West Glacier | Christian Sawicki

STOPS:

• 1West Glacier
• 2Apgar Visitor Center
• 3Red Bus Tours or Sun Tours

You can provision your RV in Columbia Falls or Kalispell before heading into West Glacier, the gateway to Glacier National Park.

The village of West Glacier is just outside the west entrance to Glacier National Park. Stop into the local grocery store for last-minute snacks for taking into the park, or that much-needed water and bear spray, if you plan to hike. Also in West Glacier, you can sign up to experience a whitewater rafting trip or a guided fishing trip on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River—one of the first rivers in the country to be designated a wild and scenic river system.

Please note, vehicle reservations are required to enter the park during peak season. Learn more here.

Before you enter Glacier National Park with your RV, be aware that vehicles longer than 21 feet, wider than 8 feet or taller than 10 feet are prohibited on the upper portions of the Going-to-the-Sun Road due to tight turns and rock overhangs.

RVs are allowed on Going-to-the-Sun Road up to Avalanche from the west side and up to Rising Sun from the east side, though RV parking is limited. A great option is to park at Apgar Visitor Center on the west side or at one of the nearby RV parks, and hop aboard a red bus for a narrated tour. These iconic soft-top buses, introduced in the 1930s and later restored with propane engines courtesy of the Ford Motor Company, travel the full 50-mile length of Going-to-the-Sun Road. The drivers often called Jammers, referring to how they had to jam the gears in the 1930s to get the buses to climb the steep terrain, offer lively commentary on the park’s geology, glaciology, flora, fauna and history—including the road’s original construction in the early 1930s. You can also experience the park through a cultural lens on a Sun Tour, led by an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation. A variety of tour lengths are available, from 2.5 to 9.5 hours, with pick-up service offered at several area RV parks and campgrounds. Since the road is closed to vehicles over the above-mentioned sizes, many RVers find these tours the best way to see the heart of the park.

Swiftcurrent Lake | Jason Savage

STOPS:

• 4Essex
• 5Walton Goat Lick
• 6St. Mary Visitor Center
• 7Glacier Park Boat Company
• 8Waterton Lakes National Park

From West Glacier travel the park's southern boundary along State Highway 2. Visit Essex, home to LOGE Glacier, a newly renovated modern lodging option especially enjoyed by railroad buffs. A few miles from Essex, watch for the Walton Goat Lick pull-off, where mountain goats graze and lick the mineral-laden rock of an exposed riverbank cliff. Also check out the impressive architecture of Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier Park. This grand hotel was built by the Great Northern Railway in 1912.

Stop by the St. Mary Visitor Center for a wealth of park information. The east side of the park offers wonderful day hiking opportunities and interpretive boats tours on Two Medicine Lake, St. Mary Lake and Swiftcurrent Lake. You may enjoy combining a boat tour and a day hike to Grinnell Glacier. Stop by the activities desk in the Many Glacier Hotel for information, but please note that due to extremely limited parking during construction in the Swiftcurrent area, personal vehicle access into Many Glacier will be restricted from July 1 to September 21, 2025. A temporary shuttle service will be provided for hikers wanting to access the area.

Enjoy an overnight stay at Many Glacier Hotel, Many Glacier Campground* or nearby RV parks outside the park.

*ATTENTION: Many Glacier Campground is closed for the 2025 season due to construction in the area.

You may add an additional day:
From Glacier National Park, drive north across the Canadian border to visit the Prince of Wales Hotel, a rustic grand hotel built in 1927. The Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park was established in 1932 as was the world's first international Peace Park. The park is also a United Nations World Heritage Site.

Climb aboard the wooden-hulled 1927 International for a boat tour down Waterton Lake and cross the international border by boat to Goat Haunt in Glacier National Park. Or enjoy high tea at the Prince of Wales Hotel with a beautiful view of Waterton Lake and the Waterton townsite.

Lodgepole Gallery | Donnie Sexton

STOPS:

• 9Browning and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation
• 10Bynum and dinosaur fossils
• 11Lincoln and Sculpture in the Wild

Head south on U.S. Highway 89 for a scenic drive down the east side of the magnificent Rocky Mountains, and discover part of what the Blackfeet Indians call the “Backbone of the World.” The towering peaks gradually gives way to high plains, wide-open spaces and small towns that cater to locals and travelers curious enough to spend time in them.

Begin your adventure in Browning, the largest community on the 1.5 million-acre Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The Museum of the Plains Indian exhibits some of the West’s most exceptional cultural artifacts, offering insight into the heritage and traditions of the Plains tribes. Nearby, the Lodgepole Gallery highlights both traditional and contemporary Indigenous arts and crafts. If you’re visiting during the second week of July, experience the vibrant celebration of North American Indian Days, featuring dancing, drumming, rodeo events and tipis set against the majestic Montana landscape.

Stop in Bynum and search for dinosaur fossils at The Montana Dinosaur Center. Take in Choteau’s small-town character, and be sure to stop in at Allen's Manix Store in Augusta before crossing back over the Rockies into Lincoln. Also make it a point to visit Sculpture in the Wild, a 26-acre park with over 14 large-scale sculpture installations. As you pass through Ovando, check out Trixi's Antler Saloon for a glimpse of Montana’s past.

Clearwater Canoe Trail

STOPS:

• 12Artisans in Seeley Swan Valley
• 13Clearwater Canoe Trail
• 14Bigfork Arts Community

Positioned between the east slope of the Mission Mountains and the west slope of the Swan Range, the Seeley Swan is a series of pristine mountain lakes among dense stands of ponderosa pine, Douglas fir and larch.

Experience Seeley Lake a small arts and recreation community, with shops, trails, restaurants and of course Seeley Lake. Enjoy a peaceful canoe ride along the Clearwater Canoe trail. Kayak and canoe rentals are available from Tamarack Resorts.

Your final destination is Bigfork. Sitting on the northeast shore of Flathead Lake, this quaint village was chosen as “One of the 50 Great Towns of the West,” designated as “One of the 100 Best Small Art Towns of the Nation,” and was listed in National Geographic's Guide to Small Town Escapes, which is no surprise given its gourmet restaurants, fun shops, galleries, local character and beautiful, natural surroundings.

You may enjoy a hike along the Swan River Nature Trail, a level trail that follows the “wild mile” of the Swan River. The trailhead is at the east end of Grand Avenue, a couple blocks up the hill past the Bigfork Inn.

Whitefish Mountain Resort

STOPS:

• 15Downtown Whitefish
• 16Great Northern Railway Depot
• 17Whitefish Performing Arts
• 18Whitefish Mountain Resort

Whitefish sits 25 miles from Glacier National Park at the base of Whitefish Mountain Resort, a major ski and summer destination. Downtown offers walkable access to galleries, shops and restaurants, with unique local finds along Central Avenue.

History buffs will enjoy the Great Northern Railway Depot. Amtrak trains still come and go here in the same fashion as the early models that brought tourists to Glacier. Through collections that span from fur trapper times to the early days of skiing, the Stumptown Historical Museum tells the story of how the logging camp of Stumptown became Whitefish.

Check what's playing at two of Whitefish's remarkable performing arts venues—the O'Shaughnessy Center and the Whitefish Performing Arts Center at Central School. If you can, catch a performance by the Alpine Theatre Project.

The summer lift rides at Whitefish Mountain Resort are a great way to get outdoors and enjoy Montana's Glacier Country—beat the heat, take in incredible vistas or hitch a ride to the top for some mountain biking fun. Summer activities at the resort also include the Aerial Adventure Park, as well as zip lines and an alpine slide.