Galcier Country

Glacier Country covers the northwestern corner of Montana, the rugged forest-and-mountain country running from the Idaho line east to the Continental Divide and from Missoula north to the Canadian border. The terrain is dominated by glacier-carved peaks, deep glacial lakes, and the densely forested valleys of the Bitterroot, Flathead, and Clark Fork rivers. Glacier National Park’s namesake ice fields define the eastern edge. Nine counties cover the region. Missoula holds Missoula, the second-largest city in Montana, and the University of Montana; Flathead holds Kalispell, Whitefish, and the western gateway to Glacier National Park; Lake holds Polson and most of Flathead Lake (the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi); Ravalli holds Hamilton and the Bitterroot Valley; Glacier holds East Glacier and Browning (the headquarters of the Blackfeet Nation). Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and the Lolo and Bitterroot national forests cover most of the public land. Most trips here center on Glacier. Going-to-the-Sun Road across the park (open roughly late June through mid-October) draws the heaviest single-stream traffic; Whitefish runs the ski-and-resort itinerary at Whitefish Mountain; Missoula handles the college-town and arts scene; Flathead Lake’s cherry-and-water itinerary fills summer days.