Amtrak Adventure - Day 28 - Glacier National Park

Day 28 we took a Red Bus Tour to see the section of the Going to the Sun  Road that was already open. The fifty mile road is supposed to be one of the most spectacular drives in the country but, due to weather conditions, is closed to vehicles for many months of the year and does not fully open until mid-June.


It wasn't possible to delay the whole trip to arrive in Montana at the perfect time so we had to make do with a shortened version of the tour which took us along the fifteen miles of road that had been opened from the West Glacier side.

The tour takes place in old red buses which have been converted so that while they still look the same as they did in the 1930's when they were introduced, the mechanics have been changed to cope with the exacting and varying road conditions they encounter.

As the buses are capable of carrying only seventeen passengers, the tour has a more personal feel than you would get on a regular coach, and with the top rolled down gives you a good blast of Montana's fresh air!

The tour took us beyond Apgar and along the eastern edge of Lake McDonald.

We passed Avalanche Creek:

and Sacred Dancing Cascade:

Stopped at the northern tip of the ten-mile long Lake McDonald:

And finally came back along the western edge of the lake via rustic Lake McDonald Lodge:

Along the way we got a glimpse of where the tours go when the road is fully open, which only made me determined that one day I'll come back in season to see the rest of it!