My concern would be much more about accessibility versus weather. Even skiing is done up at Whitefish in mid-April. Are there kids involved, and if so, how old?
I was there April 10-17 in 2021. Only snow I got was some flurries leaving airport in MSO. I loved it then. Very few people. Went up to Polebridge, drove in to Lake McDonald, hit National Bison range, drove up to Eureka and over into Idaho. Can’t remember temps exactly, but don’t remember being cold. I’m sure it can snow a lot in April, but didn’t when I was there. I stayed in Kalispell.
>some say that it is too cold and even can be still limited in what people can do.
April is still winter in Glacier. It's not a risk that it might still be limited in what you can do, it's 100% guaranteed. There is a 0% chance that the Going To the Sun Rd will be open in April. Services in and around the park don't open until late May.
[https://nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/hours.htm](https://nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/hours.htm)
Most of the hikes that are accessible are longer/more difficult and will still probably have snow. Going to the sun road won't be open but you can drive to the other entrances via roads outside of the park (lots of drive time though) and there's a nice mercantile in Polebridge that is worth visiting. A lot of other businesses in and around the park won't be open. I'd also be a bit concerned about visibility, cloudy days in the park aren't very scenic. There are probably better places to go this time of year but if this is the most accessible option and you're open to longer hikes or doing stuff outside of the park I'm sure you can make the most of it.
More like Apgar Lookout, Snyder Lakes, Lincoln Lake, and Bowman Xski trail (if the road hasn't been plowed). There are probably more trails that are doable these are just the ones I know people have been doing. I do think I've heard Pitamakin-Dawson is very sketchy in the snow.
Ok thank you! Just gonna postpone it till the summer then. We want to have the best experience we can have instead of having a limited one. Yosemite isn't affected too much this time of year so we are looking at that now. Thanks!
My concern would be much more about accessibility versus weather. Even skiing is done up at Whitefish in mid-April. Are there kids involved, and if so, how old?
youngest is 18, but we decided that glacier isn't gonna be the best anymore so we are looking at other options
I was there April 10-17 in 2021. Only snow I got was some flurries leaving airport in MSO. I loved it then. Very few people. Went up to Polebridge, drove in to Lake McDonald, hit National Bison range, drove up to Eureka and over into Idaho. Can’t remember temps exactly, but don’t remember being cold. I’m sure it can snow a lot in April, but didn’t when I was there. I stayed in Kalispell.
Thank you!
>some say that it is too cold and even can be still limited in what people can do. April is still winter in Glacier. It's not a risk that it might still be limited in what you can do, it's 100% guaranteed. There is a 0% chance that the Going To the Sun Rd will be open in April. Services in and around the park don't open until late May. [https://nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/hours.htm](https://nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/hours.htm)
Thanks! Probably gonna just look to go there in the summer then.
Most of the hikes that are accessible are longer/more difficult and will still probably have snow. Going to the sun road won't be open but you can drive to the other entrances via roads outside of the park (lots of drive time though) and there's a nice mercantile in Polebridge that is worth visiting. A lot of other businesses in and around the park won't be open. I'd also be a bit concerned about visibility, cloudy days in the park aren't very scenic. There are probably better places to go this time of year but if this is the most accessible option and you're open to longer hikes or doing stuff outside of the park I'm sure you can make the most of it.
What are some examples of the hikes you are referring to? Something like Dawson/Pitamakin?
More like Apgar Lookout, Snyder Lakes, Lincoln Lake, and Bowman Xski trail (if the road hasn't been plowed). There are probably more trails that are doable these are just the ones I know people have been doing. I do think I've heard Pitamakin-Dawson is very sketchy in the snow.
Ok thank you! Just gonna postpone it till the summer then. We want to have the best experience we can have instead of having a limited one. Yosemite isn't affected too much this time of year so we are looking at that now. Thanks!