Lake
McDonald, Glacier National Park, Montana
Our nation's tenth National Park, Glacier in the state of
Montana, includes more than a million acres of land. The Salish
and Kootenai reservation is southwest of Glacier. The Blackfeet
Reservation is on the east side of the park. This entire area
holds great spiritual importance to the Blackfeet, Salish, and
Kootenai people.
Eddy Miller, a member of our Bend Standup Paddle community
sent us these photos of his time spent paddling flat water on
Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park. The lake is 10 miles
long and 472 feet deep. The morning Eddy went out the water was
cold and the day was beautiful. He said that the best time to
paddle was in the early morning or late evening. Lake McDonald
is a high mountain lake and wind and storms can come on
quickly, so take precautions and plan for safety. Thanks Eddy
for the photos.
The National Parks service has a Webcam
so you can see this lake and others in Glacier Park. 
Information to help you plan your visit to Glacier National
Park is on the official National
Parks Service website. There are 13 campgrounds within
Glacier Park and several historic
lodges, so there are plenty of options for travelers.
Here's how the National Parks website describes Glacier:
Glacier National Park preserves more
than a million acres of forests, alpine meadows, lakes, rugged
peaks and glacial-carved valleys in the Northern Rocky
Mountains. Its diverse habitats are home to over 70 species of
mammals including the grizzly bear, wolverine, gray wolf and
lynx. Over 260 species of birds visit or reside in the park,
including such varied species as harlequin ducks, dippers and
golden eagles. The landscape is a hiker's paradise that is
traversed by more than 750 miles of maintained trails. Glacier
Park's varied climate influences and its location at the
headwaters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Hudson Bay drainages
have given rise to an incredible variety of plants and
animals.
