Moody Weather in Glacier National Park

In early October, following a crazy couple of months of work, we drove to northern Montana for a few days at Glacier National Park. Glacier had been on my list for a while, and I was especially excited to be able to get out there in 2020. In a somewhat unfortunate turn of events, the Going to the Sun road through the park closed due to snow and never opened up again while we were there, but it actually made it a little easier to just focus on the western side of the park.

The weather was definitely challenging, with a lot of rain and moody clouds. There were also more people than usual in the western area of the park; this was partially due to an increase in covid-driven visitation, and partially because only a third of the park was open. We ended up getting creative with which area we visited at which time, which was essential to handle both the weather and the unexpected crowds.

A dim sunrise over Lake McDonald on our first morning at the park (photo/Jason Rafal)

We were there at a great time for fall colors. Many of the aspens were a bright yellow, and the larches were beginning to turn too.

Contrasting trees and dramatic clouds (photo/Jason Rafal)

Birds flying away from a colorful aspen tree (photo/Jason Rafal)

When the main road was too busy for our comfort level, we went out to Bowman Lake, which ended up being an amazing choice. The weather cleared somewhat while we were there, and the sun rays were beautiful against the mountains.

Quickly moving clouds at Bowman Lake (photo/Jason Rafal)

More beautiful scenery at Bowman Lake (photo/Jason Rafal)

I know, it’s the same mountains, but they are just so beautiful (photo/Jason Rafal)

We were also able to spend some time at the Avalanche area, which is a top destination in the park for a reason. It’s incredibly beautiful, and Avalanche Creek, which runs along the trail to Avalanche Lake, has amazing carved red rocks that contrast with the green moss and clear blue-green water.

Looking down into the creek (photo/Jason Rafal)

The view up the creek (photo/Jason Rafal)

Avalanche Lake is much smaller than Bowman Lake, but incredibly dramatic - it reminded me of some of the lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park.

The view from the other side of Avalanche Lake (photo/Jason Rafal)

I can’t remember what Jason was saying, but he was being funny (photo/Jason Rafal)

More mountain views from the lake (photo/Jason Rafal)

Going to Glacier for a few days was wonderful, and we will definitely be going back to see the rest of the park (slightly earlier in the year). For now, I’ll leave you with this adorable donkey that lived next to our Airbnb.