota for working with us on this!
By Air
The nearest airports to West Entrance are :
- Kalispell, MT which is about 30 miles away.
- Missoula, MT which is around 150 miles away.
By Train
Yes, this park is so amazing, it has 3 Amtrak stations for the iconic Empire Builder Train. The Empire Builder runs between Chicago and Seattle/Portland and offers really amazing views on the observation deck all through the journey. Be sure to seriously check out this option if you are ready for some extra adventure.
Best Time to visit
Early July to Early September is when you can expect all the roads and trails to be open in the park. June is when facilities begin to open in the park, but expect snow on most trails and the Going to the Sun Road to be closed in some sections. Usually in the previous years, the Going to the Sun Road is fully open to drive on the July 4th long weekend but this year we got unlucky and the road was still closed. We were initially disappointed but then we made the most of it by exploring areas/hikes of the park which we would not have explored given that we only had 3 full days. This also gives us a reason to go back to our favorite national park. So if this is your case, do not worry as this park is so big and beautiful, you will surely make most of it.
Going to the Sun Road Access
What You Need to Know About Glacier’s 2025 Entry Permits :
If you’re visiting Glacier National Park between June 13 and September 28, 2025, a timed entry vehicle reservation is required for:
- West side of Going-to-the-Sun Road
- North Fork area between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.
To enter these areas during that time, you’ll need two things:
- A timed entry vehicle reservation or proof of a service reservation (like a campsite, lodge, boat tour, or horseback ride in that area)
- A Park Entrance Pass (or valid Annual, Senior, Military, or other National Park Pass)
- If you already have an activity booked inside the reservation area, that counts — no need for a separate vehicle reservation.
🕗 Want to Avoid Reservations?You can enter before 7 a.m. or after 3 p.m. without one.
🚗 How & When to Book
- Reservations open 120 days in advance on a rolling basis starting February 13, 2025 at 8 a.m. MST
- Next-day reservations release daily at 7 p.m. MDT, starting June 12, 2025
- All reservations must be made through Recreation.gov (https://www.recreation.gov/timed-entry/10087086)
💡 Tip for rental cars: When booking your entry pass on Recreation.gov, just select “Rental Vehicle” — no license plate number is needed.
*Please check the national park website for most up-to date and accurate information.
Many Glacier Construction Closure for 2025
Due to extremely limited parking during construction in the Swiftcurrent area, personal vehicle access into Many Glacier will be restricted from July 1-September 21, 2025. A temporary shuttle service will be provided for hikers wanting to access the area – https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/mg-construction-2025.htm
Where to Stay
There are several options for accommodation in and around the national park.
- Lodges inside the park – West Glacier, Many Glacier, St Mary’s have a lodge within themselves, which are really amazing to look at and have a very interesting history about the lodges themselves.
- If you are feeling like gazing at the night sky with trees as your background, you likely will enjoy camping, and there is no better national park to camp in then Glacier National Park. Checkout recreation.gov for camping grounds on West Glacier and East Glacier side, but do bear in mind, that these get reserved ay in advance.
- Airbnb is your next best option if you would like to still carve out an oasis during your trip and there are plenty of small to mid size towns near west glacier like Kalispell and Whitefish, that have plenty of convenience stores, gas stations etc.
We choose to stay at a Airbnb Near Essex, halfway between East and West Glaciers as it provided a good mix of seclusion and access to amenities.
Day 1 : West Glacier
After an Early start to the day, we head to West Glacier Entrance Via Apgar towards Lake McDonald.
Lake McDonald offers Stunning views of the Mountain ranges that shaped the glaciers and this landscape, a part of the American Rocky Mountain ranges. This 10 mile long is the biggest and deepest lake of the national park and is truly spectacular for the scenery. Some of the recommended viewing spots for the lake are from Apgar Visitor Center and Lake McDonald Lodge itself on the northern edge of the Lake.
Lake McDonald is also where Going to the Sun road starts from the West Glacier side. In terms of activities we highly recommend doing the Avalanche Lake Hike and Trail of the Cedars Loop which is adjacent to the Avalanche Lake Hike. When you reach the end of this trail you will truly understand why this park is called Glacier National Park. One of the most studied Glaciers, the Sperry Glacier sits between the mountain range and the lake here and you will be awestruck by the sheer size and magnificence of it. John’s Lake loop is another short trail that will loop around lake McDonald is extremely family friendly.
Unfortunately for us, Avalanche is the furthest we could go as Going to the Sun road was closed beyond this point as there was fresh snowfall in June! Yes the weather is quite crazy here and be ready to make adjustments to your plan. Fortunately for you, we had researched things to do on the remaining stretch of GTSR so follow along for tips and viewpoints.
After a tiring day of hiking, we still had some energy left for a mini-adventure in the form of a self guided boat tour of lake McDonald. Apgar campground has a boat rental store where you can rent motored boats, paddle boats and kayaks for very reasonable prices. We picked a motor boat to sail around Lake McDonald for a few hours as we munched on our protein bars and kept ogling at the mountains and the glaciers nestled between them.
Day 2 : Going to the Sun Road
Although we couldn’t enjoy the entirety of the 50 miles of Going to the Sun road, we are listing some of the highly rated attractions on this road. We recommend spending an entire day exploring viewpoints, trails and scenic bylanes to get the most out of your Glacier National Park experience.
View points & Attractions to Stop at :
- Redrock
- West Tunnel
- The Loop and Heaven’s Peak
- Big Bend
- Haystack Falls and Bird Woman FallsLogan Pass Viewpoint
- Weeping Wall
- Logan Pass Visitor Center
- Lunch Creek
- Siyeh Bend and Creek
- Jackson Glacier Overlook
- Sun Point
- Wild Goose Island Overlook
- St. Mary Visitor Center
We were, however able to enter Going to the Sun Road from St Mary Entrance on Day 2 and were able to go furthest till Jackson Glacier Overlook from this end.
One of the highly recommended trails on this side of the GTSR is the St.Mary Falls and Virginia Falls hike very close to Jackson Lake. This is a Family friendly hike of about 4 miles with fantastic views of waterfalls, that you will be able to get so close that you will definitely miss your poncho if you forgot one. Another highly recommended trail is the hidden lake overlook trail near Sayer Bend/Logan Pass area. Its a Moderate hike that is about 5 miles long and takes you along a beautiful path to an overlook point of the lake and Bearhat mountains and if you continue on the path to the Hidden Lake, about 1.5 miles further.
Another recommendation for activity is to do a guided boat tour on the lakes of Glacier National Park via Glacier Park boat Tours. They offer tours on Lake McDonald, St. Mary Lake, Many Glacier Lake and Two Medicine Lake. We chose to do a 2 hour guided tour on St. Mary Lake at Rising Sun with some amazing views of waterfalls all along the trip. The boat tour also includes a stop for a mini hike to Baring Falls which is a very accessible and easy hike.
Day 3 : Many Glacier and Two Medicine
You cannot go to Glacier NP and miss out on Many Glacier and Two Medicine areas of the park. Many Glacier is called such because of the many glaciers that reside here. Be sure to head to SwiftCurrent Lake for a quick trip around Many Glacier Hotel, a historic hotel that was inaugurated in 1915 and has been welcoming guests ever since.
Many Glacier area has the famous iceberg Lake hike, a moderately challenging hike of 10 miles which culminates in Iceberg Lake, where you can find Icebergs floating in the lake. This lake also has a good chance for grizzly bear viewing opportunities. Another hike we recommend is the Apiguni Falls trail, with really amazing views of the namesake falls and a easier Swiftcurrent Nature Trail which will take you around the Swiftcurrent lake for some really beautiful views of the lake.
This area is rich of wildlife, Black bears and their cubs and Red tail foxes are quite easy to spot from the side of the road and lodges, so if that interests you, be sure to check out the Many Glacier areas.
Two Medicine also offers breathtaking views of Glacier and although we couldn’t spend a lot of time here due to rains, it is so worth making a stop here at the campground and adoring the scenery.
Food & Drink
Here is a curated list of Restaurants, Bars/Breeweries that we loved around the area of Glacier National Park. Surprisingly this has been one of the best experiences with regards to food of all the national parks we have visited so far!
- Bonsai Brewing Project – Truly amazing beers that you will enjoy after a long hike and good selection of food. They have a BBQ based menu with plenty of vegetarian options as well especially the bowls!
- Jalisco Cantina – Our best food on the trip. Their cocktails are all specially crafted and fell in love with their tacos. And the best part, the make their hot sauces.
- Backslope Brewing – This place has really unpretentious food with great taste and really nice selection of beers.
- Rising Sun Pizza – Surprisingly good pizzas with options of speciality as well as make your own, this place is conveniently located just outside St. Mary Lake.
- Two Dog Flats – We grabbed brunch here right before our afternoon hikes in St Mary’s and were truly happy we made a stop here. Double Thumbs up on the food!
- Swiss Lounge at Many Glacier Lodge – This is a great place for a pitstop, to refresh and grab some delicious food around Many Glacier area.
- And Be sure to try some huckelberry flavored ice cream at the many shops you will definitely encounter across the park, this is sure to satisfy those with a sweet tooth
3 days is definitely not enough and having fallen in love with Glacier NP, we would say no amount of time will be truly enough to explore this park, there is always going to be a next time with this park and that is exactly why we are already counting days to be back here. We hope that this inspires you to take a trip to Montana and Glacier National Park, let us know what you think!
Travel Stories by Nia 