Do you love Glacier National Park? Tell us about it! From marriage proposals and pregnancy to anniversaries and lost loved ones there are so many memories that have unfolded right here in our park.
During the month of February, our friends at REI in Kalispell will be randomly selecting winners who submit a story through email or in their store for some great prizes including lift tickets to Whitefish Mountain Resort or Blacktail Mountain and a Grand Prize package for a tiny house getaway in St. Mary Village with breakfast and a boat ride.
View some of our favorite stories and photos below.
Want to share your own #glacierlove story? Email your story to nikki@glacier.org or visit REI Kalispell before February 28.
“My first experience of Glacier was for my 38th wedding anniversary. My husband has taken me back 2 more times to experience it’s majesty! I almost cry each visit because of the beauty and majesty of Glacier. My favorite place on earth!” – Johnette, Ormond Beach, Florida
“We got engaged in front of Grinnell Glacier.” -Meghan and Graham, New York City
“It started with the Reese’s Cups on the Iceberg trail when I was 9. Hiking is cool I thought. That turned into the pure freedom I tasted on summits and at Kip’s in those summers I worked on the east side. And now it’s the salty tears in my throat as I watch my own children skip up the trails and remember my littlest brother, dead for years now, doing the same when I was 9.” –Courtney, Columbia Falls, Montana
“Finished with a wonderful hike to Hidden Lake and wanting to get off the beaten track before heading home, we drove to the end of North Lake McDonald Road for a lovely picnic lunch. Just after we got back in the car, this beautiful black bear came ambling down a slope in front of us. For 20 minutes we watched as he methodically stripped and ate leaves and huckleberries, unfazed and undisturbed by us, his black fur lustrous through the windshield. I could not have loved any place more than I loved Glacier right then.” –Lucie, Annapolis, Maryland
“I have favorite trails and places throughout the park, but my favorite, without question, has been Sperry Chalet. From the moment I first reached the chalet door I experienced incomparable hospitality. Lemonade and homemade baked goods always tasted better after that steep hike up from McDonald Lake, and I always met interesting people at dinner who shared laughter and interesting trail stories. Two trails from the chalet – up the lower and upper cirques to Comeau Pass, and to Gunsight Pass in the opposite direction – became my favorites in the park. And I will always remember meeting the Sperry mountain goats along the trail, seeing them ascend the Comeau Pass stairs, and hearing them run across the chalet porch at night.
Last August, while the Sprague Fire burned, Houston was inundated by the flooding that followed Hurricane Harvey. One of the small miracles during that time was that, although my neighborhood received 40 inches of rain, we never lost power, cell service, or wifi. That meant that we could check on friends and family, but it also meant that I could follow the fire on Inciweb. Early on the morning of September 1st I woke feeling that something was very wrong. The low that came with learning of the chalet’s loss was soon replaced by the amazing steps taken by Glacier Conservancy. The progress made toward first stabilizing the chalet, then beginning to rebuild, has been far beyond my most optimistic hopes. I will always be grateful for the work of Glacier Conservancy and the chance for hikers to experience Sperry Chalet for generations to come.” –Lisa, Houston, Texas
“This is my son and his fiancee on the Highline Trail in July 2017. They got married in May 2018. This was their first trip to Glacier and my fourth. We love it!” –Keith, Daniel and Katie
“The magic about Glacier is the things you don’t expect. The Howe Ridge Fire was certainly not expected, but in spite of the smoke on August 14, we took to the Huckleberry Lookout Trail and discovered a wonderful and unexpected thing: the glorious scent of ripening huckleberries everywhere. Happy hikers!” –Janine, Scott, & Nathan, Sammamish, Washington
“The Miss Lake McDonald Pageant was a festive affair in 1967. Glacier is my favorite place in the world. Many friends ask why I return to Glacier so often and it’s an easy question to answer. Having the privilege of working at Lake McDonald Lodge changes your life forever and becomes part of your DNA, part of your soul, and who you are.” – Gary, Bridgeport, Connecticut
“In 2013 our family met up with some friends for our Glacier adventure. The highlight of our trip was our 2 night stay at Sperry Chalet. The photo is of our daughter who was 5 months pregnant
at the time! People were applauding as we passed on the trail.” -Fran, Avon Lake, Ohio
“Every few years we find ourselves sitting on the back step of Many Glacier hotel, looking up at Swiftcurrent Lookout saying, “Should we do it once more?” We go up to the pass and marvel at the view, and come back down in time for dinner in the dining room and then we can say, “Yep, we still got it.” -David, Minneapolis, Minnesota
“Why I love Glacier National Park? I think it is as much a realization as it is a love! “If” I had a magic drawing board with a magic pen and drafting tools and was tasked to create a perfect national park, I would harken back to my youth watching Yogi and Boo Boo on TV along with Wild Kingdom and Wild America. I would add a dash of the fishing trips and vacations our family went on. And the hiking and camping trips my Boy Scout troop went on would add some aggregate as well. Oh, and of course the memories of the other (37) national parks and (268) NPS Units my wife and I have visited. All this to create my color pallet and parts and pieces. With this I would start drawing and calculating and assembling what the perfect national park would be…. Once done, I would come to the realization that I had just created Glacier National Park! What more can I say?” -Bill and Linda, Ormond Beach, Florida
“My love for Glacier is a family affair. My mother passed away earlier this year. Her favorite place on the whole planet is Lake McDonald in Apgar. To honor her memory we brought her chair out there this summer. That way her spirit was with us enjoying the water and mountains.” -Kari, Clearwater, Florida
“We couldn’t stop taking pictures along the hike to Grinnell Glacier. We were mesmerized by the reflection of snow sprinkled mountains in Grinnell Lake and the rays of sun highlighting the clouds. Couldn’t recommend this hike enough, truly breathtaking every step of the way!” –Zea, San Francisco, California
“I worked in Glacier National Park the summers of 1958 to 1962. Linda, now my wife, worked at St. Mary in 1961. This picture is at Red Eagle Lake. All my siblings also worked at St. Mary and my Mother was dorm mother at Lake McDonald Lodge.” –Steven, Spokane, Washington
“Hiking Siyeh Bend we walked through the most beautiful meadows, dipped our toes in an icy stream and enjoyed just enough isolation to feel truly unplugged from the modern world. Thank you Glacier Conservancy for protecting this treasure where one can go to replenish your soul #GlacierLove.” –Tanell and Ti
“One of my favorite memories of Glacier occurred last autumn outside the parking lot at the Logan Pass Visitor Center. After finishing a long day of hiking out past Hidden Lake, my wife and I got back to the visitor center in the late evening and ran across this grizzly digging up some roots and just living the grizzly dream. Since we were relatively close to the car and the visitor center, it wasn’t the least bit nerve-wracking, even though there was virtually no one around at the time. Eventually, a ranger happened by and we watched together for a bit. The ranger finally decided the bear was a little too comfortable this near the center (and us humans) and fired a percussion cap to move this young guy along. Just a reminder that the wonders of Glacier can happen anytime and anywhere in the park.” -Mitchel, Calabasas, California and Priest River, Idaho
“Beautiful blue skies with wisps of white clouds! Light breeze with a little chill! Look ahead and you see majestic peaks covered in places with ice and glaciers. Look below to get mesmerized by frothy rivers twinkling in a yellow sunlight or a calm azure glass surface of a lake. Picture all this and you may imagine the absolute beauty of Glacier National Park. Best time to go is early summer! Did I mention wildlife? Grizzly, elk, bison, mule deer, eagles and if you’re really lucky a lone wolf or a ram roam the meadows and hills!” –Amber, Spring, Texas
“The most loved National Park I have ever been to! From the valleys, streams, canyons, the snow, the rivers, the wildlife and oh yeah — the Glaciers! I will be coming back as often as I can.” –Vicky, Springfield, Missouri
“My Glacier National Park story begins years ago when I first drove with my pre-teen son from the east side to the west side via the Going to the Sun Road. The views were so spectacular we both fell in love with the park immediately.
That year my son and I saw Big Horned Sheep, Mountain Goats, a Blonde Bear, and a Grizzly mother with her cub, some so close up that we have since learned to hike more slowly and loudly so as not to get too close. We both got our junior ranger badges, attended numerous ranger programs and hiked to St. Mary and Virginia Falls, Avalanche Lake, Hidden Lake, Red Rock Falls, and everyone’s favorite — Iceberg Lake. Since then we have taken every opportunity to hike in Glacier including hiking to Trout Lake and to the Granite Park Chalet.
I’ve visited, camped in and hiked in more than 45 US National Parks and numerous others throughout the world including in Europe and Canada and whenever anyone asks me which is my favorite, my response, without hesitation, is always, “Glacier, Baby!” While I am torn about telling too many people because I don’t want it to get too crowded there, I cannot help but smile and speak the truth that if anyone has only place to visit it should be Glacier. Enough said!” –Mitra
“We fell in love with Glacier in 1994 when we stayed at both MacDonald Lodge and Many Glacier. The scenery was without peer, the accommodations historic, and the Many Glacier staff superb. We returned in 1997 and more recently in 2016 to Many Glacier for our 50th Wedding Anniversary. We brought our daughter, son, spouses, and four precious granddaughters for a memorable Labor Day Weekend.” –Ed and Judy, Bloominton, Illinois
