|
Tentative
Itinerary
Day 1:
Arrive Kalispell, Montana; Welcome Dinner
Arrive Kalispell
no later than 1pm. After checking into our hotel, take some time to get
acquainted with your new surroundings. Our welcome dinner will be this
evening.
Day 2 -
Going to the Sun Road; Free Time
One of the most
amazing highlights of Glacier National Park is a drive on the
Going-to-the-Sun Road. This engineering marvel spans 50 miles through
the park's wild interior, winding around mountainsides and treating us
to some of the best sights in northwest Montana. We will experience a
Blackfeet perspective tour through Glacier National Park over
Going-to-the-Sun Road. The tour narrative concentrates on Glacier's
natural features relevant to the Blackfeet Nation, past and present.
Spiritual and philosophical perspectives are interpreted in Blackfoot
life in the buffalo days as well as modern times, and commonly used
plants and roots for nutrition and medicine are pointed out. Our guides
are life residents of the reservation, knowledgeable in many facets of
Blackfeet tribal history and culture.
The remainder of
the day is free to explore on your own--take a horseback ride or unwind
Montana style with a spa treatment at Glacier Park Lodge and Resort.
Day 3 -
Glacier Chaser Gondola, Hiking
Today we go to
Whitefish for a ride on the Glacier Chaser Gondola to the 7,000-foot
summit of Big Mountain. Across the valley below stretches the glitter of
Flathead Lake and the Alp-like crests of Glacier National Park. To
learn about local flora and fauna visit the U.S. Forest Service
Environmental Education Center located in the Summit House. This Center
houses outstanding displays of plants, animals, and the geology of the
area along with informative forest guides to answer questions.
The Danny On Trail
is the most popular trail in the Park. It extends 3.8 miles one-way.
Along the trail and at the summit enjoy vistas of the Flathead Valley
below and long-distance views of mountains of Glacier National Park; the
Canadian Rockies; and the Bob Marshall, Great Bear, Scapegoat, and
Cabinet wilderness areas. The view from the top is 360 degrees of alpine
wonder. The Danny On Trail is one of the few national recreation trails
in the nation that can be accessed by chairlift. We can hike one-way
and ride down or vice versa.
Day 4:
Waterton Lakes National Park, Canada
We will take a day
trip to the Canadian side of Glacier National Park known as Waterton
Lakes National Park. Waterton is where the Canadian mountains meet the
vast rolling prairies, so there's an incredible variety of flowers and
animals. As we travel along the high ridge we'll see meadows and boggy
areas that are ideal habitats for moose. We'll find ourselves
surrounded by lakes, as the Canadian Rockies fill the horizon. The area
is also a haven for elk, mule deer, and bighorn sheep, and both grizzly
and black bears are found in the park. The parks have been designated
the Waterton/Glacier International Peace Parks to commemorate the "long
history of peace and friendship" between the United States and Canada.
Waterton Lakes was made a national park in 1895, with Glacier being
designated 15 years later. The joint international designation came in
1932, and in 1995, the peace park became a World Heritage site.
Day 5 -
Free Time; Boat Tour; Farewell Dinner
Step onto a
classic boat and glide across beautiful alpine lakes nestled among the
peaks within the Park, through gorgeous mountain scenery and unusual
geological phenomena. We will discover a spectacular side of the Park
not visible from the road. Our Captain will share with us his love for
and knowledge of this incredibly special place.
The rest of the
day is yours to do as you please. We will gather this evening for our
farewell dinner.
Day 6 -
Return Home |
