Thinking about visiting Glacier National Park in the Fall? We share our experiences, pictures, and what the weather was like from our September visit. Be prepared for snow and ice! Don’t have time to read this now? Pin it for later!

Lake McDonald

I had no idea I would find my namesake, Lake McDonald at Glacier National Park. According to the NPS website, Lake McDonald is ten miles long and nearly 500 feet deep, and Lake McDonald Valley is the hub of activity on the west side of the park.

Unfortunately when we arrived everything was closed, but I still had the opportunity to take lots of pictures with all the things McDonald :)

Closures

Most of the activities in Glacier National Park close by Labor Day or the week after. If you want to visit McDonald Lodge or attend Ranger Programs check the NPS website for dates. The Going-to-the-Sun Road through Logan Pass also closes early in Fall (typically the third Monday of October). If this is on your bucket list make sure you get there early in October.

Weather

When the winter storm hit Montana, at the end of September, we got lucky and only got a little bit of snow at West Glacier. We were still able to explore Glacier National Park. The trees were a beautiful orange color and before the snow hit it was still warm enough to take a hike with the proper gear.

Hikes

The weather was good enough for us to get a couple of hikes in including Johns Lake Loop and Forest and Fire Trail. This was our first real hike in the cold weather but we had all the right gear to stay warm and have fun. I was surprised by the number of people we saw hiking on the trails.

We also took a drive through the park, Camas Road to North Fork Road, to look at all the leaves changing colors (see video below). Beautiful!

Taking the Jeep for a drive to check out the Fall colors in Glacier National Park

Camping

We camped at Glacier Campground and we loved all the trees! It felt like you were in the forest. We recommend this campground but there is a 36-foot length limit for RVs and only a few sites that could accommodate RVs that long.

Frozen Slide Out Topper

When we went to leave, we tried to bring in our motorhome pop-out slides but something wasn’t right. Oh no I thought. Is this going to be the Grand Canyon all over again? Not sure what I am talking about, check out our Frozen RV Slide Out Topper article.

I climbed on the roof and swept off the snow from the slide toppers. We brought in the slides again but no luck! As I looked closer I noticed parts of the fabric toppers were frozen. Penguin grabbed a bucket and filled it with hot water and carried it up the ladder to me. I then tackled each slide one by one. I dumped hot water and then used the broom to break up the ice and sweep the water and ice off. We repeated this process multiple times and then we finally got all the slides in. Oh, the joys of cold weather :)

Interested in our route from Yellowstone? Check out our Yellowstone to Port Angeles, WA By RV article. Looking for things to do in Montana? Take a look at our Montana articles. Where are we going next? Don’t miss an adventure, subscribe today.