Rocky Mountain NP or Glacier NP this time of the year?

[david_l7]

Having been to neither of the parks, I'm interested to know whcih park is better

for photography at this time of the year. I'm thinking about making the trip in

the coming week or two before Fall semester starts.

 

Will I see abundant display of wildflowers in Glacier? What's unique about Rocky

Mountain? Anything else in both areas that's also worth a visit? What's your choice?

 

Thanks in advance!

[vinny_walsh]

I can only speak for Glacier. I went last July 6th for a few days and out of all the parks i've

seen, its the best. Plenty of good hikes into untouched wilderness. Lots of wildlife as

well.

[William Kahn]

RMNP is best in the spring and fall - better color, better weather for hiking. There hasn't been any snow on the peaks at midsummer for many years.

[William Kahn]

One more sip of coffee,and he remembers to attach the shot:<div></div>

[camallard]

I made a trip to Glacier last year, third week in August. I didn't see any wildflowers. Plenty of wildlife! And it snowed and they closed the Going-to-the-Sun road. Deciding factor might be-check the forecast.<div></div>

[jim_gifford]

We were at Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks last year in the first part of August. Wildflowers aplenty in the meadows at Glacier.

 

But the thing is, for wildflowers, every year is different, isn't it? That's the adventure.

 

Other neat things near Glacier: (1) The whole area on the west side from Kalispell to Wallace, Idaho. (2) The way Browning sits on the grassland with the Rockies filling the horizon and the wind from the Rockies rustling your clothes. Browning is a magical spot. It's not a photogenic town, and it's not the home of fabulous cuisine or night life. It's just geologically magical. You know how some places tend to give you the creeps and other places veel very right? Browning feels very right. The Blackfeet cultural angle is important, too. (3) Waterton Lakes, which forms an international "peace park" on the Canadian side of the border from Glacier National Park. Breathtaking.

 

Check the conditions at the eastern entrance... big fire there recently. Might be better, all things considered, to visit Glacier from the west side this summer. There's also at least some prayer of finding a place to sleep on the Kalispell side... not much lodging on the east side and for early August visits it tends to book up by February anyway.

 

Be well,

[stephen hazelton]

Personally, I think late August, early September is ideal for RMNP- gets the snow out of the way for the most part. RMNP is a great place to visit- don't know that there's that much unique, except perhaps the Longs Peak hike. But still a lot of good scenery. RMNP is surrounded by other rocky mountains, so if that's your thing, you can go hike up Greys and Torreys Peaks, or drive up Pikes Peak or Mt. Evans, etc.

 

I've seen plenty of flowers in RMNP but couldn't tell you specifically when they were out.

[don cameron]

Was just there the last week in July. Hot, dry and very hazy (that was before the fire at St.

Mary). Some wildflowers, not as many as I've seen before, the goats and bear seemed to

be up high and deep into the park. I saw several goats up high and inacessable with my

spotting scope. I heard that the trail to Iceberg lake had been closed due to a grumpy sow

grizzly with a couple of cubs. If you don't get to the visitors center at Logan Pass before

9:00 am you won't get a parking spot, the same seemed to be true of the other trail heads

along the Sun highway. There is some construction that will cause a delay of 15-30

minutes just before Logan Pass coming from the east side. I was at the parking lot at 5:30

am and had no problems, but was surprized at how many were there shortly after that. I

had been to Glacier 4 years previously a week earlier in July and ecountered the Highline

Trail was closed due to snow. So you can never be sure up there.

 

We watched the fire at St. Mary from our KOA spot the first night (Friday) and left about

1:00 pm on Saturday. Two hours after we left the fire went from 250 acres to 22,000.

The fire jumped the road to Browning causing it to be closed that afternoon and caused

the evacuation of St. Mary and the Park Visitor Center. It came within .8 mile of St. Mary.

Quite a show of Nature's power. Unfortunately it was reported in the Great Falls Tribune

that the cause of the fire was suspected to be from a backcountry campground as there

had been no lightining in the area for several weeks. I'm sure that when they can get back

into the source of the fire they will know for sure, I would really hate to be the individuals

that had the camping permits in that area at that time. I will probably turn out to be

extremely expensive for them.

[david_l7]

Thanks for the replies and sharing your experience. Please keep them coming.

 

I'd like to see some yellow in the park, like the shot William posted. But I suspect it is too early to see any yellows in any of the parks. Too bad I can not go any later.

 

If I go, I'll be visiting from Glacier from west side anyway (coming from California).

 

Still undecided...

[William Kahn]

David, for planning purposes, I shot that in early June '04.....

[jimitoucan]

Glacier, hands down. August can be spectacular, with or without wildflowers. More to do,

more to see.<div></div>

[joe baker pine bush ny]

If you go to rocky mountan natioal park; you have to go to Never Summer Ranch, i belive it,s within the boundries of the park

[jdebord]

I can only speak for RMNP having never been to Glacier (which is on my 'hit list') This time of the year is really good to shoot up in the park (I am a local Colorado photog) and generally the wildflowers are in full by now. Trailridge is utterly spectacular. The really nice thing about RMNP is that you can really get outta the park for some spectacular photography as well. Suggestion: take a day, start early, get the sunrise in the park with the Alpenglow, go up and over Trailridge and exit the west side. Keep going on into Grand Lake...awesome landscapes there and continue on to Winter Park. Go over Berthoud Pass (both are again awesome photography locations) and take I-70 to the Mount Evans exit and hit Mount Evans. Wildlife central and just utterly spectacular.

[kathywilson]

Have to echo John De bord - I live in Colorado as well, and loved RMNP long before I learned to love a camera. August is beautiful up there, and you have full range of landscape from meadow, to morraine, to forest, to alpine scrub and above tree-line rock. There are dozens of lakes, prime animal viewing, easy access to popular locales, and space for a strenuous hike for something less seen. Snow isn't often a threat (that may not be true on Trailridge Road which can see snow most months of the year) and the weather is mild. The drive John suggests is lovely, but you can go all through the park and on anything passing for a road anywhere near it and find soemthing lovely to shoot. Glacier has it's own charms of course, and I wouldn't pass it up if I had the chance to see it, but RMNP is a little jewel of a park with the rest of the Rockies right nearby.