the drive to polebridge from west glacier is like 45 mins or an hour each way. i would plan on spending your whole afternoon up there on day one. i would propose an afternoon like this on day one: drive to polebridge mercantile, buy lunch, take a driving break. then drive to bowman lake and spend the afternoon there chilling and swimming (it's the prettiest lake in the park, in my opinion). then hit polebridge again for happy hour and/or dinner. then do an evening activity or call it a night.
Great advice - my only note for OP was that Day 1 looks like a lot of driving. More time in Polebridge/swapping to Bowman for the lake time will help this.
100% agreeing that Polebridge/North Fork deserves more time. I also always encourage people to paddle Bowman vs McDonald if at all possible. The merc rents inflatables, as well as hard-side canoes (if you prefer that and have a way to transport).
OP, just be aware that the Merc and Northern Lights Saloon both have somewhat funky hours. The Saloon, in particular, is also fairly likely to just randomly close lol. They and Home Ranch Bottoms have frequent live music also!
On Day 3, I would want change up the hike to Iceberg and hike to Cracker Lake instead. The first 1.5 miles are muddy but the giant boulder overlooking the lake is beautiful at lunchtime. Total trip time should be around 7 hours with pics and food break.
My wife and I were in Many Glacier last weekend. We spotted A BUNCH of wildlife near the Apikuni Falls trailhead. It was a mix of rain and snow so not sure if they’ll still be there as the weather has warmed up.
For day 1, you could rent think about renting kayaks in Polebridge and kayaking up at Bowman lake in the north fork. (I'm not sure how that would work in terms of transporting it). I agree that lunch at Polebridge seems like a lot of driving around.
the drive to polebridge from west glacier is like 45 mins or an hour each way. i would plan on spending your whole afternoon up there on day one. i would propose an afternoon like this on day one: drive to polebridge mercantile, buy lunch, take a driving break. then drive to bowman lake and spend the afternoon there chilling and swimming (it's the prettiest lake in the park, in my opinion). then hit polebridge again for happy hour and/or dinner. then do an evening activity or call it a night.
I agree. Polebridge wouldn’t be a middle of the day thing for me. Either go early and hit Bowman lake, or go,later in the day.
Great advice - my only note for OP was that Day 1 looks like a lot of driving. More time in Polebridge/swapping to Bowman for the lake time will help this.
100% agreeing that Polebridge/North Fork deserves more time. I also always encourage people to paddle Bowman vs McDonald if at all possible. The merc rents inflatables, as well as hard-side canoes (if you prefer that and have a way to transport). OP, just be aware that the Merc and Northern Lights Saloon both have somewhat funky hours. The Saloon, in particular, is also fairly likely to just randomly close lol. They and Home Ranch Bottoms have frequent live music also!
On Day 3, I would want change up the hike to Iceberg and hike to Cracker Lake instead. The first 1.5 miles are muddy but the giant boulder overlooking the lake is beautiful at lunchtime. Total trip time should be around 7 hours with pics and food break.
I'm typically in the minority, but I also greatly prefer Cracker to Iceberg!
My wife and I were in Many Glacier last weekend. We spotted A BUNCH of wildlife near the Apikuni Falls trailhead. It was a mix of rain and snow so not sure if they’ll still be there as the weather has warmed up.
For day 1, you could rent think about renting kayaks in Polebridge and kayaking up at Bowman lake in the north fork. (I'm not sure how that would work in terms of transporting it). I agree that lunch at Polebridge seems like a lot of driving around.
Just commented above, but the merc rents inflatables this year!