For prime biking, rafting, and other adventures, you can’t beat Montana’s Glacier National Park.
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photograph by James C. Hayes/HAYES PHOTOSGlacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road offers magnificent views. -
photograph from jay atkinson and john hearinSome parts of the park are accessible year-round, but most of the 13 campgrounds open in mid- to late May, depending on the weather. -
Photograph by Rick Sammon/Associated Press/2002A mountain goat along the main road that runs through Glacier National Park near Kalispell, Montana. -
photograph by DONNIE SEXTON/montana office of tourismThe average high temperature is 57 degrees in April, 73 in June. -
photograph by jay atkinson and john hearinThe author and his group cycled 11 miles uphill on Going-to-the-Sun Road to where it was blocked by an avalanche. -
photograph by jay atkinson and john hearinThe Stillwater River, a tributary of the Yellowstone, was running high on snowmelt and churnin g up sediment. -
photograph by DONNIE SEXTON/montana office of tourismA view of beargrass off Going-to-the-Sun Road. -
photograph by jay atkinson and john hearinMid-May is the sweetspot for Glacier National Park, as road repairs and avalanches can prohibit motorized traffic. -
photograph by DONNIE SEXTON/montana office of tourismThe forest occasionally gives way to dramatic views of nearby peaks. -
photograph by DONNIE SEXTON/montana office of tourismGoing-to-the-Sun Road meanders up and over the divide between Lake McDonald and St. Mary Lake (pictured). -
Photograph by Jennifer demonte/the daily inter lake/associated press/2004A breathtaking view on the road less than 4 miles from Logan Pass. -
Photograph by Rich Addicks for the new york timesHighway 89 outside Browning, Montana, parallels the boundary between Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. -
Photograph by Mike Albans/ASsociated press/file/2010Glacier National Park is known to Native Americans as the “Shining Mountains” and the “Backbone of the World,” according to the National Park Service. -
photograph by lisa mckeon/us geological survey/associated press/file/2009The park is named for its prominent glacier-carved terrain and remnant glaciers descended from the ice ages of 10,000 years past. -
photograph by rich addicks for the new york timesIn 1932 Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park, across the border in Canada, were designated Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. -
photograph by DONNIE SEXTON/montana office of tourismGlacier National Park’s diverse habitats are home to nearly 70 species of mammals. -
photograph by DONNIE SEXTON/montana office of tourismGoing-to-the-Sun Road has been dedicated as a national historic civil engineering landmark.
