Sandee and I made a short trip to our home in Western Montana in October to visit family and help get the house ready for the winter. As it happened, we arrived the day before the Going-to-the-Sun road in Glacier National Park would close for the season. That left me no choice but to go for a drive! I spent a day in Glacier and then the next day Sandee and I drove to Holland Lake for a hike (with some lunch along the way). The larches were bright yellow throughout the area and I enjoyed photographing Montana’s fall colors.
The Going-to-the-Sun Road (often referred to as the “Sun Road” for short) stretches between the west and east sides of Glacier National Park, crossing the Continental Divide at Logan Pass. In addition to providing access to much of the park, the views from the road are spectacular. Because of its location and elevation it closes each winter between Lake McDonald in the west and St. Mary Lake in the east. I entered the park from the west side and enjoyed exploring the shoreline around Lake McDonald lodge before heading up the mountain.
I drove over Logan Pass heading toward Baring Falls near St Mary Lake. Baring Falls is a relatively small waterfall accessible via a short, easy hike. I had never been to it before and wanted to check it out. I was hoping that the relatively low autumn flow would allow me to get some nice details in the water.
As I drove back over the pass I was struck by the clouds hovering over the Garden Wall, which is one of the most prominent ridges in the park. I stopped at a nearby viewpoint, but it was already closed for the season. I walked down the road a little way and found a clear view of the scene.
Further down the road I found a nice view of Bird Woman Falls framed between some bright yellow trees.
Holland Lake is in the Flathead National Forest south of Glacier. We went for an afternoon hike around the lake the next day, stopping along the way for lunch in Bigfork. The area is beautiful and the day couldn’t have been nicer. We hiked to the waterfall at the end of the lake – about 3 miles round trip. The trail is well maintained and relatively flat until you get near the waterfall where some climbing is required. I scrambled up the hill until I could get a good view of the pool at the bottom of the falls.
I stopped for a few photos in the late afternoon light on our way back to the trailhead. The lake was calm enough for some nice reflections and I wanted a nice view of the mountains and larch-covered hills. The sky was getting cloudier as a rainstorm was forecast for that evening.
