We traveled to Montana to see, among other things, Glacier National Park, and then drove into Alberta, Canada, to see Banff National Park.

Day 1. We flew into Spokane International Airport, which is the largest airport in the region, and drove through Lake Coeur d’Alene…

and into Missoula.

Day 2. In Missoula, we hiked Waterworks Hill for an overlook of the city.

From there, we drove toward Kalispell, stopping at West Shore State Park for views of Flathead Lake.

At Lone Pine State Park, a short trail leads to an overlook of Kalispell, Whitefish, Flathead Lake, and the Flathead Valley. Glacier National Park is behind the mountains.

We enjoyed sunset (which occurs around 9:30pm in Kalispell in July) at Wayfarers State Park on Flathead Lake.

Day 3. Our first experience in Glacier was Lake McDonald.

We took a trail to John’s Lake…

…and then to Sacred Dancing Cascade.

Then we drove Going to the Sun Road to St. Mary’s in East Glacier. Going to the Sun Road has some of the most stunning views of our trip.

Day 4. We went to the Many Glacier area of the park. We arrived at Lake Sherburn in the early morning.

We hiked the Grinnell Glacier trail, which is about 12 miles round trip and passes along Swiftcurrent Lake…

…and above Lower Grinnell Lake…

…to Upper Grinnell Lake at Grinnell Glacier.

That evening, we went to Two Medicine Lake to catch the evening colors. On our way there, we saw a bear. (Not the greatest picture because it was on the move…and fortunately on the move away from us!)

Although the sun sets around 9:30pm, it goes behind the mountains much earlier. We arrived after the sun had “set” behind the mountains but before the sky changed from blue to orange, pink, and purple.

Day 5. The next day, we took a trail along St. Mary’s Lake…

…to St. Mary’s Falls.

Then we walked to the Hidden Lake Overlook at Logan’s Pass. The trail from the overlook to the lake itself was closed due to bear activity. (We did not see any bears this time.)

Day 6. We crossed the border into Canada and arrived at Waterton Lakes National Park. We walked along the shore of Upper Waterton Lake.

Then we hiked to Lower Bertha Falls. Much of the park was closed due to damage from a fire the previous year, and among the burned evergreens along the trail were fields of fireweed. Fireweed is one of the first plants to grow in fire-damaged areas.

We stopped at Cranwell Falls, which is along a main road and easily accessible.

Then we took photos of the lakes and the Prince of Wales hotel from an overlook.

Day 7. Still in Canada, we spent most of the day in Banff. Our first stop was Lake Moraine, one of the most picturesque places in the park. The Banff website says to get to Lake Moraine before 8am. We arrived at the road to the lake just before 7am and were told that the parking lot was full. They let us onto the road expecting that someone would leave by the time we got there. There was one space left. (Good thing we got up at 4am.)

Lake Moraine was spectacular! So was Lake Louise.

There are two tea houses at Lake Louise. One is at Lake Agnes, the other at the Plain of Six Glaciers. We decided to hike the trail to the Plain of Six Glaciers and have lunch at that tea house. The hike was amazing and unlike anything we have ever seen.

Note on the tea house: They accept Canadian cash. They charge a premium for American dollars and a significant premium for credit cards. The tea house has no electricity, and cooking is done with propane. Food and supplies arrive via pack animal and helicopter. The food is delicious!

Before leaving Banff, we drove along the Icefields Parkway and to Bow Lake.

We stayed at the River to Peaks Inn in Golden, British Columbia, which we highly recommend! I wish we could have stayed longer.

Day 8. This was a long driving day from Golden back to Kalispell. We passed through the Columbia Wetlands, which was an unexpected change of terrain.

Day 9. We stopped at the shore of Whitefish Lake…

…before taking the ski lift to the top of Big Mountain at the Whitefish Mountain Resort. The resort caters to mountain bikers during the summer, and the summit offers views of Whitefish and Flathead Lakes and Glacier National Park. We did part of the Danny On Memorial Trail, which is a rather strenuous trail if you take it from the lodge to the summit, which we skipped in favor of the ski lift.

That evening, we took a drive into Glacier for one last view of Lake McDonald.

Day 10. We returned to Spokane by way of Kootenai Falls.

Back in Spokane, we visited the Finch Arboretum…

…before ending the day at Riverfront Park on the Spokane River.

Day 11. We flew and drove home having experienced yet another amazing vacation!

(c) 2018 J. Atwater. All rights reserved.