Like so many national parks across the United States, Glacier National Park is a hiker’s paradise. There’s over 700 miles of hiking trails within the park’s borders, so for the right traveler, this is heaven on earth. But what about travelers who can’t, or prefer not to, hike? Well, there’s still some great options for you. You’ll find one of the best scenic drives from any US national park, boat excursions, ranger programs, and more.
In this post, I’m going to cover the best things to do Glacier National Park besides hiking.
Glacier National Park Without Hiking
Normally, when I visit a national park, I look at lists of all the best hikes so I can see the best scenery. My trip to Glacier National Park was different. I traveled with my dad, who is not a hiker. Like my visit to Rocky Mountain National Park, this forced me to reevaluate the lens I used for planning. Luckily, there’s some really fun things to do at Glacier National Park besides hiking.
Going to the Sun Road
Easily the best experience at Glacier National Park is driving the Going to the Sun Road. I think this is true if you’re planning a visit to Glacier National Park without hiking or you have several days of hiking and need to take a rest day.
This scenic drive runs the entire width of the park. Starting in the west at Apgar, you’ll wind through the trees as you follow along Lake McDonald. The trees and forests eventually give way to mountains with amazing views in all directions. You’ll eventually reach Logan Pass, the highest point on Going to the Sun Road before you start your decent. Follow along St. Mary Lake before ending at St. Mary.
While Going to the Sun Road is only 50 miles long, you should allocate an entire day for the drive. There are numerous pullouts and viewpoints and you should definitely take advantage of them. I know it may be hard to imagine it taking that long, but I promise that you’ll want to give yourself plenty of time. My dad and I took six hours to drive the entire stretch one way (although we did pause for about an hour so I could hike the Hidden Valley Overlook Trail, so really it was seven hours).
Going to the Sun Road can be driven in either direction. However, it is important to note that if you plan to enter from the west (at Apgar), you’ll need to purchase a reservation if you want to enter the road between 6:00 am and 3:00 pm. If you enter from the east (at St. Mary), you do not need a reservation and can start your journey at any point during the day.
For more information about Going to the Sun Road, I wrote an entire post outlining the best stops along the way.
Note that if you don’t want to drive Going to the Sun Road, there are tour options available that will take you all the way along Going to the Sun Road. These aren’t the cheapest tours (especially if there are multiple people in your group), but they can be a great option no one in your group wants to drive the mountain roads.
Take a Boat Tour
The views along Going to the Sun Road are great, but unfortunately for the driver, they can’t give all of their attention to the scenic views (since they need to focus on actually driving). So, as a treat to the driver, consider taking a boat tour on one of the lakes at Glacier National Park. These boat tours not only show you great scenery, but offer a different perspective of some of the scenery. And the best part is, it’s a great way to see some amazing scenery at Glacier National Park without hiking.
We used the Glacier Park Boat Company, which operates tours on four lakes. Many Glacier is by far the most popular and tickets for these tours can sell out several weeks in advance (hikers also use this boat tour as a shuttle to trailheads). Tours are also offered on Lake McDonald (near Apgar on the western side of Going to the Sun Road), Two Medicine Lake (in the Two Medicine Area of the park), and on St. Mary Lake (at St. Mary on the eastern end of Going to the Sun Road).
On my trip to Glacier National Park, my dad and I chose to take a tour on St. Mary Lake (because the tours of Many Glacier had sold out weeks in advance). This was excellent. The tour lasted an hour and a half and we had a knowledgeable guide giving us information all about the formation of the park — both the geological formation and how tourism developed here.
On other benefit of the St. Mary Lake boat tour is you’ll get a chance to get off the boat and explore. About halfway through the tour, you’ll stop at a boat dock where you can climb off and walk the very short path to Baring Falls. While the trail isn’t technically listed as accessible, the walk is short, pretty flat, and doable for almost everyone (it’s easier than the walks listed in the next section!).
Take a Short Walk
While this post is aimed at non-hikers, I’m including two trails on this list. Both trails are listed by the NPS as accessible trails. There is some uneven ground, but the trails have very minimal elevation and are a mile or less.
Trail of the Cedars
The first trail that I’m going to mention is the Trail of the Cedars. This is a one mile, mostly flat trail that feels very different to most of what you’ll see at Glacier National Park. As you drive Going to the Sun Road, you’ll be surrounded by mountains, but on the Trail of the Cedars, it’s a forest of tall trees.
About half of this trail is a boardwalk, making it a great option for most visitors to Glacier National Park. The other half is still pretty flat, but you may find a tree root or rock as it was a more “traditional” trail. However, the NPS marks the entire trail at accessible.
To get to Trail of the Cedars, you’ll want to look for parking at Avalanche Campground. There’s a few areas to park, so just find a spot that’s open. The good news is that there are two trailheads and you can start the trail from either point, meaning you don’t have to walk on the road.
Running Eagle Falls
The second trail I want to mention is a shorter trail, coming in at about 0.6 miles. This trail takes you out to a beautiful and unique waterfall in the Two Medicine area of Glacier National Park. I found Two Medicine to be more calm than many of the other areas of Glacier National Park that I visited, but don’t expect to have the area to yourself. There’s still plenty of people here, but it was definitely less busy than most of the stops we made along Going to the Sun Road.
Like Trail of the Cedars, Running Eagle Falls is listed as an accessible trail. However, unlike Trail of the Cedars, there is no boardwalk and the entire path is more traditional trail. It’s still very flat, but don’t expect payment or boardwalk. There’s a viewing area of Running Eagle Falls, but if you want to get closer, you’ll need to walk uphill on the path. If you can’t make it up, don’t worry – you’ll still get a great view of Running Eagle Falls regardless.
Attend a Ranger Program
I’ll be the first to admit that ranger talks aren’t necessarily my thing. I’m much more into the epic views and getting out on a hike. However, my dad is the type of person who likes to watch the informational videos and had their been a ranger talk while we were at one of the visitor centers, I’m sure he would have liked to stop.
The point is, look ahead and see what talks will be offered when you are visiting. There are short talks, ranger led hikes and walks, tours, and more. Most activities will take place in the summer and can change on a year to year, or even month to month, basis. Take a look to see what’s offered on your visit and if something sounds interesting to you, work your schedule around it.
If these talks sound interesting to you, it’s a good idea to stop at a visitor center early in your trip to confirm the schedule and see if there have been any updates. Occasionally talks have to be cancelled, so it’s best to try to find out about any schedule changes as early as possible.
Check the schedule for your visit at the NPS website.
Picnic by a Lake
It’s easy to spend an entire day at Glacier National Park without hiking. So if you have a whole day planned, why not find a scenic spot for lunch. Before you leave town (or even the night before if you’re getting an early start), pack a picnic lunch to take with you. There are so many picturesque spots to stop for a break. Yes, there’s some designated picnic areas, but even some of the pull offs can be nice.
My dad and I packed subs for our drive on Going to the Sun Road and I can safely say that it was one of the most scenic spots I’ve ever eaten a Subway sandwich.
Hunt for Some Wildlife
If you love animals, Glacier National Park is full of them. However, it does take some luck and patience to find them. But, this is definitely another activity you can do. There’s an entire section on the NPS website dedicated to the animals at Glacier National Park and rangers at the visitor center will likely have tips on where to go for your best chances to see animals.
That said, there’s no guarantees you will see animals. The only animals I saw were some mountain goats on my hike to Hidden Lake Overlook. My dad, who didn’t do the hike with me, didn’t see any animals.
On our boat tour at St. Mary Lake, we were informed that the group before us saw a bear swimming in the lake. We saw nothing. Another set of travelers told us about all of the animals they saw when they entered Glacier National Park at St. Mary Lake. We also entered at St. Mary Lake that same day and saw absolutely nothing.
Luck plays a huge part in it, but hopefully you’ll be more lucky than us. I’m still upset I missed the bear swimming in the lake.
How Long Do You Need at Glacier National Park
Those who want to hike could spend a week here and not run out of things to do. However, this post is all about Glacier National Park without hiking, so for those people, I’d recommend two days. At the absolute minimum, you’ll want to have one full day for Going to the Sun Road, but I think two days allows you to dive deeper into Glacier National Park, without feeling rushed.
And if you’re looking for a full Montana itinerary, check out my five day road trip.
Sample Two Day Itinerary With No Hiking
My dad and I spent two days at Glacier National Park and with the exception of my short hike to Hidden Lake Overlook (my dad found a pull over along Going to the Sun Road to hang out at for an hour since the Logan Pass Visitor Center was full), we didn’t do any hiking aside from the two short walks included in this list. Here’s what our itinerary looked like.
On Day 1, we explored Eastern Glacier National Park by doing a short walk in Many Glacier and seeing the historic hotel, a boat tour at St. Mary Lake, and visiting Two Medicine and Running Eagle Falls. I’ve written a detailed post outlining this itinerary in more detail.
On Day 2, we drove Going to the Sun Road, stopping at nearly every stop along the way.
When to Visit Glacier National Park
While you technically could visit Glacier National Park all year round, you should really focus your visit during the summer months. Going to the Sun Road is only open from late May through early October (exact dates vary year to year based on the weather). To have the best experience, plan your visit for the summer months.
I visited in mid July and while it was incredibly hot with temperatures reaching nearly 100 degrees near our hotel, up in the mountains of Glacier it was a very pleasant 80 degrees.
Where to Stay at Glacier National Park
There are numerous hotel options near Glacier National Park and it really depends on your itinerary where you stay.
Many people will recommend staying in the town of Kalispell, which is outside the western entrance of Glacier National Park. While you will find plenty of hotel options, these hotels can be pricey (like over $300 per night).
There are a handful of lodges in and near the park, but these are expensive and fill up fast. However, they offer some incredible views and easy access to Glacier National Park.
For a budget option, you could stay in the town of Cut Bank. This is a 60 to 90 minute drive from the eastern entrances of the park (driving time varies by which entrance you use). Hotels are very limited here, but I was able to spend two nights in a Super 8 motel for less than the cost of one night in Kalispell. Yes it added more driving, but the cost savings was so worth it.
Final Thoughts
It’s so easy for travelers to look at Glacier National Park to assume you’ll need to hike to enjoy the park. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of hiking opportunities and there are some things that you’ll have to hike to if you want to see them. However, I think there are plenty of things to keep visitors who don’t want to, or can’t, hike entertained. And honestly, if I’m completely honest, I think this is one of the better US National Parks to visit if you want epic views but very little (if any) hiking.
Continue Your Adventure
Glacier National Park: Going to the Sun Road is epic and a must do when you’re at Glacier National Park. While many people stay in Kalispell, don’t forget to explore the eastern side of Glacier National Park. Check out my full five day itinerary for Montana (which has a huge focus on Glacier National Park) and learn about my top budget tips. Plus start planning your trip with my Glacier National Park Travel Guide.
Rocky Mountain National Park: If you enjoyed this post, I’ve written a similar post all about visiting Rocky Mountain National Park without hiking.
US National Parks: Start planning your national park vacation with my US National Park Travel Guide. You’ll find information about each park, photos, itineraries, and everything you need to start planning your trip.