Glacier National Park, July or Late September????

I am planning a trip to Glacier National Park either
July or Late September, 2011.

I would like advice on which time of the year would
be better, both Pro and Con.

Thanks for your input.

Bernie

Late July will be peak tourist season and likely peak wildflower season. Weather is about as good as it ever gets there, virtually all trails will be free of snow and the creeks/rivers/waterfalls will all be looking really good.

Late September will be much cooler, autumn color should be at about peak and most of the tourists are absent. Being Montana in late September, there's always a chance of snow, especially at the higher elevations.

Hope this is helpful. I'm no GNP expert and hopefully some of the locals will check in and provide their input.

I was there in September a few years ago, and it was almost completely empty, which was great. It was very cold camping at night, but the daytime temperature was quite pleasant. Never been in July...

I went in late September 5 years ago, and it was fantastic. Going to the Sun Road was closed for about a day and a half due to snow, so I had to drive all the way around the park to get to the east side, but it was a beautiful drive around the south end, too. Just not as dramatic. Better check to see if any hotels are open that late as many close by then. Unless you are camping, and like Jeff says, it will be cold at night.

I'm not a fan of snow, so I picked July. Flowers were awesome, and the weather was perfect. I didn't run into many people -- with the exception of Going to the Sun Road and Logan Pass. It really isn't much different than RMNP in the summer -- just get off the beaten path a bit and the crowd thins fast. Like the rest of us, my hours of operation were also outside the times that the rest of the tourists were out. The one thing that would be really nice about fall would be the lack of mosquitoes.

I'd pick September if it were me, the weather might be a bit more unstable, but if its good its incredible. Probably will have to deal with some snow, but less crowds and fall colors will more than make up for it.

Gamble and go in September. Rewards will be worth the risk.

Bill Brennan

July-wildflowers, September-wildlife, either one-grand landscapes

Maybe it was just a wet year, but I was there at the end of July / first of August in 2008 and several of the trails we started up or wanted to do were still significantly closed due to snow, including the Garden Wall and Grinnell Glacier. To be sure, there was plenty open, but there was also still plenty of snow around. Definitely some crowds, particularly near the roads, short trails, and 'hotspot' destinations, but to be honest a lot of the time I felt like there were fewer people around than when I'm up in RMNP. I think Don sums it up nicely there, though even in July I had a spectacular amount of wildlife encounter time.

I was there in late July and the weather was great. There were lots of wildflowers and most of the trails were snow free. It was definitely busy on the Going-to-the-sun road but the other areas were fairly quiet. I definitely recommend going up to Bowman lake as it was very peaceful and almost no one was there. Make sure to reserve a campsite if you go in July as they were always packed.