CDT Trail Towns-Glacier National Park
The Lodge at Many Glacier
I am frequently asked about town stops on the Continental Divide Trail. There are so many options that hikers in the planning stages typically want to get as much input in regards to trail towns as possible. To this end, I’ve created my take on CDT trail towns. This is in no way meant to replace Yogi’s CDT Handbook (and in the text I reference things she has said in her book and maps she provides). Yogi is a friend, I used and loved her handbook so visit her website and see if her Handbook is for you. Without further ado…CDT trail towns presented in a south bound order.
Arrival-Montana-Glacier National Park
I arrived in East Glacier in time to get the shuttle to Many Glacier. I got my permit in Many Glacier at the Ranger Station. I was going to camp in Many Glacier that night and get the shuttle to the border the next morning but it was yucky out. My next plan was to get a cheap cabin at the Swift current Motor in and leave a resupply package there but in 2007 it didn’t open until the 17th so instead, I stayed at the expensive (but on my Dad’s tab) Many Glacier Hotel. The Ranger (I had an awesome Ranger, Mark W.) let me keep my resupply package at the Ranger Station.
The next morning I caught the shuttle to the border…it was a thru hiker party.
Many Glacier, MT: Spread out and potentially expensive but if you’ve just spent two days in rain and cold and it’s still raining, then staying at Swiftcurrent might be nice. In 2007 the price for a cottage without a bath was $50. Depending on the time of year you are hiking, you might want to stop in at the Lodge on the walk into “town”. Have the front desk call the Swiftcurrent to see if they have rooms and to see if the restaurant it open. It’s a little bit of a walk to find out that it’s not open yet. If the Swiftcurrent restaurant is closed, The Many Glacier Lodge has a restaurant and a bar (eating at the Bar is cheaper). The Lodge also has a large fire place in the lobby so if you show up soaking wet, it’s a good place to dry off before you get lunch/dinner. We ate lunch (we only hiked 8 miles that day) at the Lodge and the Swiftcurrent restaurant opened for dinner so we ate there for dinner.
Two Medicine, MT: I think I ate 8 hotdogs for dinner there. They were good. You could hike 2 different routes that meet back up right before you cross the bridge to get to Two Med. I took the shorter route. I am glad I did, there was a ton of snow the other way (Dawson’s Pass).
At the store, you could buy dinner and snacks for the 10 miles to East Glacier here. I can’t remember if I did that or not. It was a decent store for a tourist trap and like I said, only 10 miles to East Glacier. As for camping here…let me tell you the hiker/biker sites are sub-optimal…ok they suck (I don’t typically use that word but it pretty much sums it up). They are all really gravelly. The better option (in 2006 this worked, but not in 2007) is to talk with the camp hosts (in 2006, they were nice…not too friendly in 2007) and if you are with a good number of hikers, ask if you can use the group site. It is much, much nicer camping.
East Glacier, MT: I rather liked East Glacier. I stayed at the Backpacker’s Inn (behind Serrano’s) one time and at a hotel (maybe the Circle R) that was recently upgraded. They were definitely different experiences. I think the Backpacker’s Inn could be a ton of fun with other hikers (it was in 2006) and really convenient to Serrano’s Mexican Restaurant (eat there) and the Glacier Park Trading Post (store) and the Trails End Saloon/Tavern where hikers have been known to live it up in the past. I sent a resupply package to the Trading Post but also bought a few things there since they held my package. They were super nice when I was there.
What did you think about Glacier National Park?
