Activities¶

Trail of the Cedars + Avalanche Lake — 🤖 Claude 8/17: points below are Claude's, unreviewed
- 0.9mi flat loop, then 4.6mi / 741ft off the same trailhead
- ~1h15 from town, west side of Glacier
- Avalanche parking fills 8:30-10am and there is no shuttle - on the road by 7
Lake McDonald / Apgar — 🤖 Claude 8/17: points below are Claude's, unreviewed
- drive-up, pairs with Avalanche on the same west-side day
Logan Pass + Hidden Lake Overlook — 🤖 Claude 8/17: points below are Claude's, unreviewed
- 2.6mi, 550ft, ~2h each way from town
- 3h parking cap at Logan Pass, free dash permit from the kiosk
- Highline to Haystack Saddle does not fit that cap - a 1.5-2mi out-and-back does, and still gets the cliff-ledge cable section
Many Glacier — 🤖 Claude 8/17: points below are Claude's, unreviewed
- 3-3.5h each way from here, so 6-7h round trip - the long option, needs a 5:30am start
- Grinnell Lake via boat is 1.8mi; the boat cuts 3.4 flat miles but none of Grinnell Glacier's 1400ft
- Iceberg Lake trades better for one real summit day - gentler grade, Ptarmigan Falls at 2.5mi as a bail-out
- fills earlier than Avalanche and rangers close the valley when it backs up
Head home!!! (Aug 21)

Restaurants¶

Whitefish Lake Restaurant — 🤖 Claude 8/17: points below are Claude's, unreviewed
- steakhouse in the 1930s golf-club log lodge, dining room, books up - call ahead
Belton Chalet, West Glacier — 🤖 Claude 8/17: points below are Claude's, unreviewed
- on the west-side route, booking needed
Tupelo Grille, Whitefish — 🤖 Claude 8/17: points below are Claude's, unreviewed
- sun-thu 5-9, small room
Mercantile Steak, Kalispell — 🤖 Claude 8/17: points below are Claude's, unreviewed
- tue-sat 4:30-9, 15min from the airport - the option that skips the Whitefish drive

Trip: Trip with abba
In Kalispell, aug 2026
visited aug 2026
the base for the Glacier half - west side is ~1h15 out, Logan Pass ~2h, Many Glacier 3-3.5h
as of aug 2026: Going-to-the-Sun open, no vehicle reservations in Glacier, Many Glacier construction done, the free Going-to-the-Sun shuttle is gone so drive everything
permanently shut: Montana Coffee Traders Kalispell. Columbia Falls and Whitefish locations still open
Roadhouse Diner, Great Falls looks right and isn't - it sits on the east route to St. Mary, not this one, and closes tuesdays