Northwest road trip

[sologirl]

Hi! I am planning on flying out west from Ohio (maybe Oregon or Washington), renting a car and driving to Glacier National Park where I would like to stay for 3 days. If I only have a week, can you give some advice about cities to fly into and the best scenic routes to Glacier and back. I am not into visiting cities - mostly just scenic driving with maybe some special stops thrown in? I have been to California and Wyoming so I would like to stay in the upper corner states. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[Lifemagician]

My first inclination is to say you could fly into Boise and drive across scenic ID. The route north through Banks and Garden Valley, to Lowman and the lovely little town of Stanley in the Sawtooth Recreation Area is a wonderful drive. Near Stanley are the Sunbeam Hot Springs, Stanley Lake, Red Fish Lake and some ghost towns. The one which comes immediately to mind is Bonanza. Continue on to Challis and follow US-93 all the way north. It's a great roadtrip.

Lifey

[AZBuck]

The farther you fly, the more it's going to cost you. The farther your arrival airport is from Glacier National Park, the more it's going to cost you. The smaller your arrival airport is, the more it's going to cost you. On the other hand, as long as your arrival airport is west of the high plains, there will be absolutely no shortage of scenic roads between it and Glacier. And as long as your arrival airport is within two easy driving days of Glacier, you will have plenty of time for the drive to and from the park as well as a few days in the park itself.

With all of those thoughts in mind, there are several arrival airports that would work for you. The nearest major airport would be Seattle, followed closely by Portland and Salt Lake City. Slightly farther away, but still within reason, would be Denver. Any of those four cities could work for you. So the first thing you'll want to do is to check flight availability and cost into those four airports, as well as car rental rates. remember that it's the combination of those two factors which will largely determine the total cost of your trip.

No matter which airport you choose to fly into, you will have a scenic drive to Glacier with sites to visit along the way. From Seattle or Portland you'll be crossing the Cascades, the Palouse, and the Bitterroots. From Salt Lake city you'll traverse the Great Salt Lake Basin, the Snake River Plain, and the Big and Little Belt Mountains. From Denver you'll see the Front Range, the Great Divide Basin and the Wind River Range. Salt Lake City and Denver would also offer you the chance to at least drive through Yellowstone National Park as well.

So have a look at those four airports for costs and general suitability to your own goals. Once you've decided on one of them we can give you more detailed suggestions for routes and sights to see on your drive. But rest assured, you can't make a bad choice.

AZBuck