Best Views: Montana, USA

October 2022

In October 2022, a guy I met on the internet roughly two years prior and my then-boyfriend gifted me a trip to Montana for a long weekend as an extremely generous Christmas present. He, Peter, surprised me with this trip, at least in part, because we both loved the TV Show Yellowstone, which as the title suggests, is set on a ranch near the national park situated at the Wyoming/Montana border.

We eventually decided to visit Glacier National Park instead, which sits north of Yellowstone at the Montana/Canada border. Pete, the ever-thoughtful planner, handled everything from coordinating our flights into Kalispell and booking our incredible cabin situated along a river to renting our 4-wheel-drive vehicle and mapping out our daily itinerary.

After a Friday of travel, our first full day was a 10.5-mile hike to Grinnell Glacier along a gorgeous trail that included views of lakes, cliff-sides, and colossal mountains. Because October is towards the end of the busy season, the "Road to the Sun" (main connector through the park) was partially closed, meaning we had to loop around the southside of the park to enter at the East Gate - none of which we minded as the views and vibes while driving were immaculate, but just an FYI.

Upon parking at the trailhead, whether inspired by chivalry or concern for my clumsiness, Pete carried our 40-lb backpack of water, food, and supplies the entire trek but we did take it slow and steady, enjoying every jaw-dropping vista and indulging every photo opportunity along the way.

We spotted some bighorn rams in a valley below, right before we reached the half-dome where the glacier was partially melted under the sunshine of this unusually-warm October day. At the peak, we hydrated and re-fueled during a rock-top picnic of sorts, and admired the other tourists who made the journey in jeans and flip-flops yet here we were - clad in hiking boots, having lugged a massive backpack of supplies and extra clothing layers up the 2,500-foot elevation.

Towards the very end of the hike, we saw a man pointing his larger-than-life camera at something, which is always a good sign in a national park. We soon saw a massive moose with her calf about 50-yards off the trail. Knowing these beasts are quicker and more dangerous than they seem, we admired her and the baby, snapped a photo, then skedaddled. The drive leaving the park was just as pleasant as the one in, and we arrived back to the cabin in due time.

The next day, Pete planned a recovery-type day for us, which included driving into Whitefish for some grubbing and shopping before heading over to Lake McDonald, near the West Gate entrance to the park. At Lake McDonald, we walked around a bit, enjoyed all the fall foliage, and felt grateful to have the rocky beach nearly to ourselves. It's hard to explain just how gorgeous the views in this park really are - because the mountains and rivers look like one never-ending watercolor painting.

There are hidden gems around Lake McDonald that include several quick, fairly-flat hikes to various viewpoints around the lake. We explored several of those and watched the setting sun glisten across the water. We then drove the winding roads back to the cabin, admiring the wildlife and mountain-views that resembled a postcard. It was another amazing day.

On our final day of this holiday-weekend trip, we drove the "Road to the Sun" from the East Gate entrance until its road closure at Logan's Pass, which sits nearly smack-dab in the middle of the park. We carefully navigated the cliff-edges and narrow footpaths of the Highline Trail and stopped for lunch about 3.5 miles into the hike. It was much cooler and windier this day, and the amount of hikers we encountered was directly proportional to this fact. As we perched atop a boulder eating PB&Js at our would-be turn-around point, two hikers walked by describing a massive grizzly bear they'd seen just over the ridge-line.

Eager to see this apex predator for ourselves, we wrapped up lunch and endured the switchbacks leading up to the ridge-line. We went another mile or so chasing this bear but to no avail. Once we decided to head back, we did, however, see a family of mountain goats nestled, almost invisible against a light-grey rock scramble a ways up the cliffside of a mountain. We observed them train the youngsters on proper hopscotch techniques before trekking back to our car now five miles away.

Alas - we saw a bear after all and from the safety of our vehicle... win, win! On our drive back to the cabin that evening, I spotted a black bear with her cub in a grassy field just off the road, and Pete pulled a quick u-turn so we could watch the mama and baby forage in the waist-high grass until they faded into the darkness cloaking the day.

Once back at our cabin that evening, we did some laundry and packed up in preparation of our early-morning departure. The Kalispell airport is so tiny that we returned our rental car, checked-in, went through security, and got breakfast all within 30 minutes. After a quick connection through Denver, we were home in Cincinnati, having had the most incredible weekend together.

I was incredibly thankful for Pete's thoughtfulness, generosity, and adventurous spirit that made for such a fun, yet romantic weekend getaway to a place now near-and-dear to my heart, despite the fact that we've since parted ways. Today's takeaway, then, is that not all online-dating is a crap-chute and you could end up on the trip of a lifetime with a dude you met on the internet; even if it doesn't work out in the end, it doesn't mean the journey was taken in vain.

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To Do or Not To Do?

Could not recommend this destination MORE! Glacier National Park is truly one of the prettiest, most other-worldly places I've ever been - and there's much more to do and see that we just didn't have time for. With that said, getting to the park itself (flight and rental car) can be difficult and expensive if you're not careful. What it lacks in accessibility, though, is compensated for with its beauty and nearly-untouched ruggedness. Visiting Glacier is time, money, and energy very well-spent. Wishing you all the chance to explore this beautiful place!

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