Visiting for the first time this summer - Transportation Advice

Hello! I will be visiting for the first time this summer and can't wait!

We are taking the train from Chicago to East Glacier and staying at the Glacier Park Lodge. I had planned to rent a car from the Dollar Car Rental there, but I have confirmed from multiple sources that it is no longer operational. What should I do to get around the park? How is the best way for me to get a rental car? Or can I rely on shuttle busses?

Here are the options I'm considering:

1) Using the Shuttle system

Unfortunately, the park shuttles don't go as far as the lodge, but I could use the east side shuttle to get to Two Medicine and St. Mary. From St Mary, I can take the hiker shuttles on the GTTSR, or the Many Glacier Shuttle for when I go to Many Glacier.

An advantage of this is I don't have to worry about parking (I heard it's very difficult to find parking at most trailheads) and don't have to worry about the ticketing system (I think that's true, anyway) for the GTTSR, Two Medicine, and Many Glacier.

Huge disadvantage, though, is that I'm sure it will take ages to get to where we want to go, and plus I am reliant on the schedule. Another disadvantage is that not all the hikes will be near when the shuttles go. For instance, does the East Side Shuttle drop off at the Running Eagle Falls Trailhead upon request, or do we have to walk over a mile on the road from the Two Medicine drop off to get there? (I mean we are going to be hiking many miles, so I don't know why I think this is an issue, but any inefficiencies we can cut out and necessary distance we can shorten leave us time and stamina to do the more incredible hikes).

The next bunch of the options involve getting a rental car west of the park - super far away from where we will be staying but I think that's the only option.

2a. Stay on the train (or get it the next day) another 3-ish hours to Whitefish

This is convenient, but the train runs once a day and will get to Whitefish around 10pm (and that's in the unlikely event that it's on time). None of us are comfortable driving the 1 hr 30 minutes east to our hotel in the Montana wilderness on Route 2 at night (for fear of moose, etc.). We could stay overnight in Whitefish, but that's a waste of our hotel lodge reservation we fought so hard to get.

2b. Take a taxi or rideshare from the Lodge to Whitefish.

Is this even feasible? The lodge mentioned "Mountain Chief Cab Company." Maybe they could take us there?

2c. Use the Red Bus tour to cut our distance.

The first day, we planned on taking the 8-hr Red Bus tour "Big Sky Circle Tour." Maybe they could drop us off when we get to the West Entrance and we could get a rideshare or Taxi From there? (From the west side, Whitefish looks to only be 30 minutes- much more sane to do in a Taxi or Uber/Lyft)

3. Make friends with strangers and have them drive us. ;)

4. See if the rental car company or hotel could assist in getting me to the rental car or the rental car to me.

I confirmed with the hotel that they wouldn't do that. Enterprise's slogan used to me "We'll pick you up." Did they ever actually pick you up?!

5. Zipcar.

Not available anywhere in Montana - I checked. Are there any other 3rd party car rental places that have something in the area? I doubt it, but it's worth asking.

I booked this trip last year in hopes of a scenic relaxing train ride, stunning lodge, and easy access to the park from the train, but I put my eggs in the basket of a defunct car rental location :(

I'm lost on what to do, can anyone offer some advice? Thanks so much in advance!

in glacierby emu5088

75%

1.3y

dropkick2

1.3y

Unfortunately I can't offer any solutions, I would just say don't plan to be able to get a ride share around that area. Cell service is spotty at best, and the area outside the park is pretty sparsely populated. If you can definitely get the rental car in whitefish that's probably your best option. Though if you do that then you either have to get a vehicle reservation or arrive in the park early enough that they aren't checking yet

emu5088

1.3y

Thanks for your reply. How's cell service at the West End of the park? Right now, I think my preferred option is 2c.

dropkick2

1.3y

West end is probably better than east but it depends on your carrier. I was there right after labor day last year and I remember at Apgar I struggled to load directions back to my hotel (on T-Mobile)

emu5088

1.3y

I have an update that maybe others would find helpful:

After speaking with the hotel and Red Bus tour company, I decided to go with option 2a, to stay on the train to Whitefish to get a rental car that night (I called the rental car place to confirm we would be able to retrieve the car late at night when we get in). The red bus company confirmed that driving back to East Glacier that night was probably a bad idea. Therefore, we decided to spend the night in Whitefish and cancel the first night at Glacier Park Lodge.

The reason we decided against 2c, was that the all-day Red Bus Tour goes clockwise from the Glacier Park Lodge (through the less exciting scenery first), rather than counterclockwise to St. Mary and the GTTSR, first (I had mistakenly assumed the latter). That didn't seem like a worthy idea to us.

Thankfully, I discovered this not too late, so I was able to find a hotel (albeit very expensive) in Whitefish, and rebook my train. Surprisingly, an extra 2 hours in a sleeper car only cost me $31 more.

I hope this post and thread helps someone out there.

barbaq24

1.3y

This is a clear issue with Amtrak in general. When I went I flew in to Missoula and rented a car. it was a gorgeous ride up along Flathead Lake. Everyone has their own opinion but I wouldn't go up there without a car. Amtrak sounds wonderful in theory, but what's the point if you can't get around in a national park that has all sorts of quirks with transportation, has bad cell service, and is remote as frig.

emu5088

1.3y

That's not Amtrak's problem. That's the problem of the local community and businesses. Why should Amtrak bear any responsibility for what happens after you leave the train? I honestly put some of the blame on the Lodge for not catering to people who would not visit East Glacier if not for the train -- but truly, it's my own fault. Had I known this, I would have booked the train to Whitefish (where Amtrak does go and where there are a plethora of transportation options). Not Amtrak's fault at all.

barbaq24

1.3y

I'm not sure there is much value in assigning blame, because it won't fix your problem. I guess despite Amtrak having a stop in East Glacier it is not able to sustain a car rental business. Maybe it's a temporary condition, maybe it's not. I will admit I have animosity towards Amtrak because I live in New Jersey and their tunnel was responsible for years of stress until I moved to get away from taking the commuter train everyday.

Either way, being stuck in East Glacier is not ideal. If you can't get a vehicle there, you should either not stop there, or should resign yourself to taking the bus. To answer your question about Running Eagle Falls, there is only one way in to Two Medicine, if you can get on a bus to Two Medicine you will almost certainly be able to get them to drop you off and pick you up at the trail head.

emu5088

1.3y

Well you were the one that started the blaming lol. In any case, I get it. Sour experiences for a transportation company make you hate everything about it. That's how I feel about Southwest Airlines.

In any case, I found your second paragraph extremely helpful!! Thank you so much! Your advice regarding Running Eagle gives me some comfort!