Amtrak to Glacier National Park and Red Bus questions

I am concerned I read some reviews(from I think Tripadvisor) you don't get a lot of time off of that bus, to look around. If I were to stay in the area near East Glacier Park, are there any shuttles to get up to Going to the Sun Road from the local motels/hotels? Or do you have to head up to St. Mary, MT somehow, to catch those shuttles for hiking within Glacier?

I already know the Red Bus tour (per researching it) will pick up from(I believe) Glacier Park Inn, just north of the East Glacier Park station. Just trying to figure out a way to pull off an Amtrak Glacier National Park tour, were I to do so in 2019. Thanks to anyone who can comment and fill me in, on what I should know. I'd prefer not to rent a car, but not opposed to doing that if I have to.

So I guess long story short what I was wondering, was the best way to both do a Red Bus tour, and also be able to do a little hiking within Glacier as well. Since I'm concerned if I did the Red Bus alone, that I wouldn't be able to fit in at least some hiking.

And is Glacier Park Inn the only one that does a shuttle from that town north into St. Mary? Or do some of the other cheaper motels/hostels also do their own shuttle? Thanks to anyone who can help me figure this all out. Though I'm slowly starting to figure out how to do such a trip, if I do so next year. Hopefully without renting a car, but we'll see if necessary...

Are you referring to the Lodge in East Glacier? The shuttle system for GNP does indeed start at the St. Mary's Visitor center and runs all the way up to Logan Pass on a regular basis throughout the day. I would touch base with any lodging you are considering staying at to see how they could/would get you to the visitor center to meet the shuttles.

You are correct that the Red Bus tours have a certain schedule that they keep, however, they do stop at several places for folks to get some pictures and stretch, but not for any extended period of time. The beauty of the shuttle system is that you can get off, do a little hiking and then get on another shuttle at another stop.

Good that you aren't coming this year. The fires in the Park have closed much of the access on the Western part of the park and there is a lot of smoke many places. Not one of our better years to be sure.

There is also a shuttle from East Glacier to St. Mary. That one cost $15. The one ion the GTTSR is free.

In July 2017 we stayed at the Glacier Park Lodge ... there was Red Bus service at the lodge while we were there. This was in addition to service at St. Mary.

https://www.glacierparkcollection.com/glacier-national-park/red-bus-tours/

We rented a car for the week and just drove ourselves.

Red Bus at the entrance to the Glacier Park Lodge:

https://flic.kr/p/ZDh7bQ IMG_6691 by John, on Flickr

Last year I stayed just outside the Park's boundary at a delightful railroad-themed venue, the Izaak Walton Inn. They also have a limited car rental availability but you should reserve when making your room reservation.

It's historic in the sense that it was born as a Great Northern crew base, later transitioned to a clean, updated inn open to the public. There is a pretty decent restaurant serving three meals a day plus special theme dinners, a bar, and train watching galore. The EB stops there once per day in each direction. You can stay in a hotel room, a caboose, an engine, or a cabin.

I did rent a car which got me to all the hiking trailheads I wanted to use. If I had wanted to do the Red Bus thing I could have used the car to accomplish that. In addition to eating at the Walton Dining Car restaurant, having a rental allowed me to eat at the Lake McDonald Lodge and also travel to Kalispell and Whitefish.

Check it out...https://izaakwaltoninn.com/... it's one-of-a-kind!

FrensicPic said:

In July 2017 we stayed at the Glacier Park Lodge ... there was Red Bus service at the lodge while we were there. This was in addition to service at St. Mary.

https://www.glacierparkcollection.com/glacier-national-park/red-bus-tours/

We rented a car for the week and just drove ourselves.

Red Bus at the entrance to the Glacier Park Lodge:

IMG_6691 by John, on Flickr

Click to expand...

Oh, wow. Those are a lot cooler than I expected. I thought we were talking about something along these lines:

cpotisch said:

FrensicPic said:

In July 2017 we stayed at the Glacier Park Lodge ... there was Red Bus service at the lodge while we were there. This was in addition to service at St. Mary.

https://www.glacierparkcollection.com/glacier-national-park/red-bus-tours/

We rented a car for the week and just drove ourselves.

Red Bus at the entrance to the Glacier Park Lodge:

IMG_6691 by John, on Flickr

Click to expand...

Oh, wow. Those are a lot cooler than I expected.

I thought we were talking about something along these lines:

Click to expand...

Yes, they're nice. When we visited in 2011 (at the Izaak Walton) and took a Red Bus tour, the guide told us about the buses. They were originally built back in the 1930s by White, but after 60+ years of service the mechanicals were much the worse for wear and they were on the verge of being retired. But, when looking for possible replacements, someone noticed that a stock, off-the-shelf Ford motorhome chassis was within one inch of the dimensions of the original White chassis. They took one unit, mated the original body to a new motorhome chassis, and tested it...it worked great! So now the entire fleet of buses has been rebuilt with modern Ford mechanicals and the original White Red Bus bodies.

The "big" red urban bus couldn't fit in the narrow twists and turns of the Going to the Sun Road, thus the need for the "Red Jammers" as they are still called. They are a fun experience. The GNP free shuttle to Logan Pass from either side of the Park is a modern van, but of similar size. The regular sized GNP shuttle busses only stay at the lower altitudes on the West side (Apgar to Avalanche). We are locals and we now just park at the Apgar visitor center and always take the free shuttles now, as the congestion in the Park during June thru August really makes finding a parking place a challenge during this timeframe. September is our favorite time in the Park.

I agree with Skyline's comments about the Izaak Walton Inn. A charming throwback to the railroad era halfway between the east and west entrances to the park off of US 2 and right on the Hi-Line tracks. We have stayed there many times and have loved it. There are miles of hiking trails into the Bob Marshall Wilderness and into GNP from this property as well in the summer, many of which double as snow shoe and cross country ski trails in the winter. And yes, you would need a vehicle to get to GNP from there.

IMG_6512 by John, on Flickr

montana mike said:

The "big" red urban bus couldn't fit in the narrow twists and turns of the Going to the Sun Road, thus the need for the "Red Jammers" as they are still called. They are a fun experience. The GNP free shuttle to Logan Pass from either side of the Park is a modern van, but of similar size. The regular sized GNP shuttle busses only stay at the lower altitudes on the West side (Apgar to Avalanche). We are locals and we now just park at the Apgar visitor center and always take the free shuttles now, as the congestion in the Park during June thru August really makes finding a parking place a challenge during this timeframe. September is our favorite time in the Park.

I agree with Skyline's comments about the Izaak Walton Inn. A charming throwback to the railroad era halfway between the east and west entrances to the park off of US 2 and right on the Hi-Line tracks. We have stayed there many times and have loved it. There are miles of hiking trails into the Bob Marshall Wilderness and into GNP from this property as well in the summer, many of which double as snow shoe and cross country ski trails in the winter. And yes, you would need a vehicle to get to GNP from there.

Click to expand...

Actually, I got there via #8 from Seattle, and continued east on #8 to Chicago a few days later, then onto Pittsburgh to DC (#30) and lastly Culpeper (#19), so I had little choice but to rent a car right there. Good thing I reserved months in advance concurrent with my train itinerary coming to life, because the week I was at Walton, they only had three vehicles left. They were late model SUVs, functional but not as clean as you'd get at most rental offices. I think you could get a better rate and choices (car) if you rented one in Whitefish, Kallispell, etc. but you'd have to return it there too most likely. I did not check out Enterprise but wish I had, which will drive to you and bring you back -- but I bet their closest office is pretty far away so I wonder if they'd do that for Essex (where Walton is).

I really like discovering unusual places to visit, stay, eat, etc. It's all part of an adventure and sure, they don't always work out perfectly but often they do.

This hopefully isn't too far off-topic, but during that same 2+-week trip last year I found another one-of-a-kind place to stay in Vancouver after travelling west on the Canadian. And this one worked out very well...stayed in #504, the "Wilderness Teachings" room.

http://skwachays.com/

Skyline said:

montana mike said:

The "big" red urban bus couldn't fit in the narrow twists and turns of the Going to the Sun Road, thus the need for the "Red Jammers" as they are still called. They are a fun experience. The GNP free shuttle to Logan Pass from either side of the Park is a modern van, but of similar size. The regular sized GNP shuttle busses only stay at the lower altitudes on the West side (Apgar to Avalanche). We are locals and we now just park at the Apgar visitor center and always take the free shuttles now, as the congestion in the Park during June thru August really makes finding a parking place a challenge during this timeframe. September is our favorite time in the Park.

I agree with Skyline's comments about the Izaak Walton Inn. A charming throwback to the railroad era halfway between the east and west entrances to the park off of US 2 and right on the Hi-Line tracks. We have stayed there many times and have loved it. There are miles of hiking trails into the Bob Marshall Wilderness and into GNP from this property as well in the summer, many of which double as snow shoe and cross country ski trails in the winter. And yes, you would need a vehicle to get to GNP from there.

Click to expand...

Actually, I got there via #8 from Seattle, and continued east on #8 to Chicago a few days later, then onto Pittsburgh to DC (#30) and lastly Culpeper (#19), so I had little choice but to rent a car right there. Good thing I reserved months in advance concurrent with my train itinerary coming to life, because the week I was at Walton, they only had three vehicles left. They were late model SUVs, functional but not as clean as you'd get at most rental offices. I think you could get a better rate and choices (car) if you rented one in Whitefish, Kallispell, etc. but you'd have to return it there too most likely. I did not check out Enterprise but wish I had, which will drive to you and bring you back -- but I bet their closest office is pretty far away so I wonder if they'd do that for Essex (where Walton is).

Click to expand...

The Ford Edge I rented (Avis) in East Glacier was clean and low mileage. Reserved it many months prior to our July 2017 trip. We traveled SEA>GPK>CHI

So what's the best options for someone not wanting to rent a car? Do the red coaches pick you right up at any of the lodges?

crescent-zephyr said:

So what's the best options for someone not wanting to rent a car? Do the red coaches pick you right up at any of the lodges?

Click to expand...

I went to Glacier National Park in 2010 and did not rent a car. I stayed at Lake McDonald Lodge. I paid for a park shuttle to get me between the West Glacier station and the Lodge. The Red Bus picked up at Lake McDonald Lodge.

top of the list on a Google search...

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK’S IN-PARK TRANSPORTATION

http://www.glaciernationalparklodges.com/red-bus-tours

If you stay at one of the Park's lodges you should not have any issue in getting around in the Park. We did this before we moved here and had no problems seeing and doing everything we wanted to do. I would just try to avoid July and August, as the crowds slow things down considerably.

Great to know, which of the park lodges are the easiest to connect to the train? I've always wanted to stay at the Izaak Walton, so maybe I can do that for a night or 2, do some train watching and short hikes and relax at the lodge a lot, and then transfer via the Empire Builder to one of the park lodges. Im sure im not the first person on this board to think of that...

crescent-zephyr said:

Great to know, which of the park lodges are the easiest to connect to the train? I've always wanted to stay at the Izaak Walton, so maybe I can do that for a night or 2, do some train watching and short hikes and relax at the lodge a lot, and then transfer via the Empire Builder to one of the park lodges. Im sure im not the first person on this board to think of that...

Click to expand...

The Glacier Park Lodge at East Glacier (GPK) is real convenient. The lodge has a shuttle service to the station and the lodge posts the Empire Builder status in the lobby. The station and lodge can be seen from each other. The town of East Glacier has good services.

IMG_6325 by John, on Flickr

crescent-zephyr said:

Great to know, which of the park lodges are the easiest to connect to the train? I've always wanted to stay at the Izaak Walton, so maybe I can do that for a night or 2, do some train watching and short hikes and relax at the lodge a lot, and then transfer via the Empire Builder to one of the park lodges. Im sure im not the first person on this board to think of that...

Click to expand...

But most of the shuttles *at least in West Glacier) don't start until at least July 1 or the roads open

Yes, East Glacier Lodge is just a couple hundred yards from the Amtrak station. Although Belton (aka West Glacier) is also convenient to Park entrance access and about 9 miles to Lake MacDonald Lodge. Whitefish has the most lodging and amenities (read likely least expensive car rentals) and is about 25 miles from the West Entrance and Isaac Walton is midway between the two entrances off of US 2 and is the most isolated option, but beautiful.

Unfortunately it is true that GNP usually doesn't start the free shuttles until around 1 July. The GTTS Road is usually open by the latter half of June. This year was a huge snow year and the GTTS road opened in late June. I have seen it open as early as the end of May in lean snow years. It's a fine line between convenience and getting slammed with people. If you don't mind the big crowds and waiting for shuttles, then July and August will be OK. If you want a more "solitude" experience then June or September work best. It's all a matter of whether one wants to spent the $ for the ability to move around the Park when and where you want. I find that to experience places like Two Medicine and the Many Glacier area you really need your own vehicle to see them, and outside of Logan Pass, they are some of the best parts of the GNP experience.

Keep in mind also that if we have a dry summer, like we are having now, fires may close parts of the Park as well by August. The Lake MacDonald Lodge and the entire area around the Lodge is now closed for the season and no access is available to the Park from the West entrance at this time and it is a long (50+ miles) drive around to the East entrance from the West.