Week in Montana

Best Things Nearby:
Glacier National Park

Best Things About the Resort:
Quiet and relaxing atmosphere. Spacious unit with fully equipped kitchen. Beautiful golf course.

Resort Experience:
Our unit at the Meadow Lake Resort had two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The master bedroom has a queen-sized bed, TV, dresser, and large closet. There is also a bathroom with tub and shower, vanity with two sinks and plenty of storage space. There are no hair dryers. The second bedroom has a queen-sized bed, two dressers, and a closet. The second bathroom has a shower/tub, sink, toilet, and a stacked washer and dryer.

The kitchen has a full size refrigerator, electric stove with oven, microwave, dishwasher and double ceramic sink with a garbage disposal. The kitchen was fully stocked with table service for six and many pots and pans and utensils. There is a starter kit of laundry detergent, one roll of paper towels, dishwashing detergent, and trash bags. There is a dining room table that accommodates six people.

The living room has two sofas - one is a queen-sized sleeping sofa, TV with VCR and stereo, and fireplace stocked with wood. There is a porch off the dining room with a table and two chairs and a BBQ grill.

There is air-conditioning in the master bedroom only. We visited in August and we wished they had air conditioning throughout the entire unit. Overall, the timeshare was in very good condition and very clean.

The Recreation Center is open 7am to 10pm. There’s an indoor pool with spa and an outdoor pool with spa. Towels are supplied. The work out room has treadmills, nautilus and exercise bikes. A market and gift shop are inside the recreation center. Video rentals are available for $2 for microwave popcorn and a movie. A certified massage therapist is on staff. There are resort activities scheduled during the week. A concierge is available to help you schedule any outside activities. A restaurant is on-site.

We had a great week at this resort, and I would highly recommend it!

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Very Good
• Service: Very Good

We ate lunch at the Italian Gardens Ristorante at Many Glacier Valley in Glacier National Park. It’s adjacent to the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s a casual non-smoking restaurant, and the tables have red and white checked tablecloths. Our waiter was very efficient and friendly. The menu has the usual Italian offerings: pasta, pizza, etc., and other choices like hamburgers. The three of us decided to share a mushroom and pepperoni pizza.

There is a large choice of toppings for the pizza. In the middle of the table is a stainless steel tray holder and they deliver the pizza on the pizza tray. We had never seen this before and we thought that was cool. The pizza was excellent. We tried huckleberry ice cream for dessert, since we had never tried it, and it was great! We thought it was similar to blueberry. We enjoyed our meal, and the total bill was about $25.

After lunch, we visited the gift shop at the Motor Inn, and they had a good selection of snacks and souvenirs.

Logan Pass Visitors Center on Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park is a very popular place in August. The Visitors center is open mid June through September and since it’s such a beautiful place everyone that visits the park wants to go there. There is very limited parking and I recommend you visit early in the morning or later in the afternoon to claim a parking space. Many trails originate here and cars are left in the lot for hours at a time. The Visitor’s Center has a lot of information on trails, wildlife, history and geology of the area. They have displays of some of the wildlife. There are Park Rangers available to answer any questions you may have. Restrooms and a gift shop are available but there is no food service.

We talked to the Park Ranger and decided to take the trail to Hidden Lake, which is 3 miles roundtrip. There’s about a 500-foot increase in elevation and you’re hiking at 6,646 feet above sea level. The trail is uphill one way and downhill coming back. The trail starts at the visitors' center on a wooden boardwalk and eventually turns into a dirt trail. There are a few benches along the way to rest. The day we visited, there was slush on the ground and the Ranger told us there had been a hailstorm the previous night! The weather is very unpredictable so be sure to dress in layers. Bring plenty of water and sunscreen.

The scenery on the trail was breathtaking! I told my husband I felt like I was Julie Andrews in the movie "The Sound of Music" standing in the field in the mountains. The wildflowers were in bloom in the meadows, with the jagged peaks in the background. We did see mountain goats, big horn sheep, a golden eagle and a marmot. My son was thrilled to discover the marmot next to the boardwalk. The marmot was very cooperative and posed for a photo. We also saw a small waterfall on the way.

There are platforms when you reach Hidden Lake, and again, the view is fantastic! You can continue the trail to actually go to Hidden Lake but we decided not to. This trail was one of the highlights of our trip. It’s one of those times when you say, "Life doesn’t get any better than this."