Hiking Trails Blogs

Glacier National Park in Northern Montana is one of those big-and-wild places that seems the most remote of the national parks in the Lower 48. Rick at Best Hike calls it “arguably the best hiking park in the continental United States.” Money quote: “We have seen more grizzly bears here than in any other park in the USA. You must be bear aware to hike Glacier.”

Since I had such great feedback on yesterday’s post about Grand Teton National Park, I figured why not add some links for Glacier as well:

• A Slow Hiker’s Guide to Glacier National Park
• North Circle, which Best Hikes calls one of the 10 best in the world.
• National Park Service’s hiking page.
• Glacier Association Bookstore
• Glacier N.P. hiking page.
• Backpacker Magazine’s recommended Glacier National Park hikes.
• EveryTrail destination page
• Highway to the Sun page.
• Blog post: Grizzly encounter at Glacier.

What I’d want to know before going to Glacier:

1. Which areas are losing the most ice from global warming?
2. What’s the best thing to do if you spot a bear on the trail?
3. How much of the park is accessible by season? Is it all inaccessible in winter?
4. What’s the best moderate day hike for somebody touring the Northern Rockies?

Please chime in with your Glacier experiences.

Is there a more spectacular mountain range in North America than the Grand Tetons? I’d have a hard time imagining it.

Having seen Yosemite, Zion and the Grand Canyon, I feel like Grand Teton National Park has to be next on my list.

Where would I start looking for prospective hikes? First I’d check the EveryTrail destinations page. More promising links:

• National Park Service Grant Teton hikes page.
• Grant Teton N.P. hikes/climbs page.
• Backpacker.com recommended loops.
• Smoky Scout’s Grand Teton Adventure
• Rick McCharles’ Best Hike in the Grand Tetons.
• The Lodges of Grand Teton National Park.
• Lou Dawson on ski mountaineering at Grand Teton.

Questions I’d want answered:

1. When is the best time to go?
2. What would you consider a must visit and a must/avoid?
3. If you could do only one day-hike, which would it be?
4. What are the standard precautions?

I’m sure a bunch of you have been there a bunch of times. Please weigh in with answers and links if you’ve got a minute.