Glacier National Park with Kids - Going to the Sun Road and Highline Trail

Welcome back to another installment of our trip to Glacier National Park. 🙂

I’ll get right to it…

We woke up around 4:15 a.m. to head out to Logan Pass. We wanted to ensure we would receive a parking space up on Logan Pass so that we could hike the Highline Trail (there are buses that take hikers to the trails, too). Waking up early and leaving around 4:50 a.m. meant we would be driving parts of Going-to-the-Sun Road in the dark. This road is one of the most picturesque roads in America with switchbacks and steep drop-offs, so we were a little nervous. However, the advantage in doing so meant we only passed one other car coming from the other direction and we didn’t feel rushed driving up the mountain.

Also, this view from our hotel room of Lake McDonald made me gasp as we left for Logan Pass!

Absolutely stunning!!!

We arrived at Logan Pass just before 6:00 a.m. and secured a parking space! Woohoo!! The parking lot was filling up quickly. It’s usually full by 6:30/7:00 a.m. In fact, there’s a webcam up in that area that allows for people to see how quickly parking fills up while planning a trip.

This is definitely a popular area and it’s located at the top of Going-to-the-Sun Road. We had gorgeous weather and our bear spray was ready to go, especially given we arrived at dawn.

The picture below was taken around 6 a.m.

We didn’t wear hiking shoes for this hike and we changed out Jane’s shoes just before beginning our hike…I think we were just so unsure of blisters and staying steady on such a steep hike. In hindsight, we should have worn our hiking shoes or boots as there were wet areas, mud and lots of dirt.

When I say this picture doesn’t do it justice, I mean it. That horizon was one of the prettiest things I’ve ever seen. I also remember being pretty scared of grizzlies at this point because there weren’t many people on the trail. We made sure to keep talking enough to let animals know we were in the area.

This picture holds a lot of senses for me…I can feel the air, see that sky…smell the fresh air. It was something else.

The sun was rising and interesting enough, we were never in full sun until we reached our halfway point and then we were shaded again as we descended back down.

The Going-to-the-Sun Road was below us…

Another part of the hike that made me nervous was this part – being up high and a “rope” that can be held onto while hiking. I didn’t use it, but Eliza did, and it ended up not being as scary as I thought. Sure, it was steep, BUT the trail was about 6 feet wide and as long as we hugged the side, we were fine. Jon held onto Jane’s hand the entire time and we let Henry and Eliza go at a comfortable pace that worked for them.

Jon was one happy guy! I love this picture of him! I’m pretty sure he was just happy to have gotten a parking spot! 😉

This part of the trail had so much to take in; wildflowers, panoramic views, the mountains, beautiful trees…

We made sure to take lots of breaks along the way. We packed energy bars, suckers for Jane, energy gummies, lots of water… The kids also took little breaks and sat down when needed along the way.

I love this picture of me with the kids and the road down below. I stayed behind them on every hike. Between Eliza and myself, I think we tripped on rocks at least 30 times. Those little rocks will get ya!

So pretty!

We ascended the last part of our hike on this trail. This trail can keep going for miles and miles, but we opted to stop and turn around at Haystack, but this trail can also take hikers to a Glacier Lookout. I’d love to go back someday and do the entire thing, but in total this hike ended up being 7.26 miles and took us 4 and a half hours to do.

On our way up we found a heart. Actually, Jane did. I thought of my Dad. 🙂

The kids found a rock and enjoyed some Gushers as we sat and took in the views!

…and then they did their funny “Remote Bird” noise for all the mountains…and fellow hikers to hear! LOL!

The kids were in good spirits and were doing a fantastic job hiking. We were so proud of them!

The view from where we were…

A quick self timer family picture…

Some negotiations in hand holding…

Got him! Hahaha! 😉

Time to descend…

On the way down I took another picture of the heart, which also looked like a butterfly.

I’m so happy I stopped to take this awesome picture of Jon and the kids. The road below in the bottom corner shows just how much the drop off was in this area. I need to get this framed!

As we were leaving, the trail was filling up with hikers and as you can see, we were still shaded. We managed to get a family picture at this part of Highline, which was super cool!