As the wildfires raged on in Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada, I was forced – along with all the other tourists – to evacuate the park. The fires had gone from bad to worse in a very short period of time.
I had to alter my road-trip plans to drive back to the United States (where wildfires were burning out of control as well) earlier than expected.
Crossing the International Border on the Chief Mountain Highway:
I chose to cross the Canada/US Border on the Chief Mountain Highway crossing that ran directly from Waterton Lakes National Park (Canada) to Glacier National Park (US).
I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but my previous experience had taught me border crossings are always packed and waits could last several hours. Well, that was not the case here.
When I pulled up to the remote Border I was the only vehicle there. I handed over my Passport and Global Entry card (which I had been waiting to try out). The US Border agent laughed and said “we don’t take these at this crossing, we don’t need ’em”, and handed me back my Global Entry card.
After a brief but stern questioning, the agent dropped his guard and asked what my plans were in Montana. I told him I was heading down to the “Going to the Sun” road in Glacier National Park, before he promptly notified me that I could only drive up to Logan Pass because the through route was closed due to a massive forest fire in Glacier National Park. My plans were dashed again.
Driving to Many Glacier, Glacier National Park:
At this point, I consulted the map to try and figure out a “plan b”. There was a spur road in the northeast corner of the park leading to a region called “Many Glacier”. I basically had no other plan – or options – so I thought I’d check it out because I didn’t know if I’d ever be back there again. I decided on driving to Many Glacier. Boy was I glad I did.
The road driving to Many Glacier follows the scenic Route 3 along Sherburne Lake with a terminus at the town of Swiftcurrent. It turned out that Swiftcurrent is one of the great backpacker havens in the US National Parks system.
Similar to Roads End in Kings Canyon National Park, Swiftcurrent ended in a huge parking lot. This lot was largely for backpackers that had parked their car there for one of the many great trails in the area. I knew Glacier National Park was popular for Backpacking and Hiking, but I didn’t know where the great trail-heads were. They were at Swiftcurrent.
Swiftcurrent Lake (in wildfire haze)
After lunch at the restaurant and some souvenir shopping at the surprisingly well-stocked gift shop, it was time to check out the main attraction at Many Glacier, the Many Glacier Hotel.
The “Red Jammers”:
As I drove up to the hotel, I got my first glimpse of the famous “Red Jammer” buses that offer tours throughout Glacier National Park.
Red Jammer
The Many Glacier Hotel:
The Many Glacier Hotel was built in the 1910’s by the Great Northern Railway. Designed to look like a Swiss chalet, this hotel is now a National Historic Landmark of the United States.
Red Jammers parked outside of the entrance to the hotel
The iconic entrance
The Swiss chalet-style of the hotel
Leaving Many Glacier:
Driving to Many Glacier turned out great as that region was no-doubt one of the “must-see” corners of the park. Only due to the forest fires did I initially happen upon it, but I’m already planning a return trip there to hit up some of the backpacking and day-hike trails.
The Sherburne Lake dam and a peculiar sight
As I was driving out of the Many Glacier region, I had to do a double-take to make sure my eyes were’t deceiving me as to what I thought I saw. Sure enough, there were cows walking out on the dam.
With that, I was off to tackle the “Going to the Sun” road in the Glacier National Park to see how far I could make it.
Cheers!
Note: The banner image is courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.
