Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park

We did a day-trip around the south of Glacier National Park, then along the iconic Going-to-the-Sun Road through the park.

Here’s an interactive route map with some of our stops marked, going counter-clockwise:

Highway 2 south of Glacier:

Highway 2 south of Glacier

A stop at Silver Staircase Waterfall (probably more impressive at another time of year):

Silver Staircase Waterfall

Silver Staircase Waterfall

Silver Staircase Waterfall

Glacier from US-2:

Glacier from US 2

Glacier from US 2

East Glacier Park:

East Glacier Park

Whistle Stop Restaurant for lunch:

Whistle Stop Restaurant

Whistle Stop Restaurant

Whistle Stop Restaurant

Two Medicine Road:

Two Medicine Road

Glacier National Park sign:

Glacier National Park sign

Two Medicine Road:

Two Medicine Road

Two Medicine Road

Two Medicine Lake:

Two Medicine Lake

US-89 heading north towards the St Mary Visitor Center:

US 89

Roadworks:

Roadworks

US-89:

US-89

St Mary Visitor Center:

St Mary Visitor Center

St Mary Visitor Center

St Mary Visitor Center

St Mary Visitor Center

St Mary Visitor Center

St Mary Visitor Center

St Mary Visitor Center

St Mary Visitor Center

Views from Going-to-the-Sun Road, through the park:

Going-to-the-Sun Road

Going-to-the-Sun Road

An interesting van:

Interesting van

Going-to-the-Sun Road

Going-to-the-Sun Road

Going-to-the-Sun Road

Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

Logan Pass

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

A closed underground restroom:

Closed underground restroom

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

A little close:

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

An iconic red bus:

Iconic red bus

Tunnel

Tunnel

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

View from Going-to-the-Sun Road

Waterfall:

Waterfall

Waterfall

Waterfall

Lake McDonald:

Lake McDonald

Roadworks:

Roadworks

Roadworks

Heading out the west entrance:

West entrance

Mirror glass replacement

While driving along I-5 in Tacoma, Washington, a truck got a bit too close to us, and bashed their mirror into ours, shattering the mirror glass:

Cracked mirror

In this frame from the dashcam, you can see that their mirror was knocked back from the impact:

Truck

The cracked mirror:

Cracked mirror

I ordered replacement mirror glass from the manufacturer:

Replacement mirror glass

Replacement mirror glass

Removing the broken glass:

Removing broken glass

The mirror is heated, so I needed to disconnect it (I’ve already unhooked one connector in this pic):

Disconnecting heater

Behind the glass:

Behind the glass

New and old glass:

New and old glass

The mirror is mounted using adhesive pads and clips at the top and bottom:

Adhesive pads

The replaced mirror glass:

Replaced mirror glass

Unfortunately, the motor that adjusts the mirror position also seems to have been damaged; we can move the mirror in every direction except towards the coach. So we’ll have to get that fixed sometime. Not so urgent, since we can still adjust it by hand.

Moose Creek RV Resort and B&B

We stayed at Moose Creek RV Resort and B&B in West Glacier, Montana. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice place for a family reunion. We met up with some family members to hang out together and visit Glacier National Park.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2022-09-02
  • Check out: 2022-09-11
  • 9 nights

Weather:

  • Mostly sunny, one day with a little drizzle
  • High temps ranging between 66-93°F, lows around 32-50°F
  • A little wind

Noise:

  • No road noise; some train noise
  • No neighbor noise

Site:

  • #3, back in, gravel, with small concrete pad under back wheels
  • Needed to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach
  • Not level due to concrete pad
  • Large site: about 90 feet long by about 90 feet wide
  • Full hookups:
    • 50 amp power, not very conveniently located
    • 45 PSI water, conveniently located (boosted from our tank)
    • Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe)
  • Picnic table on grass
  • Tall trees on driver side; clear sky for Starlink

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • Starlink: 25 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 55 ms ping
  • AT&T: 18-37 Mbps down, 5-8 Mbps up, 120 ms ping
  • Verizon: 18 Mbps down, 9 Mbps up, 80 ms ping
  • T-Mobile: no service
  • Campground Wi-Fi: available but not used

Amenities:

  • Dumpsters
  • No pool
  • Onsite cafe
  • Package delivery to office

Here’s our review on Campground Reviews:

Great place for a family reunion

We met up with several members of the family so we could do Glacier. We have a 40′ motorhome and had a great back-in site on the edge of the property, central to where everyone else stayed in the park with their small trailer, rooftop tent, and glamping pod rental, so there was something for everyone. Being just a couple of miles from Glacier was great for day trips to the park. It was wonderful having the caf on site for breakfast or a latte in the morning. We camped at Moose Creek RV Park and B&B in a Motorhome.

The RV park map:

Map

Our site before parking:

Our site before parking

Our site:

Our site

Our site

The weird little concrete pad:

Concrete pad

Back jacks; no need for jack pads on concrete:

Jacks

Utilities:

Utilities

We used the Starlink dish; I put out cones to mark the cable, since it was on grass (good thing, too, since the grass was mowed while we were out; they mowed around the cable):

Cones for Starlink

The entrance:

Entrance

Office and playground:

Office and playground

Phone booth (kids, ask your parents):

Phone booth

Group fire pit:

Group fire pit

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Dog park:

Dog park

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

A retro trailer at the dump station:

Retro trailer

The back of our site:

Our site

Sites 42 and 41, where some of our family stayed:

Other sites

The parents stayed in a glamping pod:

Glamping pods

Glamping pod

Glamping pod

Glamping pod

Glamping pod

A nice thing about this park was an on-site café:

Cafe

Café breakfast:

Cafe breakfast

Another café breakfast, eating in the nice little seating area by the café:

Cafe breakfast

Dinner while watching baseball on our outside TV:

Dinner and baseball

There are wildfires in the area; here’s a helicopter with a water bucket:

Helicopter with water bucket

For the last family breakfast, I cooked bacon and pancakes on my griddle:

Griddle bacon

Griddle pancakes

A sunset:

Sunset

Our coach after removing the Magne Shades, in preparation for departure:

Our coach

Glacier National Park halfway

Since we had a short drive to Moose Creek, we decided to visit Glacier National Park that evening.

The park currently requires reservations to enter the main part during the day, but entry is unrestricted from 4 PM. We had reservations for every day, except that first day.

Entrance:

Entrance

West Glacier Village:

West Glacier Village

West Glacier Café:

West Glacier Café

Golfing to the Sun mini golf:

Golfing to the Sun

Entrance sign:

Entrance sign

Entrance station:

Entrance station

Our annual pass expired (since we’ve been doing this for a year), so it was time to get a new one. Great value for us:

New annual pass

Apgar visitor center:

Apgar visitor center

Passport stamp station, with phone chargers provided; nice of them:

Passport stamp and phone chargers

The visitor center:

Visitor center

An iconic red bus:

Red bus

Views along Going-to-the-Sun Road:

Views

Views

Views

Tunnel

Views

Wildfire smoke:

Views

Views

Views

Views

Views

Views

Views

Views

Views

Views

Views

Views

Views

Views

Waterfall

Logan Pass visitor center, halfway along the road, and at the continental divide:

Logan Pass visitor center

Logan Pass visitor center

Stamp

Logan Pass visitor center

Flowers

Flowers

Flowers

Heading back down the hill:

Views

Views

Views

Views

Views

Lake

Travel from Marion to West Glacier, Montana

We drove our coach 64 miles, about 1 hour of driving, from Marion, Montana to West Glacier, Montana.

The map route, heading northeast:

Map route

Leaving the McGregor Lakes RV campground:

Leaving campground

US-2:

US-2

A barn:

Barn

An interesting building:

Interesting building

Crossing Flathead River:

Flathead River

We stopped at Woody’s Country Store for lunch; unusual in our coach, but I noticed that they have parking available for big rigs:

Coach parked at Woody's

Reserved parking

Woody's

Woody's

Woody's

Tasty BLT and excellent fries:

Lunch

Back to our coach:

Our coach

Paladin in the steps:

Paladin in the steps

Flathead River again:

Flathead River

Bridge

Hungry Horse; a place name that reminds me of a Hungry Horse restaurant I went to as a kid in New Zealand:

Hungry Horse

The Huckleberry Patch, where Jenn later got a huckleberry pie, pancake mix, etc:

The Huckleberry Patch

Our destination, Moose Creek RV Resort and B&B:

Moose Creek RV Resort

Approaching the office (a little narrow for a big coach):

Office

Jenn checking in:

Checking in

We unhooked our truck out front:

Unhooked truck

I drove the truck to our site, while Jenn drove our coach around a longer route, to avoid a sharp corner:

Coach approaching

Coach approaching

McGregor Lakes RV

We stayed at McGregor Lakes RV in Marion, Montana. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A one-night stay, with a restaurant across the road.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2022-09-01
  • Check out: 2022-09-02
  • 1 night

Weather:

  • Sunny
  • High temp at 87°F, low at 52°F
  • No real wind

Noise:

  • Some highway road noise,  train noise
  • Not much neighbor noise

Site:

  • #4, pull through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad; we left it connected, since only staying one night
  • Somewhat level
  • Medium site: about 90 feet long by about 30 feet wide
  • Full hookups:
    • 50 amp power, fairly conveniently located
    • Didn’t connect water or sewer, since only one night
  • Picnic table and fire pit on grass
  • A few small trees

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • Starlink: 9-25 Mbps down, 10 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
  • AT&T: no service
  • Verizon: no service
  • T-Mobile: no service
  • Campground Wi-Fi: limited, not used

Amenities:

  • Dumpsters
  • No pool

Here’s our review on Campground Reviews:

Nice spot for a quick stop

We stayed here one night on our way to Glacier. Our site was reasonably level, and it was easy access to the highway but without any road noise. Having the lodge restaurant across the street was very nice on a travel day. We camped at McGregor Lakes RV in a Motorhome.

The RV park map:

Map

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

A video of the bedroom slide coming out:

Paladin in the steps:

Paladin in the steps

View across the road:

View across the road

The Lodge:

The Lodge

The Lodge:

Lake view:

Lake view

Food:

Food

Food

Sunset:

Sunset

Sign:

Sign

Other sites

A good idea; using a bucket to carry a water softener (something I plan to get one day):

Water softener in bucket

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Travel from Athol, Idaho to Marion, Montana

We drove our coach 170 miles, about 3 hours of driving, from Athol, Idaho to Marion, Montana.

The map route, heading northeast then southeast:

Map route

Our coach:

Our coach

Our coach

Getting ready to hook up our truck:

Our coach

We used the dump station on the way out of the campground, since we didn’t have a sewer:

Dump station

Dump station

Entering US-95:

US-95

Roadworks:

Roadworks

A barn:

Barn

Paladin not overly concerned:

Paladin

Jenn changed the settings on the TV, and now the mirrored GPS is in color instead of grayscale. Yay!

GPS on TV

Jenn driving:

Jenn driving

US-95 bridge over Lake Pend Oreille:

US-95 bridge over Lake Pend Oreille

A train station:

Train station

North of Lake Pend Oreille is a town called Ponderay, which is how the lake is pronounced:

Ponderay

A Pringles snack while driving down the road:

Snack

A seaplane:

Seaplane

Canada or Kalispell; hint, not going to Canada (yet; probably in a few years):

Canada or Kalispell

Entering Montana, and Mountain Time Zone:

Entering Montana

A stream:

Stream

Kootenai River:

Kootenai River

Car on a pole in Libby:

Car on a pole

Bird on a pole:

Bird on a pole

Bees!

Bees

Middle Thompson Lake:

Middle Thompson Lake

McGregor Lake:

McGregor Lake

Our destination for one night, McGregor Lakes RV Park:

McGregor Lakes RV Park