Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park, tucked into the far north of Montana against the Canadian border, is one of the most beautiful places in the United States and one of the few that genuinely lives up to the word wilderness. This is the Crown of the Continent: a million acres of jagged peaks, hanging valleys, glacier-carved lakes so clear they look retouched, and meadows that erupt with wildflowers in the short mountain summer.

Where the mountains still make the rules

The park's spine is the Going-to-the-Sun Road, an engineering marvel that climbs over the Continental Divide at Logan Pass, clinging to cliffs and threading past waterfalls. Grizzly bears, black bears, mountain goats and bighorn sheep all live here, and you are firmly in their territory. The glaciers that gave the park its name are shrinking fast, which lends a certain urgency to a visit. For a family flying in from the UK, Glacier offers a scale of raw, unmanicured mountain landscape that Europe, for all its Alps, cannot quite match, combined with a real sense of the wild that stays with teenagers long after they are home.

You come to Glacier to drive one of the great roads on Earth and to feel genuinely small beneath mountains that dwarf anything at home. The Going-to-the-Sun Road alone is worth the journey, an unforgettable ribbon of tarmac that has teenagers gripping their seats and adults gasping at every turn. But the park rewards those who step out of the car too: a paddle on Lake McDonald, a hike to a hidden lake, a chance encounter with a mountain goat at Logan Pass. Wildlife feels present here in a way it rarely does in Britain; the knowledge that grizzlies roam these valleys sharpens every walk. It is remote, uncrowded by American standards, and utterly cinematic. Few places give a UK family such a pure hit of the wild American West.

The Going-to-the-Sun Road is the park's central artery, a roughly 50-mile route crossing the Continental Divide at Logan Pass; it is a slow, spectacular drive with tight turns and vehicle-size limits on the alpine section. Crucially, it is only fully open in summer, typically from late June or July until the first heavy snows in autumn. A free park shuttle runs the length of the road in peak season, letting you leave the car and hop between trailheads and viewpoints, which is often less stressful than fighting for parking. The historic red jammer buses offer narrated tours over the pass. The east side (Many Glacier, Two Medicine) is reached by separate roads outside the park. In shoulder seasons, expect the high road closed and only the lower valleys accessible.

Public transport to Glacier is limited but not impossible: Amtrak's Empire Builder train stops at West Glacier and East Glacier, a wonderfully scenic way to arrive, and a free in-park shuttle runs the Going-to-the-Sun Road in summer. That said, reaching trailheads on the quieter east side and running your own schedule really requires a car. For a UK family, the practical answer is to hire a vehicle at Kalispell airport, then use the free shuttle within the park during peak season to dodge the parking scramble at Logan Pass.

• Recent summers have required a timed-entry vehicle reservation for the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor; check the current system before you travel and book the moment slots open.
• Start early. Logan Pass car park fills by mid-morning in summer; arriving at dawn transforms the experience.
• Carry bear spray on every hike, know how to use it, and make noise on the trail; this is serious grizzly country.
• The Hidden Lake Overlook trail from Logan Pass is the best short walk for families, with near-guaranteed mountain goats.
• The historic red jammer buses offer a superb narrated ride over the pass without you having to drive it.
• The park's east side (St Mary, Many Glacier) is quieter and arguably more dramatic than the busier west.
• Bring layers even in July; snow can linger at Logan Pass well into summer.

Glacier's high-altitude weather is famously changeable and can serve up all four seasons in a single day. Summers (July to early September) are warm and pleasant in the valleys but cool and windy at Logan Pass, where snow can linger into July; pack layers, a waterproof and warm kit even for a summer visit. Spring and autumn are beautiful but unpredictable, with the high road often closed by snow. Winters are long, deep and severe, with most of the park inaccessible. Always bring sturdy footwear, a fleece, a rain shell and sun protection, and be ready for sudden temperature drops when clouds roll over the peaks.

Glacier is remote, which is part of its magic, but it takes some getting to from the UK. There are no direct flights, so most families connect through a hub such as Denver, Seattle, Salt Lake City or Minneapolis into Glacier Park International Airport (FCA) near Kalispell, which is only about 30 minutes from the west entrance and by far the easiest gateway. Great Falls International (GTF) is an alternative but sits a good few hours' drive east. A hire car is essential; distances are large and there is no practical way to reach or explore the park without one. Pick up your car at the airport and stock up on supplies in Kalispell or Whitefish before heading in. Many UK families pair Glacier with Yellowstone and the Tetons on a wider Rocky Mountain road trip.