June 2018 – America’s stunning National Parks get all the press, but sometimes the drive towards them is almost as beautiful. As we made our way to the eastern side of Glacier National Park in Montana via US-2, the image of a mountain reflecting in a pond caught our eye.
US-2 is a beautiful drive. These pretty reflections made us stop.
We just had to pull over for a closer look. The day was a big gloomy but the landscape was lovely.
.
The wildflowers were beginning to bloom, a perfect foreground for these snow capped peaks.
Pretty wildflowers were in bloom!
Huge snows last winter and a bunch of rain this spring has made all of the rivers and streams in Montana swell almost beyond the riverbanks, and there are waterfalls, big and small, everywhere.
.
Hopping back in our rig, we drove alongside the eastern side of Glacier National Park on US-89, and the scenery got better and better.
Spectacular views east of Glacier National Park.
Big rigs can’t drive the narrow and twisting Route 49 that goes to the Two Medicine entrance of Glacier National Park. Instead, we had to route through the town of Browning, but the views we saw as we headed north towards Saint Mary were fabulous.
.
.
Suddenly the U-shaped valleys of Glacier National Park that were carved by glaciers eons ago came into view. Again, we had to pull over, if only to get a shot of our rig in such a setting!
Rounded valleys carved by glaciers come into view.
.
Upper St. Mary Lake is located inside Glacier National Park, and we loved exploring it two years ago, but Lower St. Mary Lake is located outside of the Park, and pullouts along the road offered some fabulous views too.
Lower St. Mary Lake outside Glacier National Park
When the sun is out, St. Mary Lake is a rich and luscious shade of blue, but on this overcast day the air was perfectly still and the mountains were able to check out their reflections in the silvery water.
Lupines were blooming on the hillsides.
St. Mary Lake can be a vivid blue with waves twinkling in the sun, but we caught it on a pensive, reflective day.
The water was like glass.
The most famous part of Glacier National Park is the Going to the Sun Road that traverses the park via Logan Pass between the east and west sides. This road is so high that it is buried in snow well into the Spring, and the risk of avalanches keeps the road closed until mid to late June (or even early July!).
The east side of Glacier National Park may be its more beautiful side.
For Park visitors that arrive early in the season, like we did, the views outside the Park are almost as stunning as the Going to the Sun Road, and there’s very little traffic.
.
US-89 runs through the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, and some lucky souls have homes overlooking the lake. We spotted one on the far shore. How cool!
.
Out in the pastures we saw some horses romping around too. Beautiful!
Horses ran free in a nearby pasture.
Our goal this year was to visit Many Glacier, one of the most spectacular spots in Glacier National Park and a place we had never visited before. As we anticipated, our photos from there will fill an entire upcoming blog post! Once we finished our visit, we were back out on glorious US-89 once again heading south, this time with sunshine.
.
At one pullout a dirt road beckoned us to take a walk towards the mountains.
Buddy leads us into the mountain views.
A river runs through it.
The wildflowers were blossoming in all their glory.
In the past, we have searched high and low for fields of wildflowers to photograph, often with little success. But it seems that the best way to find anything super special in this life is not to go looking for it! Here we were soaking in the awe-inspiring mountain views when we discovered we were surrounded by fields of wildflowers.
Mountains and wildflowers.
.
Buddy posed by some flowers for a pic.
.
The flowers inside Glacier National Park might be more plentiful and the mountains might be taller and craggier than what we saw on this special scenic drive outside the Park, but it was pretty darn gorgeous.
.
.
.
For RVers heading to Glacier National Park, the trek from the more heavily visited west side to the less visited east side is a 100 mile trip. But despite the extra miles it is well worth doing, not just for the majestic scenery inside the Park at Two Medicine, St. Mary and Many Glacier, but for the eye-popping views you’ll see on the way there and back!
US-89 is easy to drive with a big rig and there are lots of large pullouts where you can stop and savor the view.
Please note that there was construction on US-89 when we drove it in June 2018. We experienced long delays as a pilot car led groups of vehicles through the lengthy construction zone. Hopefully next year the road improvements will be finished and it will be a breeze to drive!
Subscribe
Never miss a post — it’s free!
Glacier National Park Entrances on the East Side:
More info about the eastern side of Glacier National Park:
- Going to the Sun Road info and past open/closing dates
- RV Parks and Campgrounds on Glacier’s East Side – RV Park Reviews
- RV Parks and Campgrounds near St. Mary – Allstays
- Map of our route – Zoom in and out
Other blog posts from Waterton-Glacier National Park:
- Glacier National Park’s “Many Glacier” – Crown of the Continent!
- “Going to the Sun” from Glacier National Park’s East Side – Breathtaking!
- Glacier National Park’s Quieter Side – Saint Mary
- Waterton Lakes Nat’l Park – Starry Skies, the Milky Way & Wildflowers
- Waterton Shoreline Cruise – A Classy Tour of Waterton-Glacier NP
- Waterton Lakes National Park – Rocky Mountain High!
- Glacier National Park in Montana – Mirrors at Lake McDonald
- Glacier National Park, MT – Mountain Goats and Lake Views
PLUS – Links to all our visits to the National Parks
Our most recent posts:
- Beehive Trail in Arizona – A “Mini Wave” hike by Lake Powell 07/19/24
- Reese Goose Box Review: 20K Gen 3 TESTED + How to Hitch 06/27/24
- Lake Powell – Heart of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area 05/10/24
- Quick Release Pull Pins for Fifth Wheel Landing Jacks – YES! 05/03/24
- Sheep May Safely Graze (in the Mountains with Dogs!) 04/26/24
More of our Latest Posts are in the MENU.
New to this site?
Visit RVers Start Here to find where we keep all the good stuff. Also check out our COOL NEW GEAR STORE!! *** CLICK HERE *** to see it!
<-Previous || Next->
I noticed in one of your pictures that your bikes are now covered on the back of your fifth=wheel. What type of cover do you use? Our bikes take a real beating from the dirt and grime from the road. Also, what do you use to protect the metal parts from corrosion? Thanks for the feedback.
We had a bike cover custom made for us by an industrial seamstress named Rachel in El Jebel, Colorado. It is made out of Sunbrella and has two very long zippers to close it and webbing sewn onto it to tighten it down and keep it from flapping. It is an excellent cover. Her website is Rachel’s Sewing Repair and her phone number is (970) 704-1553. As for corrosion, everything on our bikes is aluminum so they hold up well when wet and don’t rust.
We stayed at the campground at Two Medicine a couple of years ago. So beautiful and was a great fine with hardly any other campers there. We are planning on returning again this year. Thanks for sharing…..
That’s a gorgeous spot, and how awesome to have it be so quiet. Enjoy your return visit — lucky you!!
Hi guys…we’ve been following you for years!! Love your blog and more the photos 😀. Sounds like we just missed you? Sad. We are in west Glacier now and plan to drive to east Glacier tomorrow for a few days…are you still there?? Write back
Too bad we missed you. We buzzed by the east side of Glacier for a very brief visit and left about a week ago. Enjoy your stay there. It is a stunningly beautiful area, and every entrance point into the park has something special to offer!! Thank you very much for following our travels for such a long time. We appreciate it!!
As always, great post! I’ve not been east of the summit at Glacier, but to the west one of my favorite very out of the way spots is Polebridge. If you haven’t been there, I hope you’ll make it and enjoy.
We haven’t yet made it to Polebridge or Bowman Lake, but they are on our list. Next time!!!
Em,
So much beauty in one place. Hard to comprehend. Great pics. Love Puppy Chow!
Bob
Thanks, Bob. And the amazing thing is that this is all outside the Park. Lots of folks rush on by on their way to get to Glacier, but it is really worthwhile to take a few extra hours to stop at the pullouts and soak it all in! Puppy Chow loved the break from driving too!!!
Buddy is very photogenic! Way too much snow in those pictures mark and Emily!
Buddy sure does well in front of the camera, Pete, but he gets a lot of practice too! We’ve managed to position ourselves for a very prolonged late winter/early spring this year. Right now we’re in the third of five straight days of rain and 50 degree temps in south-central Montana. Who ordered this for mid-June??!!! But seeing the snowy peaks makes up for it!
Wow! Just WOW!
🙂
Love the photos but also appreciate the writing….”apprenticeship” at Exeter ????
No doubt, I learned to write at Exeter where we had to write a five page paper every other week for English class, all year, every year… and every one came back covered in red ink!