Summer Road Trip 2017, Part 13: Glacier's Polebridge
For my last full day in Glacier, I wanted to drive up to Polebridge, a remote area on the west edge of the park, near the U.S. border with Canada. Polebridge is a part of Glacier where the roads are unpaved and nature is pristine.
Before heading north, I did a little more campsite recon. This time I drove through the Fish Creek Campground, just a few minutes north from Apgar. It's a large campground with serval loops and many great sites. Fish Creek is different for a couple of reasons; they take reservations and they have showers. Since there are no pay showers in the park, this can be an important distinction. I'm told it's difficult to get a Fish Creek campsite without a reservation.
From Fish Creek, I took Camas Creek Road north, then west before exiting The Park at the Camas Entrance. When Camas Creek Road dead-ends, I took Outside North Fork Road north along the Flathead River. Most of this road in unpaved but it's well-graded and accessible to any type of vehicle.
The town of Polebridge is electricity-free community with a restaurant, a hostel, a mercantile and some cabins. Everything in Polebridge runs off of generators.
I re-entered the park at the Polebridge Ranger Station. Bowman Lake, Kintla Lake and Quartz Lake are all accessible from the Polebridge entrance. I explored the area and did a little fishing in Bowman Creek before paling it a day and heading back to Apgar.
Glacier National Park is an amazing place and I hope to spend more time here on my next visit. I'll be leaving Glacier tomorrow and heading west to Spokane for a brief visit with an old friend.
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