warning
Office Closed On July 4th
  Office Hours: 8AM-4PM MT, Mon-Fri  
supervisor_account
Stay Up To Date On All Things
Backcountry Journeys

Resources For Photographers
About Our Company
Resources For Photographers
About Our Company

Find Your Next Photo Adventure

Destinations

Trip Report: Glacier National Park July 2018

Published August 8, 2018
We just finished the first of our two Glacier National Park workshops this summer. It was a fantastic trip and although the forecast called for clear skies all week, our group was treated to some very nice light all week. Glacier National Park is my personal favorite national park. The mountains are incredible, it features the greatest road in America, there’s flora and fauna from four distinct ecosystems, and the weather is usually dramatic.
The trip started out with a bang. After an early morning departure from Whitefish, MT, we arrived at the shore of Lake McDonald. Lake McDonald is Glacier’s largest lake at just under 10 miles long and 472 feet deep. At the end of the lake sits the towering mountains of Glacier. Instantly as we arrived at the lake, you could tell that the sky was going to light up. Even with the sky still dark, we could see some great clouds forming so we hustled down to the lake to begin shooting. We focused on using some of the unique, colorful rocks that litter Lake McDonald and other lakes in the park. Once set up with our compositions, we waited for the sun to peak up over the ridge. And peak up it did. The sky turned into a bright fireball and it was almost impossible to not take a great shot. It was without a doubt the best light of our trip.

After shooting well into morning (the light just did not stop), we proceeded to drive to St. Mary’s where we would be staying for the remainder of the workshop. That meant driving from west to east on Glacier’s iconic Going-to-the-Sun Road. It is one of the most breathtaking roads in the world and an engineering marvel. The road is registered as a National Historic Place, a National Historic Landmark, and a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Construction began in 1921 and the 50 mile road was finally completed in 1933. We took our time traversing the road and stopped along the way to take in the beautiful mountain views before checking into St. Mary Lodge and Resort in East Glacier.

Our next few shoots would include some of the blooming wildflowers around the park. July is a great time for flowers as lower elevations in the park are carpeted by wildflowers in the early portion of the month, while alpine wildflowers start to pop up at the end of the month. We found vibrant lupine blooms in the meadows around Swiftcurrent Lake and Saint Mary Lake…there was great sunset light at all our wildflower shooting locations and we held some classroom sessions during the week to process some of the skies and wildflowers.

A trip to Glacier isn’t complete without shooting some of the grand lakes in the park. The lakes here are some of the most photogenic in the world.  So, for four sunrises we shot four of the iconic lakes. I already mentioned Lake McDonald, but we also photographed Two Medicine Lake, Swiftcurrent Lake, and Saint Mary Lake. Although our sunrise shoots brought clear skies excluding the first morning, there is something special about first light hitting the peaks towering over each of the lakes. The clear skies also brought calmer winds, which allowed us to capture some great reflection shots. We also took a boat cruise on Two Medicine Lake and Saint Mary Lake. Most see both lakes from the shore and taking the cruise gave us a new perspective, and by new perspective I mean insane, close up views of the peaks that tower over the two lakes.

Our group photographed Mount Reynolds and Going-to-the-Sun Mountain as well two of the iconic mountains viewable from Logan Pass, the highest point on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. We spent a sunrise at Logan Pass, but also spent some time shooting Mount Reynolds from other areas along the road. Most memorable was Lunch Creek, as we were able to shoot cascading waterfalls and the creek with Mount Reynolds in the background.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip. Every person in our group had great energy and wanted to photograph the park non-stop. It was great to see that kind of passion. The days were long, we woke up around 4am each day for sunrise and returned from sunset around 10:30pm each night. Yet, everyone always had a great attitude and was excited to shoot (we made sure to get some quality naps in during the day). After a final shoot at Wild Goose Island on our last morning, we made our way back to Whitefish for once last celebratory meal. We ate at a fantastic restaurant called Swift Creek Café and said our goodbyes after a great meal. I’m excited to see all the images we came away with this week…there will be no shortage of them, that’s for sure!

 We offer world-class travel photography
experiences
around the world.

Each tour is bundled with lodging, meals, and transportation between workshops included, allowing you to focus on photography instead of the stress of traveling. 
Learn More About This Trip

BACKCOUNTRY JOURNEYS

"Backcountry Journeys offers guests the unique opportunity to explore our natural world from behind their own lens. We run a selection of hand-crafted Photo Tours, Workshops & Safaris connecting passionate people to exceptional experiences. Locations worldwide.

- Russ Nordstrand, Backcountry Journeys Founder & Director

CONTACT US

Monday-Friday
8am to 4pm Mountain Time
928-478-1521
adventure@backcountryjourneys.com

TRIP CATALOG

Download our Trip Catalog for detailed information on our many destinations for photography tours, workshops, and safaris.

All Images & Content are property of Backcountry Photography Tours, Workshops & Safaris LLCs - Copyright 2025

BACKCOUNTRY JOURNEYS

"Backcountry Journeys offers guests the unique opportunity to explore our natural world from behind their own lens. We run a selection of hand-crafted Photo Tours, Workshops & Safaris connecting passionate people to exceptional experiences. Locations worldwide.
All Images & Content are property of Backcountry Journeys Photography Tours, Workshops & Safaris LLC - Copyright 2025

CONTACT US

Monday-Friday
8am to 4pm Mountain Time
928-478-1521
adventure@backcountryjourneys.com

TRIP CATALOG

Download our Trip Catalog for detailed information on our many destinations for photography tours, workshops, and safaris.

[bot_catcher]