Tag: Glacier National Park

Mind-blowing sights you’ll see on Glacier National Park’s best hike

It’s a stunner.

Glacier National Park’s Avalanche Lake Trail is one of the best hikes in Montana. Some hikers may even consider it the best hike in America. Join us on a trek through the woods to see what makes Avalanche Lake so special.

Two key factors help determine a trail’s popularity: accessibility and scenery. Spectacular views draw people to a trail, and accessibility ensures that those visitors can actually enjoy exploring the trail. While few trails are accessible to all people, the Avalanche Lake hike’s moderate difficulty makes it manageable for a wide audience of hikers. Plus, the Trail of the Cedars section of the hike is accessible using off-road wheelchairs.

Now, let’s dive into the scenery you can look forward to during your Avalanche Lake hike. If you’re looking for crystal clear waters and breathtaking natural landscapes, you’re in luck. Here are seven photos showing off the best of Glacier National Park’s Avalanche Lake hike.

Ranking the 10 most visited national parks

Popular parks face off.

Every national park is special. Every national park is beautiful. But not all parks made it onto the National Park Service’s (NPS) list of 2022’s most visited national parks.

In 2022, NPS sites tallied over 311 million recreation visits. While many beloved locations contributed to that number, not all of them were national parks. Historic sites, national battlefields, scenic trails, and more also factor into NPS statistics. In fact, the most visited NPS site in 2022 was the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway, which received over 15 million visits.

All of these areas are worth visiting, but today’s rankings focus solely on national parks. In descending order, the most visited national parks in 2022 were: 1. Great Smoky Mountains, 2. Grand Canyon, 3. Zion, 4. Rocky Mountain, 5. Acadia, 6. Yosemite, 7. Yellowstone, 8. Joshua Tree, 9. Cuyahoga Valley, and 10. Glacier. These bustling sites hosted the most recreation visits out of all 63 national parks.

Does “most visited” mean “best,” though? Not always. Find out which of these 10 highly visited parks Outdoors Wire ranks as its favorites in the list below.

Moose chases grizzly bear in a wild scene caught on video

Employees preparing the Many Glacier Hotel for its June 3 season opening witnessed an extraordinary saga involving a hungry grizzly bear and momma moose hoping to defend her newborn calves

Employees preparing a Montana hotel for its June 3 opening witnessed an extraordinary saga involving a hungry grizzly bear and momma moose with two newborn calves.

The accompanying video clip, showing the moose chasing the grizzly bear down a road and to the water, and the bear smashing into a hotel window, has been shared by various sources without photographer credit since Sunday.

The footage, however, does not provide context or explain the larger story, which involved the predation of at least one of the moose calves by the grizzly bear.

Other clips, likewise, showed what transpired in bits and pieces at the Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park. One shows the bear attacking one of the calves as momma moose stands in the lake. The footage, which can be viewed here, might be disturbing to watch.

RELATED: A fascinating look at a Yellowstone grizzly bear’s last days

At the time of this post, precise details were sparse. But Joshua Camareno, an employee at the property, told FTW Outdoors that the moose family’s ordeal began Friday and lasted at least into Sunday evening.

During that period, Camareno said, the grizzly bear took the calf into the woods and returned for the second calf a few hours later, “and that’s when the mom chased him off.”

Camareno said that on Sunday evening, National Park Service rangers used a hazing technique to scare momma moose and her remaining calf back into the woods.

“I’ve seen the grizzly come back twice since then, looking for it,” Camareno said late Monday.

Camareno also posted a clip to Instagram, writing: “Seeing this happen over the past two days wasn’t easy, but so glad I got to experience this first-hand.”

–Moose image is generic, courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Cyclists shout at grizzly bear during encounter; right or wrong?

A group of cyclists who encountered a grizzly bear in Glacier National Park shouted in the direction of the bear to prevent an attack.

A group of cyclists who were stopped alongside a road in Glacier National Park shouted toward a grizzly bear to ward off a possible attack. Was that smart or unwise?

In the accompanying footage, captured by Maureen Gerber and shared by KUTV 2News, the cyclists repeatedly shout “No bear!” and “Go away, bear!” Some of these demands were louder than others.

Those sharing comments beneath the KUTV Facebook post had mixed opinions, with some maintaining that it’s best to make lots of noise.

However, while it’s proper to make noise while hiking or cycling, to alert grizzly bears to your presence, experts advise against shouting or screaming during an encounter.

ALSO: Elephant charges safari bus in harrowing close encounter; video 

According to the National Park Service, once a bear has spotted you it’s best to stand your ground or slowly back away while talking calmly and slowly waving your arms to help the bear recognize you as a human.

The cyclists appear to have remained calm. But their increasingly loud “No bear!” shouts might not have been the safest reaction.

From the NPS website: “Stay calm and remember that most bears do not want to attack you; they usually just want to be left alone…. Continue to talk to the bear in low tones; this will help you stay calmer, and it won’t be threatening to the bear. A scream or sudden movement may trigger an attack.”

Stronger emphasis from the NPS:  “Do not make any loud noises or screams—the bear may think it’s the sound of a prey animal.”

The cyclists, who were grouped together and barricaded somewhat by their bikes, did not scream but their tones were not always low and, in fact, might have caused the bear to look in their direction.

Reads one of the top comments: “That bear wasn’t the least bit threatening to those people. He was just meandering by and probably wouldn’t have even looked over at them if they hadn’t been causing such a commotion.”

Glacier National Park is in Montana. The encounter occurred Monday on Going-to-the-Sun Road.

–Generic grizzly bear image courtesy of the National Park Service

Black bear shows ‘powerful exit strategy’ when confronted by a grizzly

A grizzly bear in Glacier National Park spotted a black bear and sought to make it a meal, but the black bear had other plans.

A grizzly bear in Glacier National Park was entertaining a group of tourists from afar when it spotted a black bear and suddenly took off running after it.

Recognizing the dangerous situation it was in, the black bear took immediate action and used a handy escape route—up a tree.

Anthony James captured video of the encounter and shared it with Glacier National Park, which put it on its Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/GlacierNPS/videos/330788798631770

“Normally agreeable when food is abundant, grizzly and black bears run into one another more often when food is scarce—like early summer,” Glacier National Park wrote.

“While grizzly bears are larger and typically stronger than black bears, this black bear displays its powerful exit strategy: climbing!

“The short, sharp claws of the black bear are ideal for tree climbing. The grizzly’s longer, duller claws are great for digging, but poor for climbing—especially because an adult grizzly is substantially heavier than a black bear.”

Clearly, the grizzly had set its sights on making the black bear a meal.

In 2013, Steve Michel, a human-wildlife conflict specialist with Banff National Park, cited five instances when a grizzly has hunted, killed and eaten a black bear in Banff, according to an article by the CBC.

“It may not be as rare as we think it is,” he told CBC. “But it is rare that we actually are able to document it. We tend not to know about it at all…

Also on FTW Outdoors: Momma bear in Yellowstone has ‘paws full’ with misbehaving cub

“Grizzly bears are opportunistic hunters. They will take advantage of any food source that presents itself.”

The black bear in this case escaped up a tree.

However, it was not known what happened once the video ended. We can only assume the grizzly moved on and a relieved black bear came down from the tree and lived happily ever after.

Photo of generic black bear from Clip Art Library.

Grizzly bear runs straight at hikers, who react in the worst way

A grizzly bear was heading directly for a group of unsuspecting hikers, who clearly were clueless on dealing with bear encounters, as video shows.

A grizzly bear on a trail in Glacier National Park on Sunday was heading directly for a small group of unsuspecting hikers, who clearly were clueless about how to deal with bear encounters in the wild.

Another group of hikers on a switchback above those ill-informed hikers saw what was transpiring and began warning them about the approaching bear and shouted “get off the trail,” and then the grizzly started running.

Once the grizzly started running, the shouts of warning became louder and more urgent. You can hear someone in the distance yelling to “back up, back up,” and a woman nearby says, “They shouldn’t run” before yelling to them, “Don’t run, don’t run!”

So what did they do? Dulé Krivdich, who sent the video to NBC Montana, picks up the story he told the station:

“Just then, the griz made a bluff charge and we saw people booking it like we’ve never ever seen before in our lives. But I think that it was a case of the bear not knowing the people were coming up, [and] the people had no idea. But once they did, [they] did the worse [sic] thing, they ran!”

grizzly bear encounter

Fortunately, after the bluff charge, the grizzly continued on its way, disinterested in the running hikers.

“Thank goodness that it all went well afterwards,” Krivdich told NBC Montana.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Girl, 3, tangled in kite is violently swept 100 feet into the air

Ironically, that same day, Glacier National Park posted on Facebook this warning to hikers:

“If you’re hitting the trails, there are a few other considerations to keep in mind. If you can’t see the trail ahead of you, it’s important to make your presence known by making human sounds like shouting or clapping loudly. Additionally, hiking in a group allows bears to see, hear, and smell you better, reducing your risk of a surprise encounter. If you do happen to see a bear on the trail, ensure you maintain at least 100 yards of distance and slowly back away from it. Carrying bear spray (and knowing how to use it!) is recommended on all trails in the park. You never know when you may see a bear!”

At least they did one thing correctly: hiking in a group.

Photo of generic grizzly bear courtesy of the National Park Service.