On our last day at Glacier National Park, we bought tickets for the 11 AM boat tour of Lake McDonald. When we started our May 2021 trip, we weren't sure that the concessionaire would start the season on time. As it happened, this was the first tour of the first day of the season. We didn't notice any opening day hiccups as the crew handled the boat and the interpretive duties like they were all old hands. The Glacier Park Boat Company has been operating on Lake McDonald since 1938. The wooden vessel DeSmet seemed well-maintained and the safety briefing was typical of what we've had at other national parks. The boat has an enclosed cabin on the lower level and an open upper deck. The tour lasted an hour and traced a parallelogram across the northern end of the lake. For the 2021 season, tickets were $22.25 per person with ages 4 to 12 having a reduced price of $11.00, and children under 4 were free. Masks or face coverings were required due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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| DeSmet at the dock |
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| Bow |
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| Ticket booth |
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| Boat tour route |
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| View south toward Apgar |
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| Snow-covered Belton Hills |
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| Apgar Mountains |
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| Teakettle Mountain (5936') |
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| Calm morning on the lake |
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| Mount Cannon (8952') |
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| The Garden Wall |
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| Private cottages on the North Shore |
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| Stanton Mountain (7750') |
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| View down Lake McDonald from the bow |
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| Mount Brown (8569') |
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| Mount Jackson (10052') |
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| Howe Ridge |
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| The aftermath of the Howe Ridge Fire of 2018 |
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| Our wake distorts the reflection of Mount Brown |
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| The northern end of the lake |
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| Mount Brown, Edwards Mountain (9076'), and Gunsight Mountain (9263') |
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| Apgar Mountains from the lakeshore |
A Glacier National Park entry fee of $35 per vehicle, $30 per motorcycle, or $20 per person is valid for seven consecutive days. Other fee payment options include the America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands passes including the Annual Pass ($80), Senior Pass ($80 for a lifetime), Access Pass (free with a documented disability), and Military Annual Pass (free for active-duty personnel). Also available is a Glacier Annual Pass for $70.
The Glacier National Park website is https://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm.
The boat tour concessionaire website is https://www.glacierparkboats.com/tour/lake-mcdonald/.
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