Has anyone been to Glacier within the past 2 yrs?
would love any info you might have for glacier.
i'd like to take my son during summer bein hazmanim.
we love outdoors and as a family we've been to a bunch of other national parks (yellowstone/tetons/zion/bryce etc..) but not this.
would love information on where best place to stay is, as well as for shabbat.
and if we spent 5-6 days in this area, can we/should we drive into canada banff? or is there something else in the area?
thanks for all the help!
Glacier is hands down my favorite of the about 40 national parks I've been to, so much so that I've been back 4 times! That said, it's really a hiker's park. How old is your son, and how much hiking experience and stamina do the two of you have? Other parks have short 2-4 mile trails, but with a couple noteworthy exceptions (Hidden Lake is a must, and Avalanche Lake is also very nice), most trails in Glacier are 8-10+ miles round-trip, with a decent amount of elevation gain. Are you up for that? If so, I'll be happy to give specific trail recommendations.
As for where to stay, the most important advice I can give you is to stay on the east side of the park, not the west. The west has chain hotels and much more tourist infrastructure, but all the best natural beauty is all on the east side. Many Glacier is the best option, but it's expensive and hard to find availability. Nearby Swiftcurrent is also excellent. I'm also a big fan of Rising Sun, which is extremely central to everything worth seeing. There are also some motels in St. Mary and AirBNB's in St. Mary and Babb.
The only Shabbos option in the area is Chabad of Kalispell (on the west side). Check out their website for details.
Unless you're really hard-core hikers, you only need 3-4 days for Glacier, so if you're going for 5-6, you can go into Canada. But the Canadian Rockies really also need another 3-4, and Banff is the least interesting part of it. The best parts are even farther away. Look into Prince of Wales Hotel and Waterton in the Canadian side of Glacier NP. Not quite as nice as the Canadian Rockies, but much closer and worthy of a day trip. Hope that's helpful!