OK, if you're older then booking boat rides and maybe the Red Bus tour are probably good options. Pretty much every part of Glacier NP is beautiful but you need to make some strenuous hikes to see a lot of these areas.

One hike I would definitely recommend if you can manage it is the Hidden Lake Overlook. It starts behind the Logan Pass visitor center and is about 2.5 miles round trip over mostly flat terrain with lots of people on the trail. That's one of the best hikes for people of all age groups and one of the best hikes period. Just know that you have to take the shuttle to get there (shuttles go there from both the east and west side). The parking lot is small and fills up fast.

Another hike you can do from the Logan Pass visitor center is to walk across the road and do the first part of the Skyline Trail. Just walk out as far as you want to go along the ledge and turn around and go back to the visitor center. You don't have to do the entire hike which is long and has a steep decline to a different shuttle stop at the end and the views don't change much after the first mile or two anyway. Just walk as afar as you feel comfortable and the turn around and go the same way back to where you started.

Trail of the Cedars is a very easy walk on the west side and the hike to Avalanche Lake starts at the same spot. Hiking up to Avalanche Lake is moderate but may be doable for your group.

When you go to Many Glacier try to book the boat rides across the two lakes. That's a nice ride and will save your legs. When you get to the far shore get out and hike up to Grinnell Lake which is a little over a mile away and then go back to the boat dock.

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Posted by nctiger71

North Carolina

Member since Oct 2017

1415 posts

Posted on 3/3/23 at 1:27 pm to Funky Tide 8

quote:
Locoguan
I'd contact the park directly and inquire about services for seniors. If one of them has a handicap designation, even better.

My wife has a handicap placard now but it expires before our trip and she does not expect her Dr. to renew it. She has had one on trips before and it has really come in handy. We'll check about other services for seniors.

quote:
I actually enjoy the planning process of trips.
I do like winging itineraries sometimes.
There are plenty of easy to moderate trails for y'all to do.

Potential helpful tip: Wherever y'all are flying into, its worth it to ask the check-in counters if they have any bear spray they want to get rid of.

There has been a lot of planning for this trip; Glacier is just part of it. It's 16 days total; 2 nights in Calgary, 4 nights at GNP, 3 at Banff area, then 2 day drive to Vancouver Island/Victoria for 3 nights, and then finish up in Vancouver for a few more nights. Then fly home. Most of the big pieces/reservations are done just working on some daily details now. Regardless of the amount of research and planning you do nothing takes the places of being there in person and seeing how things work.

Thanks for the tip about the bear spray.

I like winging it too, especially for road trips. But got to have a plan when going to a popular place such as the National Parks.

Picking out some easy to moderate hikes is one of the "to dos" left. The shuttle could be helpful for getting back to a trailhead. I read that some trails end/start near a shuttle stop and hikers take advantage of that to save steps.

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Posted by lsufan112001

sportsmans paradise

Member since Oct 2006

11172 posts

Posted on 3/14/23 at 4:39 pm to nctiger71

I’ve got a trip lined up late summer from Calgary to Banff to Jasper back down to Glacier. The planning to enter Glacier is a pain in the arse it seems. Should I just cut that out. ? Is Glacier better then Canada ?

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Posted by nctiger71

North Carolina

Member since Oct 2017

1415 posts

Posted on 3/15/23 at 7:51 am to lsufan112001

quote:
I’ve got a trip lined up late summer from Calgary to Banff to Jasper back down to Glacier. The planning to enter Glacier is a pain in the arse it seems. Should I just cut that out. ?

Is Glacier better then Canada ?

I don't know, this is my first trip to both. We thought that if we're going that far we might as well do both GNP and the Banff/Lake Louise area. We considered driving to Jasper but decided against that.

The planning for GNP got easier once we realized we were really planning several short trips back-to-back and thought of the east and west sides as two separate, but connected, trips.

My planning suggestion is to book a service (boat tour, etc) in the vehicle restricted areas you want to visit and then you will have access after 6:00 am or before 3:00 pm. Then on April 1st try and get a vehicle permit for August to the area you most want to see; probably the GTTSR, and if you get one then the planning gets easier. And you can cancel the service if you don't want it. But, yeah, it's a pain but it might make for a better trip if there are fewer people there.

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Posted by kaleidoscoping

Washington state

Member since Feb 2021

443 posts

Posted on 3/16/23 at 7:58 am to specchaser

I've drove through GTTSR twice. Never needed to book a pre-pass. There is a road just north of GTTS that isn't as well known that is full of wildlife. My Gf and I saw wild horses and a couple Grizzly's. Theres also a campground just NE of the park you can stay if you like tent camping. It's was $40 a night in 2017 and there were about 5 people there, somewhat primitive showers and we cooked over the fire. If you decide to keep going west after Glacier you can hit Hwy 20 cascade hwy through Washington, it's mind blowing; then hop on the ferry to Kingston, drive north 101 to the coast and La push area. Beach 1,2 and 3 are a beautiful place to pitch a tent.

This post was edited on 3/16/23 at 8:02 am

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Posted by specchaser

lafayette

Member since Feb 2008

2719 posts

Posted on 3/18/23 at 7:33 am to kaleidoscoping

Which road are you referring to that has all the wildlife?

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Posted by RogerTheShrubber