Travel How-to: Road trip through Glacier National Park in the winter

Filed under: Skiing, Photos, Stories, North America, United States, Camping, Transportation

Here at Gadling, we're big fans of visiting National Parks in the off-season. There are fewer crowds, less headaches and more chances to enjoy the natural aspects that made these magnificent places so spectacular to begin with. The only trouble is the weather. Generally speaking, many of the United States' National Parks partially shut down when Old Man Winter shows up, driving away a good deal of would-be tourists and also limiting how much of the park you can see. The famed Tioga Pass through Yosemite National Park is drowned in snow from October to April, and the majority of Yellowstone's roadways are closed to automobiles during Wyoming's lengthy winter. And when it comes to one of America's true gems -- Glacier National Park -- the star attraction is completely off limits to even 4WD vehicles for three-quarters of the year.

With the Going to the Sun road shut down, is there even a reason to travel to northwest Montana to give this majestic place a look? Without a doubt, yes. It's true that Glacier, even in her 101st year as a National Park, is most open to exploration in the regrettably short summer season, but there are massive benefits to going in the winter. For one, hardly anyone else is there. You'll be lucky to see a dozen others exploring the park on a given winter day, giving you ample opportunity to get lost inside this truly gigantic place. But there's something else that few people consider when pondering a visit to Glacier in the winter: Highway 2. Read on to hear our secrets on making the most of an off-season visit to Montana's largest National Park.

Gallery: Enjoying Montana's Glacier National Park in winterContinue reading Travel How-to: Road trip through Glacier National Park in the winterTravel How-to: Road trip through Glacier National Park in the winter originally appeared on Gadling on Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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