The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Best Family Destinations by FamilyTravelForum.com

Author:FamilyTravelForum.com
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Published: 2010-10-12T00:00:00+00:00

FUN FACTS

How high are you climbing? Gnarled, bent trees known as krummholz (German for “twisted wood”) appear in a line around the park’s peaks. When you see them at Glacier, you can tell everyone you’ve reached 6,000 feet!

The real stars of the park are the glaciers—including the notably receding Sperry Glacier—which have contributed to the scoured look of the landscape. Today, 26 of the 150 glaciers noted in 1850 remain. The park’s lakes—131 of which are named—are remnants of long glacial valleys dammed at their outlets by moraines, or deposits of rock and debris left by moving glaciers. The water left from glaciers is surprisingly clear, and you can often easily see detail of the bottom of lakes 30 feet below.

To really get the lowdown on Glacier’s ever-changing environment and have fun while doing so, take the kids to the Discovery Cabin in Apgar. Open from the third week in June through Labor Day, the cabin offers kid-friendly activities such as puppet shows, a mystery touch box, rock sorting, and animal habitat identification games. Those unafraid of heights should test their courage at the bridge over Avalanche Gorge, a real kid pleaser located on the Trails of the Cedars Nature Trail. Park visitor centers located in Apgar, Logan Pass, and St. Mary’s also offer the Glacier Junior Ranger program in which kids can receive a special badge after completing a list of fun and educational activities.

Boating is another popular way of seeing the park, particularly on Bowman and McDonald Lakes on the west side or St. Mary and Two Medicine Lakes on the east side. Rentals are available at several locations, including Agpar, Rising Sun, and Many Glacier. For more adventure, try canoeing, kayaking, or rafting on the Flathead River with tours based in West Glacier. You can enjoy fishing without a permit at Lake McDonald, where families can also clip-clop their way around on horseback. Winter visitors will find great skiing or snowshoeing on trails around areas such as Marias Pass, North Fork, and Two Medicine.

Outside the park in the town of Browning, the Blackfoot Nation Reservation welcomes visitors to learn about the tribe’s history and cultural practices; the Blackfeet are one of the 6 tribes out of 564 in the United States who still live on their ancestral lands.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.