Glacier National park

[daorth]

What are good routes from California to glacier national park and what are good rv parks on the way and around glacier national park.

[BFlinn181]

What part of California are you coming from? It's a long state! What side of Glacier NP are you planning to visit?

I hope you're pulling a toad with you, for in an RV you are limited to how much of Glacier NP you can see. The 'Road to the Sun' road is spectacular, but RVs are banned on it. From the West side, to get to the East side of the park will require a long ride around on US 2. The entrance from the West is more spectacular than the East, but you can go to Babb, MT and the Many Glacier road.

[HavingABlast]

Welcome to the forum daorth. I see this is your second post.

I've driven from Southern California to Glacier NP several times. Generally straight up the 15. We both worked at the time, so vacations were "destination driven" (meaning drive all day, no sight seeing until we made it to the end point) due to time constraints. We are now retired. Our travel day is much shorter and more spontaneous.

It might be helpful for us on the forum to know your time frame (longevity of travel and month of the year) so we can offer suggestions. Knowing what a comfortable driving day (how many miles) is for you would be helpful as well.

What you are traveling in is also a factor. You can arrive at GNP from the West, or from the East. If you are traveling in something larger and/or in winter time getting from East to West GNP could be an issue. We prefer to base camp in the Kalispell or Columbia Falls area and day trip into GNP from the West side. That said, there are plenty of very nice places to base camp on the East. Just know that the Going to the Sun road (highly recommended) may not be open during certain times of the year. And, your vehicle may not be allowed on this road.

Please fill in the blanks (for instance your starting point) and the forum members will most likely provide you with wonder suggestions on how to get to GNP and what to see along the way.

[daorth]

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

What part of California are you coming from? It's a long state! What side of Glacier NP are you planning to visit?

I hope you're pulling a toad with you, for in an RV you are limited to how much of Glacier NP you can see. The 'Road to the Sun' road is spectacular, but RVs are banned on it. From the West side, to get to the East side of the park will require a long ride around on US 2. The entrance from the West is more spectacular than the East, but you can go to Babb, MT and the Many Glacier road.

Fresno area

[daorth]

Originally Posted by HavingABlast

Welcome to the forum daorth. I see this is your second post.

I've driven from Southern California to Glacier NP several times. Generally straight up the 15. We both worked at the time, so vacations were "destination driven" (meaning drive all day, no sight seeing until we made it to the end point) due to time constraints. We are now retired. Our travel day is much shorter and more spontaneous.

It might be helpful for us on the forum to know your time frame (longevity of travel and month of the year) so we can offer suggestions. Knowing what a comfortable driving day (how many miles) is for you would be helpful as well.

What you are traveling in is also a factor. You can arrive at GNP from the West, or from the East. If you are traveling in something larger and/or in winter time getting from East to West GNP could be an issue. We prefer to base camp in the Kalispell or Columbia Falls area and day trip into GNP from the West side. That said, there are plenty of very nice places to base camp on the East. Just know that the Going to the Sun road (highly recommended) may not be open during certain times of the year. And, your vehicle may not be allowed on this road.

Please fill in the blanks (for instance your starting point) and the forum members will most likely provide you with wonder suggestions on how to get to GNP and what to see along the way.

I have a 40 footer and tow a car. We will be going from fresno area.

[cruzbill]

In '14 we travelled to Glacier with our TT from the east Hwy 2. East side has access to the high country, spectacular no matter which way you go. Waterton Lakes in Canada to the north, Whitefish MT to the west. We stayed in a tiny RV park in East Glacier, Lake Mary Campground, and Apgar near the main (south) entrance. Good things about each one. Many Glacier campground would have been nice, but we didn't stay there. Services are more sparse on the east side, lots of commercial campgrounds on hwy 2 between W Glacier and Columbia Falls.

[HavingABlast]

Originally Posted by daorth

I have a 40 footer and tow a car. We will be going from fresno area.

You could take 99 north, 80 East then North on the 93 through Twin Falls on to Pocatello then North on the 15.

Or you cold travel south on the 99 and east on the 30 over the Tehachapi and then North on the 15. This route will take you through the Virgin River Gorge. If you time this spot at early morning, or late afternoon, it is spectacular.

So, when you get to the 90, you have to decide whether you are going to base camp on the east side of GNP or the West side. If it were me, I would go west on the 90 towards Missoula, then North on the 93. This takes you near to the National Buffalo Range and around one side or the other of Flat Head Lake on your way to Columbia Falls or Kalispell. Base camp there for your half hour drive into the west GNP entrance.

If you have the time, there are many many nice National and State Parks in Utah. If you have your passport visit the Canadian side of GNP, it is called the Watertown or Waterton Lake...I don't remember. A wonderful place as well.

On our last trip through Montana, on the 15, we reached the end of our driving day in Dillon, MT. Just planned on an overnight stay. The town is quirky cool. We ended up staying for a three nights to allow us some time to absorb the area. Here are a few of the "locals" favorite places that we dined at. Both had great food. Probably wouldn't have eaten in the bus if it hadn't been highly recommended. It was really good Mexican Food, for this So Cal guy who had been out of the area for a few months. Never would have had the experience had we not gotten off of the road when we did.





If you can, share some of your experiences with us on the forum. As we say on the forum, if there are no pictures, it didn't happen.

Travel safely.