Day 4
July 5th
Friday, July 5th marked my last day in beautiful Montana, but since my train did not leave until 9 PM, I had the whole day to explore some more.
Apgar Village
After checking out of my Airbnb, I made my way back into the park to Apgar Village. Apgar Village is the first town after entering the park near the west entrance. I dropped off my bear spray rental at Glacier Outfitters and then walked the center. There are a couple of gift shops, rental huts, a restaurant, motel, and that’s about it. There is not much to it.
The big draw is that it sits on the south bank of Lake MacDonald, the largest lake in the park. In Apgar Village, you can find a plethora of water sports and boat rentals to optimize your time at the lake. I did not rent any watercraft, but many visitors did and they dominated the waters near Apgar. So much so that it was hard to enjoy the peacefulness of the lake.
Is bear spray essential?
The main reasons I stopped at Apgar were to view the lake and also to return the bear spray rental. I read so many blogs and opinions regarding bear spray in Glacier, some people saying you don’t need it depending on what you are doing, others saying it’s a necessity. I was undecided what I was going to do, rent the entire trip, or just for the hikes that I knew I might need it (ie: Grinnell Glacier). But after speaking with my host, she insisted I get some spray. She would have lent me hers, but she and her husband needed it for themselves as they were doing some hiking while I was there. So she directed me to Glacier Outfitters in Apgar Village to rent.
Even though it was a bit steep at $28 for something I never used, it was definitely worth the extra peace of mind. My host has seen many bears out in Glacier so highly recommended it, while the clerk at the store (who is from New Hampshire btw – go New England!) has lived near Glacier for 4 years and has yet to see a bear. A bit ironic no? He recommended it, just ironic that he is in charge of loaning it out but has never seen a bear!
Polebridge, MT
After settling the return and viewing of the lake, I decided to continue on Camas Road to Polebridge, MT. Polebridge is a remote, old western town on the upper west cusp of Glacier National Park. It is located only 20 miles from Alberta, Canada!
On this adventure to Glacier National Park, my host was spot on about the best things to do in the park and area……except this. Now don’t get me wrong, for some this might be an amazing side trip, but for me, I could have left it off the itinerary.
For starters, the drive there was atrocious. If you’ve read my previous blogs, you will start to notice a theme. The roads inside Glacier National Park are phenomenal and are nicely paved. But as soon as you leave the park, the roads are terrible (minus Route 2 coming out of the West Entrance). It was 20 miles of dirt gravel roads up to Polebridge. I was so scared I was going to pop a tire on Blue Betty (that’s the name I christened my rental car) and be stranded in the middle of nowhere.
The road is not heavily traveled, but those that do drive this road, drive like maniacs. The speed limit was 35 mph, but I could barely do 25. I had to pull over a couple of times to let the maniacs behind me go ahead who were driving at least 45 mph! I guess if you plan to visit Polebridge, make sure you have an SUV, truck, or Subaru. Poor Betty Blue barely survived the journey. There was a short section closer to the town that was randomly paved, and I was so happy about that!
Now once you reach Polebridge, all there is a country store, saloon, and cottage rentals. Further down the road was also a hostel. I looked into this hostel, but I am so glad that I didn’t stay there. I would not have been able to handle that drive every day!
The Polebridge Mercantile country store is known for its sandwiches, bread, and bakery items. My host recommended getting some pastries while I was here. Since it was lunchtime, I figured I would find something to eat for lunch. I checked out the saloon, but they only served Mexican food for some reason, so I went next door to the mercantile. I grabbed an innocent-looking ham sandwich on their homemade bread and a huckleberry bear claw.
Now I’m being sarcastic when calling the sandwich ‘ innocent’. I took a couple of bites of the sandwich and all was good until I noticed a bite tasted spicy. So I investigated, and realized their ‘homemade’ bread was baked with jalapeno pieces inside! What?! Now that wouldn’t be a big deal for some, but for me it is!
Here comes my soapbox…
I’m going to stand on my soapbox for a bit. I have noticed a lot in my travels that peppers are randomly thrown into dishes that they normally would not be in. And are also found in dishes that do not list them on their ingredient list. I always read menus and dish ingredients very carefully before ordering something to make sure there are no peppers in it or ask to have them removed if possible. But it feels like every time I order something that doesn’t list that it has peppers in it, it ends up coming with peppers! Come on!
Now, why am I getting so upset over peppers, which I think are delicious? Because I love peppers, but peppers do not love me. I will get very ill if I eat them, so I avoid them like the plague, especially while traveling. So can restaurants start listing meal ingredients correctly, please? Pretty Please? What if I had a severe reaction to peppers and instead went into anaphylactic shock? Aren’t ingredient lists there to help those that have allergies avoid certain food items? No? I could be wrong, and if I am let me know, but I think it is important that the main food ingredients should be listed. *Steps off soapbox.
Lake MacDonald Lodge
So after throwing away my sandwich, I decided to head back to the park. I braved the treacherous road, re-entered Glacier, and stopped at Lake MacDonald Lodge. Since I could not find a tranquil spot in Apgar to view the lake, I stopped at the lodge in hopes I could find such an area. And luckily, I did! Lake MacDonald Lodge has a main beach area and boat dock right at the base of the main building, but if you head to the right of the dock, there is a nice stone beach you can hike down to by the cottages. Here I was able to take in the beautiful lake!
Whitefish, MT
I was able to enjoy my last few moments in Glacier National Park at the lake before heading back into civilization. As it was nearing dinner time, I thought it would be a good idea to explore Whitefish and grab some dinner before boarding the train.
Whitefish is such a cute, idyllic Montanan town. Its downtown is a mixture of gift shops, local stores, and restaurants. Its an ideal town for window browsing and shopping, however most shops in town close at 6 pm. I enjoyed a nice meal at The Craggy Range Bar and Grill with a cold glass of local beer to close up my time in Montana.
I had a fantastic time at Glacier National Park and I could not recommend it highly enough! It is such a beautiful part of the country and very unique! It should be a list item on everyone’s bucket list!
