Directions to Glacier National Park

The Sunset in Glacier National Park, Montana.

The Sunset in Glacier National Park, Montana. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Glacier National Park is located in Montana, the north west corner of Montana actually, right along the spine of the Rocky Mountains. You can reach the Glacier National Park by car, plane or train, and here’s how . . .

Driving to Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park has a choice of road entrances, well, with somewhere so big you’d expect to be able to get access from more than one point wouldn’t you? Right, here goes;

  • Glacier National Park West Entrance – is close to the communities of Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish. From Kalispell you need to take Highway 2 North to West Glacier, it’s about 33 miles in all. The West Entrance to Glacier National Park will give you access to many points within the park, mainly the Lake McDonald area, the Apgar Visitor Center and Park Headquarters. It’s also the west entry point of the Going-To-The-Sun-Road.
  • Glacier National Park Other Entrances – namely Two Medicine, St Mary and Many Glacier Estates. Browning is the closest town to these three entrances, which can all be reached along Highway 89 North from Great Falls to Browning (approximately 125 miles), then you simply follow the sign to whichever entrance to Glacier National Park you require. The St Mary Entrance is the east point of the Going-To-The-Sun-Road providing access to the services at Rising Sun, as well as the St Mary Visitor Center. The Many Glacier Entrance, on the other hand, is the access point for Many Glacier Valley, plus the visitor services which are located at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn and the Many Glacier Hotel.


 

Flying to Glacier National Park

If your starting point is just too far away to drive to Glacier National Park, then don’t worry, there are plenty of commercial airports which are located within driving distance, and when you land you can easily pick up a hire care to continue your journey.

  • Glacier Park International Airport – is close to Kalispell, only 30 miles west of the Glacier National Park West Entrance. You can actually catch a shuttle from this airport right to the park.
  • Missoula International Airport – is around 150 miles from the West Entrance to Glacier National Park, to the south of the park.
  • Great Falls International Airport – is the closest airport for access to Glacier National Park via Two Medicines, St Mary or Many Glacier Entrances. It’s located between 130 miles and 165 miles to the east, depending on which entrance you are heading for.

Just so you don’t try to sneak anything into the airport which is not allowed!

Riding The Train to Glacier National Park

There are railway services to both the West Glacier and East Glacier, and a shuttle service from these locations.

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