Three nights in West Glacier and three nights in St. Mary Village (followed by an overnight two nights in Waterton Park, AB) is a perfect scenario for visiting Glacier National Park – an absolutely stunning masterpiece of nature! Anything less is not enough!

Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
To start at the beginning of this series, visit The Trip of Our Lives 2023.

A Slow Start

After a great night exploring the area around our new digs, we got a little later start with lunch at the Snowgoose Grille. The commute was minimal with just a walk across the road!

Today we’ll finish off the Going to the Sun Road from the eastern entrance at St. Mary back to Logan Pass. If it’s anything like the western half, we are in for another wonderful day.

Jackson Glacier Overlook

“Jackson Glacier Overlook is home to the best view of a glacier along Going-to-the-Sun Road, telling one of the park’s most important stories. In 1966, Jackson Glacier measured 316 acres. By 2015, it measured 187 acres.

You can see Jackson Glacier from the parking area, or hike towards it along the trail to Gunsight Lake, which begins at Jackson Glacier Overlook.” ~ from the NPS website

At just over 10,000 feet, Mount Jackson is the 4th tallest mountain in Glacier National Park. In 1850 there were about 80 glaciers in what would become the Park, and now we’re down to only 24 that still meet glacier criteria. Those 24 are monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Horse Tunnel

Horseback used to be the only way of exploring the park before the construction of the GTSR. After the new road was complete, horse tunnels were constructed out of native stone to blend with the landscape – allowing cars and horses to coexist in the park without traffic jams or serious injuries.

A horse tunnel is shown below and another is on the west side of the park. Click on the sign just above for more information about this fantastic overlook.

Panoramic Views of High Peaks and Alpine Meadows

Lunch Creek

“In the summer, Lunch Creek flows down a natural rock staircase from the striking backdrop of Pollock mountain. It was named for its popularity as a lunch stop for early visitors to the park and remains a popular stop on the road today.” ~ from the NPS website

In the elevation changes below, the backdrop of Pollock Mountain looms above Lunch Creek, which spills out to the level ground below. In the photo to the right of the sign, I was hoping to photoshop that pink splotch out because it was distracting. Turns out that’s part of someone’s lunch, and since that seemed appropriate, I left it in!!

Elevation Changes in Just one Photo (x3)

East Tunnel of Going-to-the-Sun Road

I had to wait quite a while to get a photo of the tunnel with no vehicles going through, but it was worth it! You may remember the other tunnel in A Day on the GTSR. I mistakenly used this photo in that post as well. I put an OOPS on that post, and will change it (one of these days).

“This 408-foot tunnel was one of the most difficult challenges in the entire construction of Going-to-the-Sun Road, carving through Piegan mountain.” ~ from the NPS website

Random Views

Siyeh Creek

I’m assuming this creek originates somewhere near Mount Siyeh. The mountain was named after a Blackfeet Indian, Sai-yeh, meaning “Crazy Dog” or “Mad Wolf.” Mount Siyeh is one of six peaks in the Park that tower over 10,000 feet.

More Lovely Views

St. Mary Falls Trailhead

“From the trailhead the trail quickly descends to a junction. To the east, a trail leads along St. Mary Lake to Baring Falls. Straight ahead and to the south, the trail continues over a bridge at St. Mary Falls and ultimately climbs to towering Virginia Falls.” ~ from the sign below

During times when the shuttle is running (we missed it by about a week) you can hike the trail to St. Mary and/or Virginia Falls, board the shuttle, and get a ride back to your car. Today we decided on the hike to Baring Falls, which was about three miles round trip.

It turned out to be a really great trail with enough of an incline to start shedding some outer layers. It was absolutely beautiful, especially with remnants of the Reynolds Creek Fire in 2015. The photos below show the contrast between the bare trees, the lovely red rock and the gorgeous turquoise waters of St. Mary Lake.

St. Mary Lake

“Saint Mary Lake is the second-largest lake in Glacier National Park… Located on the east side of the park, Going-to-the-Sun Road parallels the lake along its north shore. At an elevation of 4,484 feet, Saint Mary Lake’s waters are colder and lie almost 1,500 feet higher in elevation than Lake McDonald, the largest lake in the park, which is located on the west side of the Continental Divide.

Here, the great plains end and the Rocky Mountains begin in an abrupt 5,000-foot elevation change, with Little Chief Mountain (shown below) posing a formidable southern flank above the west end of the lake.” ~ READ MORE

Baring Falls

Baring Falls drops roughly 25 feet over a rock ledge into Baring Creek. The creek continues for another hundred yards or so (under a wooden bridge) before spilling into St Mary Lake.

Heading Back

There were only a few folks by the falls and we all took our turns at pictures. A young man got a little too close to the slippery rocks and took a tumble. He kept saying he was OK, although he had a pretty good gash in his leg.

We had a couple of visitors on the way back, which was pretty fun. Two deer came down the hill and walked in front of us for a while. There was a couple up ahead who moved out of their way so not to disturb them. Everyone (including the deer) were calm and collected and we quietly thanked them for sharing their lovely home.

Wild Goose Island Overlook

“The island gets its name from a Native American story of two young lovers who sought refuge there. But their pursuers followed them to the island and were almost upon them. The Great Spirit took pity on them and transformed them into geese so they could fly away and live out their lives together in peace.” ~ READ MORE

We Are Definitely Coming Back Here!

We ended this fantastic day with a delicious Rising Sun Hawaiian pizza and a couple of beers for dinner. Another fantastic day is in the books.

Up Next: Day Trip to Many Glacier, MT

Happy trails,
Barb