Glacier National Park, MT

If there is one park that I want to visit the most, I would say that it is probably Glacier National Park in Montana. I have a few friends that have done some backpacking in this park and in a few near it and they have all come back with great reviews. Glacier has over 700 miles of designated hiking trails providing the appropriate difficulty level for any type of backpacker. Like many of the National Parks I have already talked about, Glacier has set up a program for backcountry exploration. I won't go into all the details on how to obtain a permit, because you can find them all on the National park website for Glacier.

In Glacier, most visitors come in the summer months, but an avid winter backpacker may enjoy the challenge of going into the backcountry between November and April. For those interested in this period, they can recieve weekly avalanche reports by calling the park headquarters at 406-888-7800. Your schedule needs to be a bit flexible if you want to take on the challenge of winter hiking because of avalanches and other unpredictible circumstances. This hike is ONLY for the serious backpacker and I would say that you NEED to have a partner along with you. The following video from Glacier National Park gives you an idea of the Backcountry during the Winter.

I found this interesting blog by the rangers that work in the Backcountry of Glacier. You may find it interesting to see what they have to say about the park before you head out there.