Welcome, Spring in Glacier National Park!
It’s the time of year when everything starts happening in Glacier National Park. May and June mean springtime in the Rockies is at its best, and early visitors will enjoy better, uncrowded wildlife, waterfall, and wildflower viewing than visitors in the peak July-August season. There’s also opportunities to do ALL of our favorite things in Glacier, depending on which part of spring you experience: raft, hike, fish, and bike!
Whitewater Rafting During Spring in Glacier National Park
The whitewater rafting on Glacier’s border rivers is at its most thrilling in the spring, as peak runoff typically occurs this time of year. We take daily trips on this Wild and Scenic river system, and float the calmer Scenic section of the Middle Fork Flathead River, too. There’s nothing quite like river time – don’t miss out.
Spring in Glacier National Park means the whitewater rafting is extra fun due to the high water! You’ll likely have on wetsuits and splash gear, as pictured. You’ll definitely have on helmets: safety first.
Spring Biking!
After getting in a day or two on the river, locals pick biking on the Going-to-the-Sun Road as their favorite spring activity. When Glacier is still largely under snow, the best way to explore her beauty is by bicycle. Explore roads closed to vehicle traffic with the whole family!
Biking on the closed-to-vehicle-traffic Sun Road, along McDonald Creek.
Even the littlest ones have fun biking the Sun road when it’s closed to vehicle traffic!
Low Elevation Hiking
Hiking in June is uniquely wonderful. While many of the park’s most famous trails don’t typically fully open until mid-July — like Grinnell Glacier and Ptarmigan Tunnel — the upside is that there are far less people on the ones that are open, whether fully or partially. On the west side of the park, we love making a day out of stringing together several shorter hikes like Rocky Point on Lake McDonald, the McDonald Creek trails, and Johns Lake off the Going to the Sun Road.
Hiking to Rocky Point is fun for nearly all ages and abilities!
On the east side of the park, lower elevation hikes in Two Medicine like Paradise Point, Aster Point, and Running Eagle Falls are a great way to ease into hiking season. In St. Mary, 3.6 mile Beaver Pond Loop offers beautiful valley floor views for adults and kiddos alike. And up in Many Glacier, the accessible Swiftcurrent Lake Nature Trail makes for a fun hike around the lake.
Beaver Pond Loop in the St. Mary Valley.
Fly Fishing on a Wild and Scenic River
As the runoff slows down towards the end of June, and the rivers clear up, the fishing gets hot on the Flathead! Whether you hire a guide or rent a boat and go on your own, be sure to pick up a Montana fishing license and to brush up on your Leave No Trace river skills. We think Catch and Release practices are really important on rivers filled with threatened native species like westslope cutthroat, bull trout, and more. Keep ‘em wet, pinch your barbs, and keep those lines tight.
Let’s Go!
If you need equipment or a guide for rafting, hiking, fishing, or biking, give us a call at 406-387-5555 or send an email to info@glacierguides.com. After all, you won’t know about Spring in Glacier National Park if you don’t go! Go with us.