Glacier National Park gets most of its attention in the summer. For good reason. Going-to-the-Sun Road is open, the trails are accessible and the days are long. It’s also busy.
Glacier National Park in fall is a little less predictable. The days are shorter and the weather does what it wants, but there is more room to pull over, take your time and actually look around. If you ask us, that’s a pretty good trade.
And if you’re staying in Bigfork, we have a favorite way to do it.
Start in Bigfork
Wake up at Timbers Motel, grab breakfast at Pocketstone Café and get an early start. You’re going to spend most of the day exploring, and this isn’t the morning to skip breakfast.
Explore places to stay in Bigfork.
From Bigfork, head north toward West Glacier. Then drive right past it. Most people staying on this side of Glacier naturally enter through West Glacier, but we’re sending you the other way.
Continue east on Highway 2 along the southern boundary of Glacier National Park toward East Glacier Park. It’s a beautiful drive in any season, but fall is especially good. Western larch along this corridor turn gold later in the season, and the mountains stay with you for much of the drive.
You’re taking the long way to Glacier. That’s the point.
Stop in East Glacier
When you reach East Glacier, stop in at Serrano’s Mexican Restaurant if they’re open. We’re not entirely sure how a Mexican restaurant in East Glacier became such a tradition, but it did. If Serrano’s is serving when you’re there, it’s worth the stop.
The east side of Glacier feels different from the west almost immediately. The landscape is more open and rugged, with fewer thick forests and mountains rising sharply from the plains. The wind and weather are harder on everything over here. Trees can be shorter and more stunted, and old wildfire snags accent the landscape.
Enter Glacier National Park at St. Mary and start making your way west on Going-to-the-Sun Road. This is where the reason for taking the long way becomes pretty obvious. The road follows St. Mary Lake before climbing toward Logan Pass. Fall colors tend to begin earlier on the east side, and by late September and early October you can find yellow aspens and cottonwoods against mountains that may already have snow at the higher elevations.
Take your time and use the pullouts. Calling shotgun is highly recommended.
On Top of the World
At 6,646 feet, Logan Pass is the highest point on Going-to-the-Sun Road and sits along the Continental Divide. Even if you aren’t planning a hike, get out of the car and walk around. Weather at Logan Pass can be completely different from what you left behind at St. Mary, so keep layers in the car. A sunny fall day at lower elevations doesn’t mean it’s going to be warm up here.
If you have more time and conditions are good, the Hidden Lake Trail begins at Logan Pass. How far you go is entirely up to you. Even a shorter walk gives you a chance to take in the sweeping alpine landscape.
This is also mountain goat country. As with all wildlife, pictures at a distance are fine. Petting, cuddling or attempting to ride them is not.
If Glacier leaves you wanting more time on the trails, explore hiking around Bigfork.
Down from the Mountain
We might be biased, but the west side of Going-to-the-Sun Road is what this drive is all about.
Built nearly 100 years ago, Going-to-the-Sun Road is a pretty remarkable feat of engineering. It clings to the mountainside, sometimes with very little between you and the massive valleys below. Look closely and you’ll see the intricate stonework along the road, much of it built to blend into the landscape rather than compete with it.
And then there is the view. In fall, you can look across entire valleys changing color below you, with gold and yellow working their way through the darker evergreens and the first snow beginning to show on the peaks above. As you lose elevation, the landscape changes with you, from the open alpine terrain around Logan Pass into thicker forest, waterfalls and eventually the shores of Lake McDonald.
This is one of the places where fewer fall crowds really matter. Going-to-the-Sun Road is narrow, and in summer there can be a whole lot of attention devoted to the car in front of you and the one behind you. Fall gives you a little more room to slow down, use the pullouts and actually take in the road you’re driving.
Take your time. This is not the part of the day to hurry.
Back to Bigfork
From West Glacier, Bigfork is less than an hour away. Before calling it a night head to Flathead Lake Brewing Co. for dinner and a beer. Lean back and relax as you take in the crisp, cool sunset over Flathead Lake.
The entire loop involves a little over five hours of actual driving, but don’t plan on doing it in that. To do this trip right, you need to make a day of it. Give yourself a good eight or longer if you plan to hike or make a lot of stops. This isn’t a drive to rush.
Explore more places to eat and drink in Bigfork.
Fall Gets to Make the Rules
There’s one very important thing to understand about visiting Glacier in the fall: your itinerary is a suggestion. The mountains get the final say.
Going-to-the-Sun Road is generally fully open until the third Monday in October, conditions permitting, but snow can close the alpine section earlier. Visitor centers, restaurants, lodging and other park services also begin closing or reducing hours as the season progresses.
Check the National Park Service road status and current conditions the morning you go. Bring food and water, keep extra layers in the car and don’t assume something will be open simply because it was open the last time you visited in July.
Fall in Glacier requires a little more self-sufficiency. It’s worth it.
If Going-to-the-Sun Road Is Closed
Don’t scrap the whole day just because you can’t drive over Logan Pass. The west side of Glacier is still worth visiting. Head through West Glacier to Apgar and Lake McDonald, where on a calm fall day the water is so clear and still that the changing colors and mountains are mirrored in its reflection.
You can also drive Highway 2 along the park’s southern boundary. In October, this corridor can be one of the better places around Glacier to see western larch turning gold. When they change, entire hillsides that looked green a week or two earlier suddenly turn yellow and gold. You won’t get the full loop, but you’ll still get Glacier.
Remember You’re in Bear Country
Fall is an important feeding season for both black and grizzly bears as they prepare for winter, so don’t get casual about bear safety just because there are fewer people around.
Carry bear spray and know how to use it. Keep food properly stored, make noise on trails and give wildlife plenty of space. If you’re hiking, check current trail conditions and closures before heading out. And whatever you bring into the park, bring it back out with you.
Fewer visitors are one of the reasons fall in Glacier is so good. Let’s keep it that way.
Glacier by Day. Bigfork by Night.
Wake up in Bigfork, take the long way around, enter Glacier from the east, cross the Continental Divide, come down along Lake McDonald and finish the day back in Bigfork with dinner and a beer.
In summer, Going-to-the-Sun Road is something you plan around crowds. In fall, you get a little more room to actually experience it. The yellow aspens, golden larch and first snow on the mountains are pretty hard to beat, too.
Although we’ll admit the Seeley Swan Valley gives Glacier a pretty good run for its money.
Plan your fall getaway to Bigfork.
For even more detailed information about exploring Glacier, EnjoyYourParks.com is a great locally created resource from people who have spent decades exploring the park.
