Hubby and I both love Glacier National Park, and we have been talking for years about taking Buddy there. Once we decided that we were going to go this summer, we spent a lot of time looking for fun things to do with him. We were amazed to find almost nothing about young children and Glacier National Park. Most of what I found was activities to do with older kids – hikes that were several miles long, horse back rides, and kayaking. And the only one I found about young children was from parents who hiked a lot, and wore the preschooler in a backpack when he got tired. None of that was very helpful for me.
It took a lot of research and planning, but eventually we found things to keep Buddy entertained. All of our walks are less than a mile round trip, with interesting things to see along the way. We also found other fun things to do besides hike. I’m sharing our itenerary for anyone who might be considering a trip to Glacier National Park with a preschooler.
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Day 1 – Travel day and Whitefish
Our flight landed in Kalispell, Montana around noon. We drove over to Whitefish, and we had lunch at Piggyback BBQ. I love barbecue and was excited to find a barbecue place that had a kids menu. We ate outside in the shade, and it was so delicious! There was a great view of train tracks and a bridge, both of which were very entertaining to Buddy.
After that, we headed over to the Whitefish Mountain Resort. Hubby read about their alpine slide, and we thought it would be fun for Buddy. Buddy was very scared about everything at first, but he ended up having a great time. We took a gondola to the top of the mountain, and the view was amazing! All of us enjoyed seeing the mountain bikers racing down the mountain. Then we went back down the mountain and tried the alpine slide. It was so much fun! Buddy loved it, and we did it three times! We took the slide down, and then caught a chair lift back up to the top of the slide. We saw a mother deer and a fawn from the chair lift, and it was neat to watch them during our ride.
Finally we stopped by a grocery store to buy food for breakfasts and snacks. Then we made our way to our hotel, The Izaak Walton Inn, where we had dinner and watched trains. This historic hotel used to serve as housing for the Great Northern Railroad crew, and it is right along train tracks near the Essex train station. We had stayed there before and loved it, and we knew Buddy would love it too.
Day 2 – Going to the Sun Road
We entered the park at St. Mary, and we drove down the Going to the Sun Road. Our first stop was to see St. Mary Lake, which is stunning. Then we headed to Logan Pass.
The parking lot at Logan Pass was packed, but fortunately we found a spot after a few minutes. We lucked out that a man mentioned to us that there were several bighorn sheep across the street and a short walk away on the Highline Trail. Then we came back to Logan Pass and did the Hidden Lake Trail.
The Hidden Lake Trail is 2.4 miles if you do the whole thing, but we did just a part of it. It is paved at the start, and then it has wide wooden planks, so it’s easy for preschoolers to walk. If you go all the way up, there are a lot of stairs, so it’s not entirely preschooler friendly. Buddy made it a long way before we needed to help him. But we saw a ton of wildlife before we even reached the steps. There were ground squirrels everywhere, and there was a mountain goat right by the walkway! We saw a bighorn sheep at the top of the mountain as well.
Buddy got these binoculars for his birthday, and they were a huge hit! We tried them out for the first time at Logan Pass, and Buddy was obsessed. He loved seeing the sheep up closer. He also pretended to take pictures of everything with them, which was a lot of fun for him.
We drove straight through the rest of the road until we got to Apgar Village, and then we had a late lunch at Eddie’s Cafe. We ate outside, and enjoyed the view of Lake McDonald. The huckleberry lemonade and the huckleberry cobbler were both amazing!
After that, we headed back to our cabin for some rest time. We got a family cabin with one bedroom and a loft for Buddy. It was great having a place with a kitchen and some extra space to relax and play. We ended our day having dinner at the hotel and listening to a summer concert by the train tracks. Buddy played on the hotel’s playground and ran around like crazy, and it was so much fun.
Day 3 – West Side of the Park
We headed into the park through the West Glacier entrance, and drove to the Trail of the Cedars. This is another wooden planked trail that is wheelchair and stroller friendly up to the halfway point of the trail. Then you can head back the way you came, or you can finish the loop. The rest of the trail is dirt packed, but mostly flat and easily walkable. The total loop was 0.8 mi, and you see a waterfall and the amazing Avalanche Creek. You can see all the way to the bottom of the river because the water is so clear! It’s truly incredible, and like no other place I’ve seen.
After that, we headed back to West Glacier for a helicopter tour. This tour was perfect for Buddy, because he loves to fly. It was loud and bumpy though, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for all preschoolers. We had a great time, and the views were incredible! It will be one of my lasting memories of this trip for sure.
We had our lunch in West Glacier, and then we headed down to Lake McDonald. It was an incredibly windy day, so there were a ton of waves in the water. We saw a mother duck and a bunch of ducklings try to swim across the bumpy water! Buddy had so much fun throwing rocks into the water, he didn’t want to leave.
For the rest of the day, we explored the west part of the Going to the Sun Road. We walked around at the Weeping Wall, and stopped several other places along the road to see the view. Buddy loved seeing all of the waterfalls. We stopped outside a tunnel, and walked on the sidewalk into a viewing balcony. Buddy loved yelling “Hello!” into the tunnel and hearing the echo.
We spent the evening with dinner and train watching again at our hotel. The third night was the one where we tried the huckleberry-apple cobbler topped with huckleberry ice cream, which was amazing. Even if you don’t stay at the Izaak Walton Inn, it’s worth going there for dinner just for this dessert.
Day 4 – East Side of the Park
We scheduled a boat tour of St. Mary Lake with the Glacier Park Boat Company. It was one of my favorite parts of our trip, and my #1 recommendation for families visiting the park. The lake was calm and still, so even though I get seasick in the ocean, it wasn’t a problem at all. Buddy loved being on the boat, and the views were incredible. Hubby and I enjoyed learning new facts about the park that we love. Halfway through our tour, we had a chance to get off and do a quick walk to Baring Falls. We all had a great time.
The next part of our day didn’t go as planned. I had read great things about doing hikes in the Many Glacier area. We wanted to go see Fishercap Lake because we heard it was a great place to see moose, and it was a quick walk from the Swiftcurrent Inn. We also wanted to go to see Swiftcurrent Lake from the Many Glacier Hotel parking lot. However, the parking lot in that area was completely packed, and we were turned away. On our next visit, we plan to go early in the morning or even stay at the Many Glacier Hotel for a night.
Instead, we drove up to Chief Mountain, which is almost at the Canadian border. There were lots of roaming cattle and a few horses, which Buddy loved. He even said the horses were his favorite animal of the trip! I was disappointed that we didn’t see more mountain animals, but Buddy didn’t care.
As we made our way south, we went back to St. Mary Lake to walk to Sun Point. It is only 0.1 mile to Sun Point, and then there are a bunch of cool rocks to climb on. It feels like you are the top of the world without being too close to any steep drop offs. Buddy had a lot of fun climbing up and down the rocks.
We drove down to the Two Medicine area of the park for one more hike. The Running Eagle Falls is a 0.6 mile round trip hike over level ground. It takes you to Two Medicine Creek, although you do have to cross a small bridge to get a good view of the falls. Buddy enjoyed throwing rocks in the creek, and it was a fun way to end our last day in the park.
Day 5 – Travel Day
On our way to the airport, we spent an hour at Lake McDonald. This time the lake was the way it usually is – completely flat and still. Buddy had a blast throwing rocks and poking the water with a stick. We were all sad when it was time to get in the car and head back to the airport.
General Tips for Visiting Glacier National Park
Buy food at the beginning of your trip. We visited a grocery store for stuff for breakfasts and snacks, but I wish we got lunch stuff too. It takes a long time to get around the park, and on the day we were at Logan Pass, I would have liked to have lunch in the middle of Going to the Sun Road.
Be prepared for no cell coverage. We had cell signal at West Glacier and East Glacier, but nowhere else. Our hotel had wifi, but our cabin didn’t. It was great to be off the grid, but there were times we wanted it. When we needed a different plan, we had to figure it out on a paper map. We had restaurants that we wanted to visit, but we didn’t know exactly where they were. It would have been helpful to be more prepared.
Bring some small activities for the car and park. We are very lucky that Buddy is a good traveler, and for the most part, he was happy to just have a stuffed animal in the car. But by the end of the trip, he wanted a little more, so I gave him Melissa and Doug Reusable Puffy Stickers. The combination of his binoculars and throwing rocks kept Buddy very entertained on our hikes. We are thinking about giving him a kids camera like this one for our next trip because he loved pretending to take pictures.
If you have motion sickness, bring some medication or wear a motion sickness bracelet. There are lots of twists and turns and bumpy roads in the park. I get mildly car sick in those conditions, but we were in and out of the car so much, it wasn’t too bad. On our last day, though, we didn’t stop very much, and I wasn’t feeling great at the end.
Make sure to have a car seat plan if you are flying into the park. We recently purchased a Ride Safer Car Seat Vest, and we love it! It made our whole trip easier. We were able to Uber to the airport, and then we put the vest away in our carry on. We didn’t need to worry about checking our car seat or lugging it onto the plane. When we were driving around the park, we just had to unbuckle him and we left the vest on. It made it much easier when we were getting in and out of the car quickly. I highly recommend it for anyone who travels!
If you’re planning a trip of your own, please feel free to ask questions in the comments section. And if you’re not currently planning a trip to Glacier National Park, I hope this article made you consider it. It truly is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and somewhere I think everyone should visit at least once.
Colleen,
Truly, a great trip that will be long remembered. The National Parks are awesome.
Love,
Dad