EXPERIENCE GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

3 Million Visitors, 700 Miles of Trails, and One Tiny Summer Window

Glacier National Park contains 1,585 square miles of incredibly beautiful wilderness draped over the Continental Divide. Within that massive footprint are different climates and ecologies, depending on which side of the divide you stand on. Over 700 miles of trails meander through this expansive landscape. 

It’s too much to experience in a limited amount of time. There is a tiny summer window between June and September when millions of visitors compete for access to popular places. 

Glacier National Park is a masterpiece of nature. Planning a vacation here is exciting, but it can be overwhelming.

The Logistical Headache of the “Crown of the Continent”

Travelers arrive with a finite amount of time and money. They ask the same stressful questions:

• Where do I eat, sleep, and buy groceries?
• How do I book a boat tour, bus tour, or horseback ride?
• What trails should I hike?
• What should I carry in my pack for longer hikes?
• How can I decide if a trail is within my ability?
• How do I stay safe around bears, wolves, and mountain lions?

Standard paper maps don’t show you the beauty of the rugged terrain. Well-meaning people flood online forums with conflicting “best of” opinions and offer trail difficulty ratings that are inconsistent. Sometimes people with limited park experience write these opinions, or worse, AI does.

Boots-on-the-Ground Facts, Not Online Opinions

I wrote three books to provide the information that I wish had existed when I first started exploring the Crown of the Continent and to help others get the most out of their visit to the park.

As a local with 1,000 miles of hiking experience and countless road miles logged inside Glacier, I have lived through the traffic, experienced the congested choke points, and discovered the spectacular, crowd-free, pristine wilderness sanctuaries that most tourists miss. In these books you’ll find the popular trails but also those that are worthy but not mentioned in online groups.

This is an à la carte guidebook series. You don’t need to buy a book filled with chapters you’ll never use. Instead, you only purchase for the specific geographic area you want to explore:

• Glacier National Park, Volume 1: The Going-to-the-Sun Road, A Traveler’s Guide to the corridor—hiking, boating, biking, horseback riding, tours, lodging, camping, restaurants and groceries with points of interest (including roadside bathrooms) with mileages from both the west and east entrances
• Glacier National Park, Volume 2: Explore the East Side—focuses on trails in the Belly River, Many Glacier, Saint Mary, Cut Bank, and Two Medicine Regions while not overlooking the practicalities of restaurants, groceries, lodging, camping, where to get a shower and even ATM locations.
• Glacier National Park, Volume 3: Explore the West Side—adventures in Goat Haunt, North Fork, Lake McDonald, and Walton Regions while also paying attention to the amenities named in Book 2.

Context Beyond the Trailhead

Besides the trail data, map and hike narrative, you’ll find notes on human history, unique geology, local wildlife and ecology that will enrich your outing.

The appendix of each book includes the Principles of Leave No Trace, a comprehensive breakdown of the Ten Essentials for backcountry travel, how to choose a hike that’s best for you, and practice Wildlife Safety in a wilderness inhabited by bears, mountain lions and wolves.

Why You Don’t Need Another “Best Of” List

I do not recommend “the best” of anything in these books because I don’t know what would be best for you.

“The best” is entirely subjective. What a seasoned hiker considers an easy stroll might be grueling for a family traveling with young kids. Maybe you prefer the high alpine country instead of ancient cedar-hemlock forests. Instead of giving you biased opinions, I provide you with the raw, accurate data, objective difficulty scores derived from Paul Petzoldt’s energy-rated mile system, terrain descriptions, photographs, and logistical context that you need to decide what is best for your budget, time, and skill level.

You don’t need to sort through a multitude of opinions. Grab the guide you need and experience Glacier National Park like a local.