Budget-Minded Glacier National Park Tour

Traveling to Glacier National Park on a budget? Love to hike? This Glacier National Park itinerary is for you!

Here's who this Glacier National Park tour is for:

Day hikers
Lots of flexibility
Fishing enthusiasts
Photo enthusiasts
Families on a budget

Here's a sample from the
'Budget Day Hiker' Glacier National Park tour:

Day 2

Rise and shine! Hopefully you are well rested and ready to explore more of Glacier National Park. Today you will drive Going to the Sun Road and see what this park is really made of!

Option 1

Lodging - I'd recommend staying another night at the hotel you chose last night. No reason to spend extra energy packing up and moving. Your time could be better spent exploring.

Alternately, if you chose to camp, don't take apart your tent. Stay another night.

Activities - Wake up early. Eat breakfast at Apgar Village Lodge or Lake McDonald Lodge.

Then, hop in your car and drive into the heart of the park, up Going to the Sun Road!

This is an all morning activity. Enjoy the pulloffs, take plenty of pictures along the way. It is beautiful.

You will arrive at the Visitors Center at Logan Pass before long.

From there, Hike Hidden Lake Trail. Be sure to go to the Lake, not just the overlook. It is 6 miles roundtrip and similar in difficulty to Avalanche Lake.

Hidden Lake

It can get crowded, so be sure to arrive early. Pack a lunch and make a picnic out of it.

Spend the afternoon exploring Going to the Sun. Wildflowers will light up the meadows and you are bound to see mountain goats and big horn sheep. If you hang out until dusk, you will likely see a black bear or grizzly on the road around Siyeh Bend Trailhead.

Perfect opportunity for photographs with your long lens :)

For dinner, return to your hotel and eat dinner inside Lake McDonald's lodging area. It can be a little pricey though, so you can always head to Apgar instead for dinner, which is more reasonable.

Option 2

Lodging - Again, stay where you are. No reason to expend all the extra energy moving around if you do not have to.

Activities - Let's go for a hike! And if you fish, be sure to bring your fishing pole, because this is one of the hikes for fishing in Glacier National Park.

Hike to Snyder Lakes, which is 8.8 miles round trip.

Begins at Snyder Creek Trailhead, which is directly across from Lake McDonald Lodge. Cutthroat trout are plentiful, so this is ideal for catching, photographing, and releasing.

It's a moderate hike that shouldn't be too troublesome.

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