This trip was patched together after plans to stay on the Eastside of the park were cancelled. Summer 2020, was uprooted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For months, we had planned to travel to Banff National Park in Canada, then come south to stay at a KOA on the East entrance of Glacier National Park. In April, our travel plans to Canada ended when we realized the Canadian Border probably won't be open. That's when we started booking a plan B for the first half of our trip. We were able to secure spots in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nye, Montana. We felt pretty good about keeping the KOA on the Eastside of Glacier as our final stop. Unfortunately, when we were 900 miles from home in South Dakota, and only days away from July 4th, we were notified that the Blackfoot Tribe (the tribe that owns the Eastside of Glacier N.P.) decided on not opening their half of the park. This included all businesses on the Eastside of Glacier which is where we had reservations to stay. Instead of giving up, Jess and I spent the next morning researching and calling every campground near the Westside of Glacier. With the planned stay being over July 4th and needing 8 nights, we were worried we wouldn't be able to find anything. Finally, after calling multiple places we found a campground that could accommodate an 8 night stay over a holiday! We were so relieved!

Camping
We stayed at Rocky Mountain "HI" Campground. The campground we stayed at definitely wasn't our first choice, however, it turned out to be a great spot! The only downfall, was the 30 minute drive to the Glacier N.P. entrance. We made it work and were thankful to have found an opening with such short notice. The kids loved the playground, there were really cool buildings to play in and a huge open field. They met some friends and played capture the flag and hide and go seek tag each night. There was a little swimming hole, it was way too cold for me, but the kids didn't mind! The campsites were flat and big enough to accommodate our camper and truck with extra room for a campfire ring and picnic table. Overall, we were just thrilled to be able to salvage our last half of our trip! ​

Avalanche Lake and Trail of the Cedars
Due to the Eastside of Glacier being closed, the Westside was busier than usual. To get to the really popular trailheads, we had to get up really early to ensure a parking spot. We arrived at 6 AM to hike to Avalanche Lake and Trail of the Cedars. This is a really popular trail on the Westside. The majority of the trail goes through beautiful old growth trees with the rushing Avalanche Creek running next to it. The Trail of the Cedars is a loop with a nice boardwalk for a nice easy stroll. The Trail of the Cedars connects with the Avalanche Lake trail for a combined 6 mile hike. The early morning hike allowed us to see the morning dew lift from the trees, which made the hike even more spectacular. Surrounded by an old growth forest and mountains, you walk to an opening of a gorgeous crystal clear lake surrounded by mountains and waterfalls, just spectacular!!

Stanton Lake
Outside of Glacier National Park, was a hike to Stanton Lake. This was recommended to us from our whitewater rafting guide. This is about a 4 mile hike with some areas of steep terrain. The trail leads you to a beautiful crystal clear lake surrounded by mountains. 

Whitewater Rafting
If you love adventure, this is for you! If not float trips are also available! I was very surprised when they said Mia was old enough and big enough to do this. They supplied all the gear, including wetsuits. The water temperature was about 48 degrees, so really cold! Our guide was a young college student, and he was so fun and nice! We went through some class 2 and class 3 rapids. Both kids were nervous at first, but ended up loving it! Travis was old enough to paddle, but Mia had to sit on the floor of the raft and tuck her feet in. Some of our pictures looks like she fell out, but she didn't...just her sitting behind Jess!! Since she was just along for the ride, she got pretty cold because she wasn't doing physical labor. We stopped at a bank for a picnic lunch and warmed up a bit. At one point our guide allowed Jess and Travis to jump into the river...I was offered the chance too, but NO THANKS! It was fun to watch our rafting guide, a skinny young college student. pull Jess back into the raft! Our guide also allowed Travis to steer the raft and was giving him some pointers! Overall, this was an amazing experience! I would highly recommend Wild River Adventures! 

Going-to-the-Sun Road
Going-to-the-Sun Road or GTTSR is the road that winds through Glacier National Park. It is common for the road to fully open mid-July, due to clearing of the snow. When it does open to vehicles, you can drive from east to west through Glacier National Park. The road was not open to vehicles when we were there in the beginning of July. Although the road was not open to vehicles, it was open to hikers and bikers. We really wanted to see the top, Logan Pass, so we decided to rent bicycles and bike up the mountain. This was the hardest, most difficult physical experience of my life. We ended up biking 16 miles up to Logan Pass. Jess had the most difficult time because he took Mia on a trailer bike. Travis was a rockstar, 12 years old and climbed that mountain like a champ! I was definitely hurting by the end, but every view was worth the pain. We literally had the road to ourselves, with the exception of a few people passing us on electric bikes! It took us 5 hours to bike up to the top, but only 45 minutes to get down! The views were breathtaking! To this day we still cannot believe we did it! 

Rocky Point Trail
This 2 mile hike was one of the last ones of our trip. It's great for a quick hike and does have scenic views of Lake McDonald and the mountains, however, it doesn't really compare to the previous hikes we completed. To our surprise, this ended up being one of Mia's favorite memories! We came across huckleberry bushes! Of course we checked with rangers to see if we were allowed to pick them, and yes you can! You are allowed to pick one quart per day for personal consumption. We picked just enough to sprinkle over our ice cream later that night. We were hooked on huckleberry after that!! Of course we had to get some huckleberry souvenirs before we left!

If you like your privacy, this is the vacation spot for you! In the middle of Custer Gallatin National Forest and along the Stillwater River you will find this peaceful campground called Woodbine Campground. This was our first time boondocking for more than one night. With no electric or on site water hookup, we were in for an off-the-grid adventure! We were pretty nervous to give this a try! We were 1,265 miles away from home, no cell service, and the only ounce of civilization near us was Nye Trading Post. Nye Trading Post serves as the town's grocery store, post office, bait shop, liquor store, and souvenir shop. This was the only place that we could get Wi-Fi for 10 minutes so we could check our messages and google nearby trails or information. This was definitely out of our comfort zone, but we would go back in a heartbeat. It was such a beautiful spot and definitely other trails we'd like to explore nearby.

Camping
As you can see from the pictures Woodbine Campground is very remote. This campground was around $20 per night, and came with a million dollar view! The campsites are huge and secluded. We were not sure what to expect, but our site was paved and flat. We had 3 tiers to our site; space for our camper, space for a campfire with a nice fire ring, and space for picnic tables. Our site was on an outside loop, which gave us a lot of room to explore and climb big boulders. Bear spray is a must, the camp host informed us that bear sightings in the campground were common so always carry spray with you. We never did come across any bear here and that was ok with me! 

Hiking
During our hikes, we always carried bear spray and put bear bells on Mia's shoes. We were fortunate to not come across a bear on a trail, but we knew that was always a possibility. Travis usually likes to hike ahead of us, so that was an adjustment on his part to stick as a group. We didn't want him to turn a corner and encounter a bear without us. The two hikes we completed were gorgeous. There definitely wasn't a problem with sharing the trails with others or waiting to take a picture at an overlook, we were alone! It was so nice and peaceful, but also a little scary at the same time. The weather seemed to change by the minute. It seemed like every 10 minutes we had to stop to either take our jacket off or put it back on. Not sure if this is normal for hiking in the mountains, but we were happy to have layers of clothing for these hikes.

• Sioux Charley Lake via Stillwater Trail No. 24

This is a 6.5 mile hike or if you miss the Sioux Charley Lake lookout, you can extend it to 8 miles like we did! Very beautiful hike, with a lot of different scenery. There is a rushing river for the first couple miles, then the trail takes you deep into a forest, there are areas with open meadows, mountain views, and finally the Sioux Charley Lake (which was more like a very wide opening in the river). We hopped over steams multiple times, this is where waterproof hiking shoes were really beneficial! This was Mia's longest hike so far and she did great! There were a few times she needed Willow to pull her up the hill, but she enjoyed that! 

• Woodbine Falls

Woodbine Falls is a short 1.4 mile, in and out, hike with a great lookout area to view the waterfall. It was a hike with a steady climb, but fairly easy. We had the trail to ourselves, but I have read that it can get busy and the lookout area can get crowded.  


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