Going to Glacier National Park

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Guest_Tom_*

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Wohoo! I'm traveling for the first time an overnight Amtrak from Milwaukee, WI to Glacier NP in Montana. (June 17 2009 return June 28, 2009). I'd love to get tips on traveling and some help. Currently, the plan is to go coach all the way there and back. So I'll probably pack a sandwich for the first night and eat the rest of the time in the dining car. Is there also a place to buy snacks on board? Get coffee in the morning?

And can someone explain the sightseeing lounge? How is it different from the coach seats, and will I be allowed to hang out there? What is the difference between reserved coach seating and lower level coach seating? I can book either right now.

I've only ever ridden Amtrak Milwaukee down to Chicago, never overnight. But I've had a few overnighters on a greyhound bus. I assume this will be more fun :) Can you get up and wander around whenever you want? I'll just be taking one carry on (doing backpacking in Glacier, so I'll be packing light). Do I need to take my luggage with me wherever I go? Are there overhead bins like on an airplane? Also, are there any train changes involved? Or will I get the same seat from Milwaukee to Montana? Are there long station stops involved that I can get off and wander around, or does it only stop to drop people off and pick people up then its off again?

Lastly, is there anywhere that explains all this so I don't have to bother ya'll :) I'm pretty stoked for the trip, but unsure if I'm in for 27 hrs of Greyhound-like misery, or a fun relaxing trip.
 
This has nothing to do with your questions, as I'm sure others will be more knowledgeable about what you are asking.

I was just wondering where you planned on staying while visiting GNP. I will be arriving at Essex (Izaak Walton Inn) from the east the evening of Sunday July 19 and departing the morning of Thursday July 23. Just thought it would be interesting to see if we might ever bump into one another. This will be my second overnight ride (technically 2 nights each way this time) trip, and first time ever to GNP (first time out of my own time zone at that).
 
You might want to start with these hints and tips.

But yes, there is a snack car where you can buy stuff. Yes you can hang out in the lounge when its open. No change of trains is required. Lower level seats are the same as reserved seats, just on the lower level instead of the upper level. Go with upper for better views. No overhead bins, but there is an overhead rack, as well as a luggage rack downstairs for really big bags. You can wander the coaches and the lounge car anytime you want, but most people won't be happy if you're wandering late at night. You can only go into the dining car when your eating meals, and you are not allowed into the sleepers unless you have paid for one.

Most stops are too short to get off an wander, but certain ones are smoking stops. Then you can get off and walk the platform, but don't leave it and be ready to reboard when the whistle blows.
 
I'll be working at Brownies Hostel/Grocery and the Whistle Stop restaurant from June 9th through mid August. Hope some of you can come and visit!
 
You will be pleasantly surprised to find that AMTRAK coach is NOTHING like coach on Greyhound! The seats are roomier and you have ALOT of leg room! You are also free to get up and roam the train whenever you like! The "Sightseer Car" serves two purposes. The top level has very LARGE picture windows (floor to ceiling basically) and the seating in that car faces the windows for a terrific view of the scenery. The bottom level of the "Sightseer Car" (stairs are located in the middle of that car) is the snackbar/lounge where you can go to get a snack or that morning cup of coffee you were wondering about. Assuming the Empire Builder is running on time, there will be several short "smoking stops" and a few longer station/smoking stops in which you can get off the train and get some fresh air or have a cigarette if you are a smoker. Don't wander too far from the train, or it may leave without you Three of the longer station/smoking stops are Minneapolis/St Paul, Minot, ND, and Havre, MT. You do not need to take your luggage with you when you leave your seat. It will be fine in the overhead rack. And as Alan pointed out, there are no train changes once you board the Empire Builder, so you should retain the same seat for your entire journey. I'm sure you are going to have a terrific time. Enjoy!!
 
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Guest_Tom_* said:
I'm pretty stoked for the trip, but unsure if I'm in for 27 hrs of Greyhound-like misery, or a fun relaxing trip.
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The only thing that it has in common with Greyhound is the length of the trip. Coaches are cleaner, seats are bigger, bathrooms are bigger, employees are friendlier, view is better, passengers are less crazy, ect
 
So a regularly booked coach seat would usually put me on the upper level? How full does the sightseeing car get? Will the whole train be in there?

I'm not sure where I'll stay in Glacier, especially the first night. The train gets in in the evening, so I'll probably book a campsite somewhere. I'm stopping in West Glacier (I called the park, and they recommended this), and he said there was a campsite nearby. I'm hoping nearby means I can walk there or hitch a ride or something. (Although hitching a ride in the dark is not my idea of fun, especially since it will be my first hitchhike ever :)

I plan on taking a shuttle or hitching a ride into the park proper after the first day and doing one or two backcountry hikes, which shouldn't make accommodations a problem. So yeah, suggestions for relatively inexpensive accommodations the first night as the train gets in would be welcome.

I second the other place, where is this hostel you work for? ns4eva, I assume we won't meet up. I'm traveling in June, you're in July :(
 
Thanks for that link to the tips by the way, that answered quite a few questions.

I also realized I'd better eat in the dinner car the first night. I get into West Glacier around 8:23 pm, which might interrupt dinner, although I'm not sure what time it starts (or if I'll get that time)

From the park service map, its 2 miles from the station depot to the campground. Quite a bit to walk at 8:45 at night, but it doesn't look like there are accommodations anywhere near there. So maybe I will be sticking my thumb out in the dark.. :)
 
I would bring a lightweight tote bag with an assortment of snack food, especially some fresh fruit. I would bring some bottled water, some crackers, nuts, etc. and if you can swing it, one of those soft sided coolers will keep some cheese or dip, and some juice maybe, cool for quite a while, especially if you can wrap it in your jacket or something.

Try this: pour some of the water out of the water bottles to make room for expansion, and freeze them, that will keep your food cool, and as the water melts you will have fresh cold water to drink.

It's good to be prepared for the unexpected. Having some snack food along will only save you money and keep you comfortable. You can fold the empty bag up when you are done.
 
Guest_Tom_* said:
Thanks for that link to the tips by the way, that answered quite a few questions. I also realized I'd better eat in the dinner car the first night. I get into West Glacier around 8:23 pm, which might interrupt dinner, although I'm not sure what time it starts (or if I'll get that time)

From the park service map, its 2 miles from the station depot to the campground. Quite a bit to walk at 8:45 at night, but it doesn't look like there are accommodations anywhere near there. So maybe I will be sticking my thumb out in the dark.. :)
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There are places to stay in West Glacier. A couple of web sites are here and here. I imagine that they are not inexpensive, especially in high season. Last summer we stayed at the Lake MacDonald Lodge in the park, and the lodge sent a van to pick us up and drop us off at the West Glacier train station. Very convenient, as with the free shuttle buses on the Going to the Sun road we were able to avoid renting a car, and also avoided paying the entrance fee to the park. There's also this campground, but Google maps indicates that it's the better part of a mile west of the train station.
 
From the park service map, its 2 miles from the station depot to the campground. Quite a bit to walk at 8:45 at night, but it doesn't look like there are accommodations anywhere near there.
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It depends on your budget, but the lady from Glacier Vista Motel http://www.glaciervistamotel.com/ agreed to pick us up at the station and drive us to the Apgar Village bus station the next day. Maybe she agrees to do so for you too.

She charges $96 (in July) for a double room (including taxes).
 
The coach seats are somewhat like recliners. Lower level usually has older people or those who have mobility problems - quieter and more subdued than the upper level.

Definitely pack a sandwich for the first night on the train. The lounge car offers less expensive food items than the dining car, mostly of the sandwich variety.

About dinner the night you get to Glacier, don't count on being able to eat in the dining car. During the summer Amtrak gets a lot of vacationers and the sleeper passengers get first choice for dinner hours. The only available time for coach travelers might be 8:30 or so. Might not be enough time to eat before you have to detrain. However, you can still get something to eat in the lounge car.
 
Yeah, its a tough choice on the hotel. Its not that expensive, but it does cut into my budget quite a lot. I'm still at the age when its hard to justify spending it when there's a campground nearby and I'm all fresh from just beginning my travels. More likely it'll rain for days (its the rainiest month) and I'll be sick and tired of camping after a week and I'll get one then to rest up and dry out. If I get one at the beginning, I'll feel the need to stick it out in the rain later on the trip and save money. Ahh, if only I had unlimited funds.... :)

The dining car is an experience that shouldn't be missed right? If I take a sandwich the first night and can't get an early dinner reservation the second, I'll miss it completely. On the other hand, how often are these trains late? Also, how often does dinner fill up completely and there's no space? Is that possible?

One other thing, I was reading about upgrading on board if the train isn't full (although the same thread said the Empire Builder is often full during summer). I also got the impression you pay for the room, not per passenger. Do people ever find some stranger on board who looks sane to team up with and split the cost? Or am I the only one who would find that normal? :)

Thanks for all your help by the way, its great.
 
Upgrade to a Roomette that date would Add $467 to seat fare of $149.00 as of todays price on Amtrak.com.

So if money is the factor you might just want to take some earplugs and plan to recline the coach seat and sleep there. It seems a lot of people do this.
 
One quick point about the Park Service campground at Apgar (west Glacier) -- the thing fills up most days in the summer, so arriving in the evening means there's a good chance you won't be able to get a space! Reservations are accepted at Fish Creek Campground, but that's another couple miles further away and transportation will be problematic, especially if the train ends up being late.

So I'd pretty strongly recommend a motel reservation near West Glacier for the night of arrival. The Glacier Highland is right across the road from the Amtrak station, and is fairly moderately priced. I'd probably start by giving them a call.
 
Guest_Tom_* said:
The dining car is an experience that shouldn't be missed right? If I take a sandwich the first night and can't get an early dinner reservation the second, I'll miss it completely. On the other hand, how often are these trains late? Also, how often does dinner fill up completely and there's no space? Is that possible?
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June is getting into the "popular season" for the Empire Builder. The diner will probably be very well-patronized. You can get a sense for how on-time the train has been recently by going to amtrakdelays.com and plugging in your train number (7) and destination (WGL), and selecting the maximum history available (4 weeks?). That site doesn't have data for every train at every stop on every date: it only pulls data from Amtrak when someone requests, and then remembers it for four weeks. So visit it every few days over the next few weeks to build up its data for 7 at WGL so you get more useful averages.

One other thing, I was reading about upgrading on board if the train isn't full (although the same thread said the Empire Builder is often full during summer). I also got the impression you pay for the room, not per passenger. Do people ever find some stranger on board who looks sane to team up with and split the cost? Or am I the only one who would find that normal? :)
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I made a friend in coach on the EB and tried to convince him to split a roomette (there was one available, according to the conductor), but even half the cost of the upgrade was more than he wanted to pay. If you can find someone to go in on a roomette with you, go for it--you're correct that the cost is for the room, not by person. Make sure to emphasize that all dining car meals become free (effectively making things a lot cheaper, if they were planning on eating on board anyway), as this is probably the strongest selling point.

I don't get the sense that this is a very common practice, finding a stranger to upgrade with. I wish it were!
 
Thanks for that tip on train delays. I'll start checking it out.

Montanan, the Park Service has a similar service, where they provide historical times that each campground in the park fills up. Apgar hasn't filled up at all by June 17th in a while, nor the few days afterwards. I'm taking the chance that in this economy, it won't fill up by my arrival date.
 
Yeah, I guess the June 17 date didn't sink in with me ... your odds of having an empty camping space are pretty good. I'd still recommend a motel for the first night, though, because of the uncertainty of your arrival. Hiking a couple miles after dark in unfamiliar terrain (and in bear habitat) isn't much fun.

A couple other thoughts for your planning. First, the free Park Service shuttles won't yet be running for the season when you're there, so you'll be restricted to the (expensive) concession busses or hitching. If the pass isn't yet open when you arrive (a possibility), the concession busses probably won't be running past Lake McDonald Lodge. I hitched quite a bit when I worked up there and it was fine, but be prepared for lots of scheduling uncertainty.

Also note that many/most of the high-country trails and backcountry campsites may still be closed by snow in mid-June. A lot of the major trail passes are almost guaranteed to still be closed by then. So have lower-elevation hikes in mind, at least as backups. Many of those, though, start from places that are very difficult to reach without a vehicle (like the North Fork area).

There are a couple of budget accommodations in East Glacier, and also a hostel in Polebridge, which I highly recommend. Hitching to Polebridge, though, is rough. The bottom line is that a car is an extremely useful thing to have in Glacier.
 
Guest_Tom_* said:
The dining car is an experience that shouldn't be missed right? If I take a sandwich the first night and can't get an early dinner reservation the second, I'll miss it completely. On the other hand, how often are these trains late? Also, how often does dinner fill up completely and there's no space? Is that possible?
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I don't know how often the train is late, but others on this forum might know.

As far as the dining car being an experience that shouldn't be missed, I agree everyone should try it. You're not likely to get early seating for dinner, so I'd suggest breakfast in the dining car. Or lunch, but because you're on a budget, if you take a look at the lunch menu you'll find you can get most of the same things in the lounge at a lower price.
 
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