After driving north on North Fork Road for 12.9 miles from the Camas Road intersection, a roadside sign is the first indication that we were at Polebridge, Montana. We turned east onto Polebridge Loop and drove 0.3 miles to the community of Polebridge. The two-story general store is the dominant structure in town as most of the residential area is a campground of tents and vans. Besides the basics one expects to find in a general store, the store also sells fresh-baked pastries. According to a sign beside the building, the store has been in operation since 1914. A pre-fabricated restroom building with hot and cold water and flush toilets has been installed behind the store.
Leaving the mercantile, we drove north on a pothole-riddled dirt road for 1.4 miles to the modern steel and concrete bridge over the North Fork Flathead River. Crossing the bridge, we came to the Polebridge Ranger Station entrance to Glacier National Park. The ranger station was closed as was the Inside North Fork Road and the road to Bowman and Kintla Lakes. We visited in mid-May 2021 on our trip to Montana and the Dakotas.
 |
| "The Merc" |
 |
| Reuter Peak (8763') and partially obscured Kintla Peak (10101') |
 |
| Hummingbird perched on the Merc sign |
 |
| Parke Peak (9038'), Reuter Peak, Kintla Peak, Mount Peabody (9216'), Numa Peak (9003') |
 |
| North Fork Flathead River |
 |
| Glacier Drive bridge |
 |
| View upstream (northwest) from the bridge |
 |
Mount Hefty (7578' left foreground) just south of the Canadian border and
Mount Doupe (7703') and other snowcapped mountains in British Columbia |
 |
Wedge Mountain (6514') with Hornet Mountain (left 6744')
and Cleft Rock Mountain (center 7300') behind |
 |
| View downstream |
 |
| Polebridge ranger station |
 |
| Glacier Road from the ranger station |
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment