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Question Planning Glacier and Montana for 2020

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@redbaron … planning is all done and reservations made as of yesterday. We will be at East Glacier KOA from 8/19 to 8/23 and then West Glacier KOA from 8/23 to 9/2 and then will move down to Polson from 9/2 to 9/6 on the way to West Yellowstone.

FLSteve
Very good! The crowds will be minimal that time of year.

2019 DSDP 4369 * Active Air * NHSO
 
We will be at East Glacier KOA from 8/19 to 8/23 and then West Glacier KOA

Interesting idea. Is it better do split it like this to see various areas vs. staying in one place? Hmm....
 
Do I see the beginning of a "Hoots" at Polson in late August/early September? That would be fun. We'll be in Lot #166. Come on by!

TJ
 
IMHO, it is better to stay put longer.

Weather greatly affects what trails you will hike and see. Going over the divide changes the weather. In side of Logan's can be fully socked in with no visibility while the other has blue sky.

East side has no at&t service and very spotty verizon. To make phone calls you are using either wifi or driving to west side.

It is 1.5 hrs to drive the going to sun road end to end. East side is closer to Logan's pass than west.

We are not afraid to drive the g2s road and often start out at 5am to arrive at our choice of trailheads.

2019 DSDP 4369 * Active Air * NHSO
 
Interesting idea. Is it better do split it like this to see various areas vs. staying in one place? Hmm....
Depends on how much toad driving you like to do vs being close to various scenic spots. And, there is more to see than just Glacier NP, though to do that well would take quite a while.

TJ
 
We did Yellowstone and Grand Tetons in the summer of 2018. We started out staying in Dubois,Wyoming at a small RV park called Solitude. The place has great views, 19 sites, and it would be wrong to say they are “pull-thrus” since ours was about an acre in area. I could do a 360 degree turn, no problem!

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Entrance looks a little spooky, but once you go around the turn, and across the bridge, it opens up and is gorgeous.

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View from our campsite.

From Dubois, you run about thirty miles west and the road splits. If you go south, you enter Grand Teton NP and if you keep going south, you end up in Jackson. If you turn north, you also run through the northern edge of Grand Teton and you go straight to the South Gate of Yellowstone.

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After a week in Dubois we moved to the Yellowstone Inn and RV Park which is about thirty miles west of Cody and thirty miles east of Yellowstone’s east gate. We stayed there a second time last summer on the way back from Glacier.
 
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Interesting idea. Is it better do split it like this to see various areas vs. staying in one place? Hmm....

@Neal … not really sure and this will be our 1st time there. We are coming from the east (Michigan) so figured we would stop on the east side for 4 days before moving to the west side for 10 more days. I have always heard the west side is better so am staying more time over there. I think @redbaron probably knows the most as he has been going there many years.

FLSteve
 
We are not afraid to drive the g2s road...
It is definitely an exhilarating experience! The road is OK; it is the crazy people driving on it that can make it scary!

For the uninitiated, a significant portion of the Going to the Sun Road is carved into a sheer vertical rock wall. And, there are few guardrails due to winter avalanches. Some drivers just freak out and freeze, creating difficult traffic situations since the road is fairly narrow and easily blocked.

We did it once and unless we needed to use G2S to get somewhere specific, we probably won't do it again.

TJ
 
You will find that g2s is more crowded 2 weeks after opening date (varies with weather and snow) thru mid August. July is often the worst, and we avoid g2s during peak hours.

That being said, early mornings are often a breeze, and after 6p the road is much less busy.

Since we have been going, our toad has been a crew cab 3/4 ton diesel pickup. This is the vehicle that we use to get around the g2s, find parking for trails, etc. We have never had a problem. Many more options open up when you have a smaller toad. Next year we will have our JLUR (4 door jeep) so it will be a brand new experience, especially once I take the doors and top off!

We hike a lot. Often we go to many glacier, from west side which means crossing g2s. Driving the g2s is always an opportunity to see wild life, and people doing stupid things. Always a story to tell.

Many times we start the day out with a very open plan as to what trail to hike, and make the decision based on conditions of parking and weather.

Being flexible with your itenary really helps.

2019 DSDP 4369 * Active Air * NHSO
 
Can’t do Hoots without a nearby Newmar dealer. Of course we could make new rules.

I'm not smart on the Newmar Hoots thing, it's been interesting figuring that out :) I guess what I was implying was an informal Newmar rally such as people merging at destinations like we did for the Balloon Fiesta. Was super great to meet some of the fellow Newmar folks along travels.
 
I went ahead and booked Aug 15-31 at West Glacier KOA as it does look amazing and I want to see it. Looks like they are starting to run short on sites in that time frame so I pulled the trigger. I booked Polson (194) for two weeks after so I can nag @TJ&LadyDi :) I think I'm also going to make this a 3 prong attack and hit Colorado prior to Glacier NP as I really want to explore the Boulder/Denver area for possible future roots. I needed to explore AZ which I'm doing now and pretty much resigned this is not for me which was an objective of this trip (look around to see if I want to live here). I'm not sure if I'll hit Ronnie's CG prior to the KOA, I haven't heard back from them on my initial reservation request which I'll need to adjust or cancel.
 
Site 194? Dang...we'll never get any sleep; that's only a couple of sites in front and to the left of us! ;) It will be good to see you, Neal.

TJ
 
I'm not smart on the Newmar Hoots thing, it's been interesting figuring that out :) I guess what I was implying was an informal Newmar rally such as people merging at destinations like we did for the Balloon Fiesta. Was super great to meet some of the fellow Newmar folks along travels.


I myself have only been to one official HOOTS rally and that was in 2018. We signed up for 2019 but had to cancel due to DW knee surgery schedule.

But what I was referring to is that an important part of each HOOTS rally so far has been the practice of including the participation of a nearby Newmar dealer who typically provides a few show coaches, a little sponsorship, and, perhaps some technical expertise. That’s not to say we couldn’t have a HOOTS style gathering without that ingrediant. There are no Newmar dealers in Montana.

When Newmar went to Gillette, Wyoming in 2018 they faced a similar problem since there are also no Newmar dealers in Wyoming. They got TransWest to cover out of Frederick, CO. Then last summer when FMCA went to Minot, ND (No Newmar dealers in ND either), the task of representing Newmar fell to Steinbring out of Garfield, MN.

I think your idea of an informal gathering of friends is excellent and that too is an important element of the Hoots experience.
 
I’m with you on Arizona. Just not for us (although we love to visit Sedona for short periods). Have you visited the Northern California/Oregon coast? Hard to beat in many ways. BTW Polson/Flathead Lake is a really beautiful area not to be missed. Maybe we will head back up there in late August early September.
 
I went ahead and booked Aug 15-31 at West Glacier KOA as it does look amazing and I want to see it. Looks like they are starting to run short on sites in that time frame so I pulled the trigger. I booked Polson (194) for two weeks after so I can nag @TJ&LadyDi :) I think I'm also going to make this a 3 prong attack and hit Colorado prior to Glacier NP as I really want to explore the Boulder/Denver area for possible future roots. I needed to explore AZ which I'm doing now and pretty much resigned this is not for me which was an objective of this trip (look around to see if I want to live here). I'm not sure if I'll hit Ronnie's CG prior to the KOA, I haven't heard back from them on my initial reservation request which I'll need to adjust or cancel.

If your going to hit Colorado, 3 recommendations.

Glenwood Springs West KOA - They have built some really nice patio sites right on the Colorado River.

Tiger Run RV Resort - Breckenridge, CO. They have some nice sites right on the Blue River.

River Run RV Resort - Granby, CO. This is a brand new resort. I have never stayed there but it looks like they did a good job building it. It opened Aug 2018. Would like a report.

All these resorts are on the RVForums.com Premium Parks Map.
 
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our going to hit Colorado, 3 recommendations.

Glenwood Springs West KOA - They have built some really nice patio sites right on the Colorado River.

I was there this summer and had a great patio site on the river. Sadly they are building a HUGE gas station on the adjacent property. It is a travesty....not sure how they allowed that to happen.
 
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Click the icon in the upper left hand corner for all the map layer options.

Thanks @turbopilot … there is sure a lot of useful information here. I will start using this map to plan and check during our travels.

FLSteve
 
I'm getting word from the gang there now that North American is the place to be and KOA Glacier West is a madhouse.
 

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