We had St. Mary Campground almost to ourselves when we visited in May. We had our pick of sites, and we chose a site that had a great view of the surrounding mountains and valleys. It was the perfect place to serve as a base for a few days of exploring Glacier in the early season.

Since the summer season had not yet started, sites were only $10 (They are $23 in the summer), but there were only flush toilets. Remember to store your food properly; we had some foxes around our site that badly wanted our dinner!

The Going to the Sun Road was still closed in the middle, but we were able to drive up about 12 miles on each side. St. Mary’s Campground also allowed us easy access to the Many Glacier area.

Our favorite springtime Glacier activities included: Hiking to Middle and Lower Quartz Lake (a 12-mile loop), hiking to Avalanche Lake, and kayaking Lake Josephine to Grinnell Glacier.

You can read much more about our five days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Glacier)