Here it is!!The last post of the road trip that we set on from Seattle WA to the epic Glacier National Park MT.

If you just landed on this page you may want to catch up on the The Beginning and The Middle ,this here is the final chapter of our 5 day road trip.

Any guesses on what was the coolest part of day 4?It was…

🎉Ms. V’s birthday 🎉!!

Yes,my not-so-little Lioness turned 9 that day😍 ,we had small birthday celebration for the birthday girl. Let me tell you she was beyond happy to spend her entire day with her bestie!

Happy and satisfied after chowing down the delicious chocolate cake ,we were back on the road.

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We left early, as to get done with 1 or 2 hikes from our list before lunch and well in time to board our 3pm boat ride on lake McDonald.

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Day 4:Trail of Cedars and Avalanche Lake

We stopped at our first destination,The Trail of the Cedars-one of the must do family and kid friendly trail in the park.Being a popular trail,we had to wait for a good bit before we spotted an empty parking spot.

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This is one gorgeous short trail with raised boardwalk and some stunning views to small waterfalls as you walk in shades of the old growth Cedar forest .

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Some of the Cedars here are more than 1000 years old!!If you are looking for some peace and quiet,then head straight for this trail.

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About halfway on the trail we were treated to view of the stunning Avalanche gorge,breathtaking blue hued water.The pictures in this trip do no justice to what you see in person.

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Hardly a mile long,this flat trail splits midway into two paths ,while one dirt path goes around the Cedar forest completing the loop ,the other connects to the popular Avalanche Lake trail.

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At the end of boardwalk stood the Avalanche lake trailhead and just like that in the spur of the moment we grown up’s decided to hike up the Avalanche Lake Trail.It was about an hour of uphill and an hour downhill.

Yeah, no one checked with the kids, we just marched on! They had no choice but to follow us 😂.

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A short incline from the Avalanche Trailhead led us to a small strip of land from where we could view the top of Gorge in its full glory.Trust me,you want to take your time to soak in this view.

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We had just started on the Avalanche trail,it had hardly been 15 minutes when kids spotted the Avalanche creek,but of course the kids had to get their hands wet here.So we stopped.

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Though we carried water,none of us had the foresight to carry snacks or energy bars.We had just about completed 1/3rd of the hike when a tiny voice went “I am hungry“.

Promising food as soon as we are down we continued with the uphill climb,alas soon all the kids joined in and that was end of our hike,we started back for the Trail of the Cedars.

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Once back down we continued walking in the shades of these stunning Cedars completing the loop.The cries of hunger were now louder than ever!!

Day 4:Lake McDonalds

We headed straight for the Lake McDonald Lodge ,the start point of our boat tour, about 5.5 miles away the Trail of the Cedars.

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Lunch was in the nearby picnic area.Once the hungry monsters had their fill and the voices finally said “We are done, no more”😂 we headed to the ticketing booth which was right behind the lodge.

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Cool fact-DeSmet,our boat for the day is one of the oldest boat in the park,it was built in 1930!After a brief round of introductions and safety instructions we were off.

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Another cool fact:Lake McDonald is both the deepest and largest lake in the park,coming in second is the St Mary’s Lake,the second largest lake in the park.

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Needless to say the view of glacial lake ,the valleys and the carved peaks was breathtaking.

While we loved the ride,our guide wasn’t as entertaining as the one from our last boat ride, so instead we just ended up spending time outdoors enjoying the view.

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An hour later we were back on land and ready to dip in to the gorgeous water of lake McDonalds,but before that we had one last thing to be check off – get the Jr. Ranger Badges from the Apgar Ranger Station.

Jr Ranger Program

We got interested in the Jr. Ranger program when we visited the Crater Lake national park this June.I on a whim picked up two booklets from the ranger station and rest as they say is history!

We now look for these programs in every park we visit.

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Our first badge came in the mail with a personal handwritten note from the ranger himself.Since then they have collected two more,more recently from Glacier national Park,making a total of 3 badges.

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These booklets are educational,they cover history,the wild life and other cool facts about the specifi park you are visiting.Good knowledge session in kid friendly way.

This program not only keeps the kiddos engaged but also imparts a sense of pride in them as they take an oath promising to explore,learn and protect the national parks as Junior Rangers.

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Do check them out the the next time you visit one of the national parks,I bet your younger ones will love doing the booklets.

Day 4:Apgar Village

After getting the badges,we went straight for the beach.About five minutes drive from the Apgar Ranger Station lies the beautiful quaint Apgar village, from this village you have direct access to the popular McDonalds beach.

The water was cold but the kids didn’t care ,specially Ms. V and Ms. A.This lake is famous for its bright colored pebbles, I don’t know how the others do it, I tried my best but I couldn’t capture the true colors of these colorful beautiful pebbles.

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When the sky turned a shade darker, it was time for us to head home.Our visit to the park had officially come to an end.We caught on some yum burgers just outside the park in West Glacier village before heading for Whitefish.

Finally after spending two days in the company of these charismatic glacially carved mountain peaks it was time to say goodbye!

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The next day we left early morning for home,an 8.30 hours drive,taking a break for lunch at Spokane we reached home by 5.30pm. Our bodies were tired but our hearts were filled 💓.What a trip this had been!

There is something magical about being surrounded by nature,nothing beats experiencing it yourself.I hope someday you will consider visiting this park.

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“ A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step”-Lao Tzu.