Winter and early spring adventures in Yellowstone, Glacier, Banff national parks
We just returned from two weeks in Washington, then over to Montana and up to Alberta, Canada, chasing Winter in several huge, splendid national parks. During our sojourn, “March came in like a lion”, hammering California’s Sierra range, and bringing new snows and cripplingly cold temperatures to both Montana and Canada.
In our time in Montana, British Columbia, and Alberta, Canada, we sampled the highlights of several huge national parks. They include Glacier National Park in Montana, Banff and Yoho national parks in Canada. In addition, we’ll offer a few tips for visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks in the late winter or spring, as well.
We were in Whitefish, Montana for almost a week with a group of about 20 National Ski Patrol alumni and families and just 25 miles west of Glacier Park, so making a winter visit to the western part of the park is easy. With a group of about 10 other fellow alumni, we carpooled into the park’s west entrance, parked our cars near the Apgar area, and walked down to Lake McDonald, where one can see about 15 miles up this high-mountain lake with Glacier’s lofty peaks glistening white in the distance.
After taking our share of pictures, we piled back into our vehicles and drove 13 miles east on the Going to the Sun Highway, where the road is barricaded in winter at the Lake McDonald Lodge. One can hike down to the lake and the old lodge, and admire the fortitude of cross-country skiers, setting off on skinny skis or snowshoes, headed up the Going to the Sun Highway. It’s another 10 miles uphill before one gets to Logan Pass, not for the faint of heart nor for anyone without serious cold weather experience. The Logan Pass and St. Mary’s visitor centers are closed for the winter; stop at the Apgar Center for winter activities tips and ranger-led snowshoe tours offered Saturdays and Sundays. One can find cross country ski/snowshoe trails throughout the Apgar area and on the south edge of the park from the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex, Montana.
Downhill skiers will find Whitefish Mountain one of the west’s top 15 ski resorts, also offering cross country skiing both at the resort, and the Glacier Park Nordic Center just a mile west of Whitefish. Whitefish is a quintessential western ski town, with several good restaurants and many lodging options – we’ve regularly stayed at the Grouse Mountain Lodge just west of town and had wonderful service for a reasonable price (it’s also wrapped on two sides by the Nordic Center’s XC trails).
Whitefish favorite restaurants include the Whitefish Lake Country Club, with excellent American fare in the large timber-constructed dining room; Abruzzo’s Italian Cuisine and down-home Italian food and the Craggy Range Bar, a bit less pretentious, with marvelous pub fare, including fish and chips so good it demanded a return later that week.
This trip we chose to head north into Canada to explore both Banff and Yoho national parks. Banff national Park comes complete with both the lovely town of Banff and the stately Banff Springs Hotel, and nearby Cave and Basin park, featuring cross country and snowshoe trails right on the edge of town. Banff National Park always reminds me of Glacier National Park on steroids, for huge mountains line the skyline for miles; huge granite monoliths towering 6,000 feet over Banff and Canmore.
Skiers and boarders will salivate at Ski Sunshine Resort, all above the treeline and vast Lake Louise Ski Resort, looking across the picturesque valley to Lake Louise. We found a nice, modern two-bedroom, two-bath condo in Canmore, three nights for $650 Canadian through VRBO, splitting the cost between two couples. And, we were just 12 scenic miles below Banff for daytime exploration.
Don’t miss traveling north of Banff to iconic Lake Louise and the stately Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, a hotel of the highest caliber with stunning views. With luck, you might see the Northern Lights, when the Aurora Borealis puts on its jaw-dropping light show. Ice skating on Lake Louise is always memorable, and in January into February, the Banff Snow Days Festival takes place, with huge ice and snow sculptures on the frozen lake, on the Chateau grounds and throughout downtown Banff.
This year due to time constraints we could not visit Yellowstone National Park, about an eight-hour drive to the south of Whitefish. Our frequent visits have included several days in Gardiner at the Park’s north entrance, where bison, elk and Bighorn sheep can be found in abundance, along with occasional wolf sightings like we had last year, spotting an 11-member wolfpack two days in a row, including the second day from a vantage point about two football fields away as they sunned themselves on bank of the Gardiner River.
A second option for Yellowstone is to stop in West Yellowstone, where one can cross country ski or snowshoe on the Riverside Trail into the Madison River Basin, where elk and bison are frequent sightings. From either entrance, one can take snowmobiles, or snowcoaches into the Old Faithful area, which is both quiet and spectacular in the depths of winter or early spring.
Check with the West Yellowstone or Gardiner Chambers of Commerce for options. Downhill skiers and snowboarders will find the Big Sky Resort about 40 miles north of West Yellowstone to be one of the west’s superior ski meccas, and should one venture further south, Jackson Hole Ski resort (possibly my all-time favorite ski area) is found near Grand Teton National Park.
Contact Tim, tviall@msn.com. Happy travels in the west!
Information
Banff National Park, visitcalgary.com; Glacier National Park, nps.gov/glac; Yellowstone National Park, nps.gov/yell.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Winter, early spring adventures in Yellowstone, Glacier, Banff parks
