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Glacier National Park is known as the “Crown of the
Continent” for good reason: dazzling peaks, historic lodges, wildlife, and the
glaciers. It has 151 trails covering 745 miles.
And Going-to-the-Sun Road over Logan Pass is one of the most scenic
drives in the U.S. The park was established in 1910 and is sacred land for the
Blackfeet Nation whose reservation borders the park. There are 3 visitor
centers, including one near our camp. Contiguous to Glacier is Waterton National
Park in Canada. We will be based at Johnson’s of St. Mary Campground (http://johnsonsofstmary.squarespace.com)
on the east side of the park, just a half-mile from Going-to-the-Sun Road - an
ideal location. This is a commercial campground, not the rustic place in the
boonies we usually use for camp! However, our campsites are segregated from
others by aspen trees and feel pretty private; the RV area is barely visible.
The campground has flush toilets, hot showers, and a laundromat!
We are also renting the pavilion which will serve both as shelter in the
event of rain and a serving/storage area for food. Online registration will open Thursday, February 28, 7:00am
for members and Tuesday, March
5 for non-members. New this year is two-tier pricing: camping and
non-camping. Non-campers: Since
the campground is near motels, cabins, and private homes, we suspect that some
folks will want to sleep indoors rather than camp.
Campers:
Tentatively, we are planning for approximately 60 slots for campers.
This includes tent sites and small “RV’s” (no hook-ups).
If your RV is longer than about 22’ and/or you would like a site with
electricity and sewer, you will need to make your own reservations. See the link
above.
Fees: We have not received all the
information we need to set the fees. We are planning on a total of 90
participants: about 60 slots for campers (tents and small “RV’s”; no hook-ups)
and about 30 for folks who prefer to stay elsewhere.
The price difference per person will be approximately $60 (the cost of
the campground). In other words, if
campers pay a total of $250 for the 6 days, non-campers pay approximately $190.
The fee includes 6 continental breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 6 dinners catered by a
local restaurant.
Hikes: Glacier National Park is a very
special place, especially since the Park Service projects that the glaciers will
disappear by 2020 (this is not a typo)!! The hiking is simply spectacular. The
following website describes the top 10 hikes in the Park:
http://www.hikinginglacier.com/glacier-top-ten-hikes.htm. Click
on the individual hikes for detailed descriptions. Crypt Lake (Waterton National Park, Canada):
This is truly one of the top 20 hikes in the world (either a very long day or
probably an overnight trip from camp).
https://mywaterton.ca/do/crypt-lake-trail/wat2d06cc9d678fdc690.
Anyone planning on hiking in Canada will need to bring a current passport. As additional information becomes available, we will post
updates here.
Oh, the Places We Have Been
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