While the entry reservation requirement for the Going-to-the-Sun Corridor seemed to increase visitation throughout other areas of the park, the northern reaches of Glacier National Park seemed to remain unchanged. SmokyBear.com describes the Polebridge entrance as visited “mostly by locals and hardy travelers” and the 35-mile trek on rough unpaved roads probably has a lot to do with it. This area is home to Bowman and Kintla Lakes, the most pristine lakes in the park.
I probably would’ve skipped this section of the park altogether if it wasn’t for the Friends of Glacier National Park Facebook page. With only three full days in Glacier, driving all the way up to Polebridge didn’t seem like the best way to spend my time, but the people in that group RAVE about the Huckleberry Bearclaws at the Polebridge Mercantile. And after seeing fifty or so pictures of the pastries before my trip, I just had to go!
The mercantile had anything you may have forgotten for your outdoor adventures from baked goods and snacks to bandaids and souvenirs. While this area of the park is one of the least visited, everyone that visits stops at the Merc. It was much busier than I expected. We grabbed some bear claws (of course) and some pizza rolls for our long drive the next day to North Dakota.
The drive up there was not easy and it is recommended that you have a vehicle with four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive if you plan on making the trek. There were a lot of large potholes and rough roads, but barely any cars at all. There aren’t many places to stay in the far reaches of the park. There is a hostel in Polebridge and some cabins can be found for rent on VRBO. There are also four campgrounds in the area run by the park service. More information about them can be found on NPS.gov.
I do wish we had more time to explore this area of the park. I will have to add that to my list for my return trip to Glacier, whenever that may be!
Thanks for stopping by! To read more about this trip, check out the Epic National Park Road Trip. To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Etsy and Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my updated Gear Page.