anyone from St. Mary/Kalispell, Montana?

[beccaB]

I'm looking for advice on biking Glacier National park and surrounding areas from anyone who lives there or has biked there.

[TrekTheKaty]

OOHHHhhh! Glacier is one of my favorite places on the planet. Can't wait to see if anyone chimes in. We didn't bike then--we hiked. You can do a bike tour up Rising to the Sun(?) road--which we can't picture because it's so narrow and busy. The drive was stressful enough! We want to go back and stay at the northern lodge, hike to a glacier, cross over to the Canadian side and stay at the Castle!

[Veronica]

We biked there in 2007.

Our report and pictures are here. http://www.tandemhearts.com/wordpress/tag/glacier/

Veronica

[ilima]

The park has rules about the time and direction that cyclists can travel. Pretty sure only west-to-east travel is allowed.

Except . . . supposedly after Going to the Sun Road has been closed for the winter (late October) the road is still open to bikes.

If you plan on camping, make sure you have a bear proof container for stuff.

[shootingstar]

We hiked from the Canadian side, which is called Waterton National Park before walking across the international border into Glacier National Park.


Some pics. (Not sure what is happening with the photo resolution over time). I encountered a baby bear just by the parking lot at start of trail. It was less than 10 ft. away..and this was 10:00 am. Mama bear was 10 ft. ahead of baby.
Gorgeous scenery.


http://cycling-touring.thecyclistwebhouse.com/Summer_2005_Cycling_Trip-Montreal_to_Vancouver/2005-07-31_Waterton_Lakes_National_Park-Shoreline_Walk.cfm


http://cycling-touring.thecyclistwebhouse.com/Summer_2005_Cycling_Trip-Montreal_to_Vancouver/2005-07-30_Waterton_Lakes_National_Park.cfm

[beccaB]

We will be staying in a rustic lodge outside of the park, which I'm hoping will reduce the up close bear encounters! I thought the recommended bike direction for going to the sun road was east to west, but that might have been an old website. I'm really excited about the trip, but it would just be my husband and I on the bikes. The teenage kids aren't into that, and they would have to wait for us somewhere while we bike, so I don't think there will be any long trips.

[shootingstar]

It may sound farfetched to you, but if your teens are hanging out in a rustic lodge by edge of town, you should still warn them about the bears.

I know it sounds wierd..but you need to live in the Vancouver area where there have been strange incidents. City of North Vancouver, a highly urbanized city...has this bear warning to all residents on their website

http://www.cnv.org/server.aspx?c=3&i=419

There are incidents several times each year, where the errant bear or so, have wandered into nicely civilized neighbourhoods with lawns, etc. And these area areas right in the city.

Last week, I was amazed to hear someone mention a cougar in the area. And apparently regular sightings of coyotes aren't totally far-fetched. I have seen coyote several times on my bike rides within the city. By a busy car road.
______________________________
I have seen a wild bear each time, a total of 3 different times. All sightings in Western Canada, 2 times were each on bike. No wonder why some European tourists love Canada...we still have big wildlife.

[beccaB]

It may sound farfetched to you, but if your teens are hanging out in a rustic lodge by edge of town, you should still warn them about the bears.

I know it sounds wierd..but you need to live in the Vancouver area where there have been strange incidents. City of North Vancouver, a highly urbanized city...has this bear warning to all residents on their website

http://www.cnv.org/server.aspx?c=3&i=419

There are incidents several times each year, where the errant bear or so, have wandered into nicely civilized neighbourhoods with lawns, etc. And these area areas right in the city.

Last week, I was amazed to hear someone mention a cougar in the area. And apparently regular sightings of coyotes aren't totally far-fetched. I have seen coyote several times on my bike rides within the city. By a busy car road.
______________________________
I have seen a wild bear each time, a total of 3 different times. All sightings in Western Canada, 2 times were each on bike. No wonder why some European tourists love Canada...we still have big wildlife.

When we were in the Tetons a bear had to be put down because it got on a picnic table to help itself to lunch while the people were still there. It's so sad. That place was the bear's home first. The town of Jackson,Wyoming was having bear issues too. Something about birdfeeders being used although residents were warned not to.
When I lived in Sussex, New Jersey I saw a bear go down an animal trail after pooping in the road. It didn't occur to me that it was a bear until I got right up to it and saw its' furry black butt disappear into the woods!
We have coyotes virtually in our back yard. They haven't bothered any people, but there are lots of small animals to eat here.
We will definately be studying up on bear safety, I think Glacier NP even has a bear training class. And all the stuff I used to do in the Appalachians doesn't apply here-being quiet on trails so you can see wildlife, etc.

[ilima]

Heh. I remember that in Canada they use serious signage to warn people around bears. One sign near a lake around Waterton said something to the effect that grizzly bears were highly active in the area and it was strongly recommended you not walk around the lake.

The message I got was, expect to be attacked by a grizzly if you're stupid enough to go hiking here.

[shootingstar]

Heh. I remember that in Canada they use serious signage to warn people around bears. One sign near a lake around Waterton said something to the effect that grizzly bears were highly active in the area and it was strongly recommended you not walk around the lake.

The message I got was, expect to be attacked by a grizzly if you're stupid enough to go hiking here.

But frankly, this is something throughout the whole area of the Rocky Mountains and in all the large wilderness national and regional parks in British Columbia and Alberta (and Montana). There is wildlife but one must take precautions. Wear bear bells, talk alot, carry bear spray, hang up your food bags at a distance from tent, etc.

Thousands of people do hike in these areas. In the summer it's generally safer because there are more people around that cause animals to stay further away during the day.

When we were in Lake Louise area (Canadian Rock Mountains) one winter for cross-country skiing, a woman who was skiing on her own around another nearby lake, was killed by a cougar. During that trip and about 2 other separate trips in the area other times, we saw herds of bighorn sheep by the road, elk, etc. Yes, I do have some amazing up-close shots. Too bad I haven't seen a moose yet.

Becca, I didn't know about bears in NJ.
But then, we saw a rare cougar ..in Vermont by a river in Middlebury when we were sitting a restaurant.

To make this remotely cycling related :D, one of the bear sightings, was when we were cycling the Continental Divide area in the Canadian Rockies about 15 kms. outside of Field, Alberta. We saw a bear cub happily munching on something by the river. Didn't wait to figure out where Mamabear was, but we cranked our bikes back up the hill as fast as we could. I also had a very ripe banana inside my pannier.

[ilima]

I used to live in Missoula. Friends lived up in Kalispell. We all decided to go hiking in Glacier; late October.

My ex-BF, who used to work as a ranger in Yellowsone, said 'are you crazy' now is not a good time to go hiking in grizzly country.

We went, had a great time. Carried pepper spray and heard bear bells the whole day.

Next am at breakfast the headline in the newspaper was 'hiker killed and eaten by grizzly with two cubs.' Only a few miles from where we were at. Oops. Not a local guy; from Wisconsin.

You definitely have to respect the wildlife when you're in their home.

[Thorn]

When are you leaving? Which side of the park?

We just got back (last night at midnight to be exact). We had some awesome roads, some so-so roads, and one that you want to avoid at all cost, despite the fact that it is on cue sheets.

I'll post more later, but we started in Whitefish, rode to Lake MacDonald (some terrifying bits), over Going-to-the-Sun road (awesome), up to Waterton and back on the east side of the park.

We spent more time on bike than hiking, but out of our group, we saw but one bear. Lots of small fauna, lots of wild flowers.

[beccaB]

When are you leaving? Which side of the park?

We just got back (last night at midnight to be exact). We had some awesome roads, some so-so roads, and one that you want to avoid at all cost, despite the fact that it is on cue sheets.

I'll post more later, but we started in Whitefish, rode to Lake MacDonald (some terrifying bits), over Going-to-the-Sun road (awesome), up to Waterton and back on the east side of the park.

We spent more time on bike than hiking, but out of our group, we saw but one bear. Lots of small fauna, lots of wild flowers.

We will be there in August. We have been seeking out hills to ride and riding on very windy days to at least have a chance of being ready to ride part of going to the sun road.

I was already afraid of bears, now it will be worse! But I don't think my teenage kids are fit enough to do any real serious back country hiking. I'm sure we'll be sticking to easier shorter trails. And will definately educate everyone on bear protection.

I've been researching this trip for years. I'm just not sure how my fitness level translates to being able to ride my bike in the mountains.

[Thorn]

Finally got the bike maps up. See:
http://www.cassandrathorn.com/PublicSite/Vacations/2009Glacier.nws

Obviously, Going to the Sun Road (http://www.cassandrathorn.com/PublicSite/Vacations/2009Glacier/06-JulyGoing-to-the-StormRoad.nws)(west to east) was fantastic. You'll need to time your ride well as you must be over the top by 11AM. Two of our riders didn't crest until 11:30 and no one said anything, but we were early in the season. I can't speak for you, but for me, the gradient was a doable 5.5%. Unlike some climbs, GttSun is consistently 5.5%--very little change--so it was easy to just put it in my lowest gear and enjoy the scenery.

US2 from Whitefish to West Glacier is a NO, no, no. Don't do it. Your life is worth more than that. Interestly taking US2 from East to West Glacier was OK, but if time is limited and you can port your bike around, there are better roads than US2 from East to West Glacier.

We really enjoyed Montana 49 (http://www.cassandrathorn.com/PublicSite/Vacations/2009Glacier/10-JulyWatertontoEastGlacier.nws)from Kiowa to East Glacier. Low traffic, switch backs, ups, downs, and stunning views. If I only had one road to ride besides GttSun, it would be MT49. Given that it came at the end of an 80 mile day when I was really tired, the fact that it sticks in my mind means it really must have been great.

Next in line was Chief Mountain Highway (http://www.cassandrathorn.com/PublicSite/Vacations/2009Glacier/08-JulyManyGlaciertoWaterton.nws). Low traffic and rolling, but more open.

Anyway, I have limited knowledge of the roads. Overall, I was impressed. Lots of different eco-zones and lots of different terrain. Enjoy!