Glacier National Park Series

Day 2

Many Glaciers (or, an attempt)

“We’ll get up at 7:30, get a sit-down breakfast nearby, and drive up to Many Glaciers to hike Iceberg Lake”

fun fact: I’ve driven on US-2 on both the west coast in Washington and the east coast in Vermont

Unfortunately, while we woke up on time, breakfast took a surprising amount of time to come out, and the pleasant surprise of there being no line after driving an hour north to the Many Glaciers entrance quickly plummeted to disappointment when the rangers said parking was full since 9AM and they were turning people away. Sadness.

on the way back to Going-to-the-Sun Road we did stop to get some photos of the Many Glaciers area though

St. Mary’s Lake

Time for Plan B - exploring the St. Mary’s Lake area. A little scarred by the parking situation, we decided to try the shuttle system. This is when we discovered, surprise, parking at the visitor’s center where the shuttle starts is also difficult. We did find a spot, went through the exhibits, talked to the rangers about tips, before looking at the shuttle line and deciding to take a chance with finding our own parking.

driving back toward the sun

Based on the ranger’s advice, we decided to walk the St. Mary’s Falls trail. I had gently developed blisters because I was dumb and didn’t spend enough time breaking my hiking boots in, so an easier trail was always welcome.

We start from Going-to-the-Sun point, where we luckily foudn parking pretty quickly, and followed the trail west along the lake. The St. Mary’s Falls trail is relatively flat, and an unintended consequence of a large forest fire in 2015 was that the trail now has views of the lake as you walk through. Already, there are grasses and newer saplings find its place the burnt tree trunks.

looking toward logan pass from going-to-the-sun point

On the way along the trial, you’ll pass by Baring Falls, where there is a small ledge you can stand on to pose for photos behind the falls.

dude taking the photo totally had the stereotypical american look

St. Mary’s Fall comes up shortly a fter that. At 35 feet, it’s not the tallest waterfall, but the bright blue of the water as it cascades down is quite a sight. (The coolness from the water also is a refreshing break if you’re feeling warm from the walk!)

there is one more tier in St. Mary’s Falls, but it’s smaller and not quite as photogenic.

Continue down the path to reach Virginia Falls about half a mile later. On the way, you start to wind uphill and pass by two sets of unnamed cascades. These are quite pretty by themselves, but both are easily overshadowed by Virginia Falls. With water pouring over a 50 feet drop, you’re able to walk quite close to the bottom of the falls! No matter where you stand, though, be prepared to get a bit wet.

the rocks are slippery! watch your step.

We turned back and made our way to the St Mary Falls shuttle stop on the Going=to-the-Sun Road. Thankfully, there was space for us and two other people to board, and we hopped off to get to our car at Going-to-the-Sun Point without incident.

To try something different for dinner, we went to Johnson’s Restaurant in St. Mary’s. We also stopped by the Curly Bear Cafe afterwards to pick up more ice cream because, why not.

St. Mary's Falls Trail @ Glacier National Park
Review An easy going trail that that gives you great views of St. Mary Lake while passing by three great waterfalls: Baring Falls, St. Mary Falls, and Virginia Falls.
What to Expect Because of the fire, the trail gives good views (as there are fewer trees), but there is consequently also less cover from the sun. The waterfalls are gorgeous, and Virginia Falls can get you wet from the spray. Relatively flat for the most part, so a relatively easy hike.
Notes You can hike one way from Sun Point towards Virginia Falls, then take the shuttle from St. Mary Falls back to your parked car at Sun Point. There may be bears - check with the rangers ahead of time to confirm if the trail is open.
Verdict: 5/5 — Waterfalls for days.

Food

Two Medicine Grill @ East Glacier Park, MT
314 US 2, East Glacier Park, MT 59434
Review Breakfast options were pretty okay - it’s the stereotypical diner experience. They are open early, though, but in our case, service was very, very slow. They also did not have their famed huckleberry pie int he morning - unfortunate.
Verdict: 3/5 — Decent, but nothing particularly special (not that there are many choices anyways)

Johnson's Restaurant @ St. Mary, MT
21 Red Eagle Rd, Browning, MT 59417
Review More of an actual restaurant than Curly Bear Cafe around the corner. Johnson’s Restaurant is a part of aptly-named Johnson’s Campgrounds. The food was quite good! A little richer than I liked, but overall it was quite tasty. We got to meet one of the owners and she chatted with us a bit about how her family has been living in the St. Mary area for a long while (and how her grandchildren have moved to the Bay Area).
Verdict: 4/5 — Cute and rustic with decent eats and friendly service.

Day 3

Day 3 continues here!