Favorite BC Campsites

Let everyone know about your camping experience in the park.

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dorf
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Favorite BC Campsites

Post by dorf »

Seems like we're getting some new folks on the site and thought it might make sense to help 'em out by reviewing places we've already been---good and bad. Feel free to add any tidbit of useful information.

Kootenai lakes (KOO)
Not a bad site, fairly scenic when the sun comes up in the morning. Great for watching moose feed. I like the views on the Waterton River just north of the food prep area. hint: when the moose are feeding the water tends to muck up near shore so I filter/get my water downstream a bit.

Stoney Indian Lake (STO)
Getting there is half the fun. Some people I've talked to aren't fond of it but I liked it.

Mokowanis Junction (MOJ)
Avoid this place. No views. GLH is just about 20 minutes east and while not great, infinitely better.

Cosley Lake (COS)
I loved this place. Sites almost right on the beach, great views looking back towards Stoney Indian Pass. Short hike to Gros Ventre Falls. Troublesome deer will steal your clothes or at least try to if you're not vigilant!

Elizabeth Lake Foot (ELF)
This is a larger camp (6 sites I think) but has a decent view of the lake and up towards Redgap Pass and Ptarmigan Tunnel. No food poles here, but they do have lock boxes. Good fishing here.

Elizabeth Lake Head (ELH)
Off the beaten Path but infinitely less crowded with the same nice views. Easy access to Helen Lake. Good fishing here probably due to the inlet nearby.

Helen Lake (HEL)
This might be the most beautiful camp that gets virtually no use since it's so far off the beaten northern circle path.

Poia Lake (POI)
Not a favorite of mine but nice views from the beach---which seems like it's a half mile from the tent pads---and the outlet stream. The whole camp is sort of built on a slope

Noname Lake (NON)
I was sort of disappointed here. No real views of the lake though we did have a small stream running 15' from our tent pad. Small beach area provided a nice view.

Oldman Lake (OLD)
Sites too far and uphill from the lake. Great views of the saddle between Dawson and Pitamakin passes from the lake.

Bowman Lake (BOW)
Scenic, but crowded. When I was there the sites were full. Even had small children there that canoed in with mom, dad and grandparents. fires are allowed here. didn't feel like I was in the backcountry.

Brown Pass (BRO)
Not impressive though close enough to hike up to Hole in the Wall if you have the energy after climbing up from Bowman Lake.

Lake Francis (FRA)
Great camp, great views, waterfalls, alpenglow, decent fishing. 5-star all the way.

Fifty Mountain (FIF)
This site was touched by the fires of 2003, but is unique. Great views to the west, Goats on the Garden Wall to the east. Sue Lake overlook trail close by.

Granite Park (GRN)
Not a favorite of mine as you can just sense people around you. Doesn't have a wilderness feel to it. If you have the time and energy you can get up to the Grinnel Glacier overlook from here.

REynolds Creek (REY)
Nothing special. Stuck in the woods with the creek nearby and no views.

Gunsight Lake (GUN)
Another large campground but the sites seemed to be fairly spread out. More great views across the lake to the pass. Nuisance deer everywhere. Theres a spur trail that will take you near Jackson Glacier.

Lake Ellen Wilson (ELL)
Probably the best cooking area in the park due to a large overhanging rock. Nice views looking up to Gunsight Pass and down to Lincoln Lake if you bother to hike to the foot of the lake.

Sperry (SPE)
With the chalet so close this doesn't have a real wilderness feel either but the views down to lake McDonald from a couple of the sites are it worth it. If you get to camp early enough you'll have time to grab lunch at the chalet and scoot up to Comeau Pass and Sperry Glacier.
So many mountains, so little time.
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Post by Alpine Artist »

Great assessment! The only thing I could add is that, while Mokowanis Junction is a truely undesireable site, Mokowanis Lake is phenomenal- very secluded, stunningly beautiful, and affords day hiking up to Margaret Lake which is one of the most hidden treasures of the park!

Also, when we stayed at Kootenai Lake, we got there via the boat from Waterton to Goat Haunt, which was an unusual way to start a several day backcountry trip. I remember that as being a very cool way to start a long trip.
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Post by Hockey Ref »

Dave Parker --

Suggest you put a "sticky" on this and keep it posted at the top of the camping section.
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Post by JLK »

Thanks Dorf.
Not being a backpacker I was always wondering what sites people where referring to when they used the initials.
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some more from my perspective

Post by pasqualli »

Hey Dorf - I'll try to add my views on some of the others you didn't mention. I'll add more as I get time.

Kintla Lake, Head (KIN)
Similar to Bowman Lake, Head in many respects. A large campground frequently used by kayakers. Nice woodsy feel but expect a good amount of company.

Upper Kintla Lake (UPK)
A very nice camp situated under large lodgepole and larch pine trees. Fantastic views of Kinnerly Peak from the campground "beach". The sites are a bit close together though.

Boulder Pass (BOU)
Spectacular high alpine camp located on the edge of an exposed lava flow. While views are somewhat blocked from camp, within just a few minutes from camp you can see Agassiz Glacier, Kinnerly Peak, Kintla Peak, Mt Peabody, Boulder Peak, Boulder Pass, and the Akamina Ridge. Not to mention a 20 minunte walk up and over Boulder Pass reveals the Hole-in-the-Wall/Browns Pass area with more spectacular views including Thunderbird Mountain. However, the camps are situated close to Gardner Point and falling rock can be an issue.

Hole-in-the-Wall (HOL)
No description required, just go there. Can be a busy camp with 5 sites.

Hawksbill (HAW)
Very open camp with a great view of the somewhat less than exciting Hawksbill rock formation. You do get a great view to the long ridge to the north that includes Chapman Peak and Shaheeya Peak. The best thing about the camp is that Lake Francis is only .2 miles away and is a great place to spend most of you down time. :D

Lake Janet (JAN)
Nice views to the south of the Porcupine Ridge, but that's about it. The camp is actually not on the lake, but about .2 mile east of it. Bugs can be a problem here and Lake Janet slowly dries up as the summer goes along leaving about 50% of it as a less than impressive mud flat instead of a lake.

Waterton River (WAT)
Again bugs can be a problem, but this camp offers in-your-face views of Mt Cleveland, the tallest peak in the park. Another thing to keep in mind is that the horse ford for the Boulder Pass trail runs directly into camp (if hiking from the east and staying in the camp, you can cut about 1/4 mile off your hike and by following the horse ford and fording the river instead of going across the suspension bridge. Recommended only when the water level is low). From the perspective of camp, the ford appears to be the water access. Because of this, if staying in the camp, you might want to consider traveling up the river a ways to get water.
Last edited by pasqualli on Tue Sep 25, 2007 4:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Ear Mountain »

Boulder Pass (BOU)
Spectacular high alpine camp located on the edge of a granite shelf field.
pasquali,
Good descriptions of those camps but one point of clarification. The rock at Boulder Pass (and Granite Park as well) is not granite. It is actually a lava flow. When walking to the camp from the main trail you can see evidence of flow that happened when the lava was in a molten state.
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Post by pasqualli »

Ear Mountain - Correction made, thx. Never claimed to be a geologist and it certainly had me fooled. :D
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Post by Ear Mountain »

it certainly had me fooled.
Fooled the early visitors too. Hence the name Granite Park.

I'm not sure why but I seem to be a stickler for correct names and such. So many confuse the place names in Glacier. Some examples:
Many Glaciers for Many Glacier,
Logan's Pass for Logan Pass, and
St. Mary's for St. Mary.

That last one is one of my favorites because so many residents of St. Mary use the plural or possessive.

One that should be corrected is Cossley Lake. The original name was Crossley.
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Post by slowhiker »

I'm not sure why but I seem to be a stickler for correct names and such. So many confuse the place names in Glacier. Some examples:
Many Glaciers for Many Glacier,
Logan's Pass for Logan Pass, and
St. Mary's for St. Mary.
This has become one of my pet peeves. And it especially irritates me when I hear them from NPS employees.
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Post by pasqualli »

Ear Mountain wrote:
it certainly had me fooled.
I'm not sure why but I seem to be a stickler for correct names and such.

One that should be corrected is Cossley Lake. The original name was Crossley.
So then you won't mind when I correct you and tell you that it's now Cosley Lake and not Cossley Lake. :)
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Post by Ear Mountain »

So then you won't mind when I correct you and tell you that it's now Cosley Lake and not Cossley Lake.
Not at all. I stand corrected.
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Re: Favorite BC Campsites

Post by Melody »

Ear Mountain wrote:
it certainly had me fooled.
Fooled the early visitors too. Hence the name Granite Park.



I'm not sure why but I seem to be a stickler for correct names and such. So many confuse the place names in Glacier. Some examples:

Many Glaciers for Many Glacier,

Logan's Pass for Logan Pass, and

St. Mary's for St. Mary.



That last one is one of my favorites because so many residents of St. Mary use the plural or possessive.



One that should be corrected is Cossley Lake. The original name was Crossley.
Ralph,
I just got an old book by Margaret Thompson published in 1936. It is called High Trails of Glacier National Park. Chapter 10 is called Many Glaciers and starts out "We are now in the Swiftcurrent Valley sometimes called Many Glaciers Valley". I haven't had time to read the whole book just glance through it and the Many Glaciers name caught my eye right away, then tonight I read your post and had to put in my 2 cents worth. Seems like some mistakes started a long time ago. :roll:
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Re: Favorite BC Campsites

Post by Ear Mountain »

Melody wrote: I just got an old book by Margaret Thompson published in 1936. It is called High Trails of Glacier National Park. Chapter 10 is called Many Glaciers and starts out "We are now in the Swiftcurrent Valley sometimes called Many Glaciers Valley". I haven't had time to read the whole book just glance through it and the Many Glaciers name caught my eye right away, then tonight I read your post and had to put in my 2 cents worth. Seems like some mistakes started a long time ago.
Melody,
You're sure right about how some of those names have been in use for a long, long time. Maybe we should go back to those names if they are original. I always try to go by the name published on the United States Geological Survey maps figuring that the map names are "official." But as we know even the published maps introduce and repeat errors.

High Trails is a cool book. I really enjoy reading those old tails of traveling through Glacier back when men were men and women were tougher than men.
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Re: Favorite BC Campsites

Post by b_kloos88 »

So what about GLF vs. GLH? Which is nicer?
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Re: Favorite BC Campsites

Post by sj in cal »

I haven't stayed at GLH. However, I found GLF to be very average with lots of bugs.
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