Glacier National Park was named for the forty-eight glaciers that carved
the valleys in the park's one million acres. In addition to the
dozens of glaciers that remain, Glacier has over 650 lakes and beautiful
waterfalls and 700 miles of hiking over 150 trails. Its
scenery is so diverse and majestic it is overwhelming. The mountains
are always right next to you offset against the clearest blue sky and
meadows of flowers.
The hiking trails in
Glacier is maybe the best in the country. The Continental Divide runs
along the Lewis Mountains in the center of Glacier and the Livingston
Range lies in the western part of the park. The highest point is Mount Cleveland at 10,466 feet.
It was voted by the readers of Backpacker Magazine as their
favorite park.
Glacier's wildlife includes grizzly and black bear, moose,
elk, wolves, bighorn sheep, mountain goat and deer. In spring the meadows
and the side of the road are a carpet of wildflowers. There is a lot
of concern about bear attacks in the park and trails will close suddenly.
The rangers will caution you to make noise and be alert but will also tell
you the concerns are overstated. We made sure to carry bear spray,
available in the park and sports stores in major towns. When we ran
into bears we banged our walking sticks, screamed and jumped up and down
and they ran away but we found the rangers were right, the best plan was
to make a lot of noise so we did not surprise them and they were usually
retreating before we reached them.
Glacier was founded in 1910 and in 1932, together with
Waterton Lakes National Park, declared an International Peace Park.
Glacier National Park is bordered by the Flathead and Lewis & Clark
National Forests.
