I would like to do an extended canoe trip in or near Glacier National Park. Any suggestions.
flathead river
the flathead river will offer you a lot of different paddling - class 1s to some pretty hefty whitewater. A lot of the North Fork is pretty tame with nothing getting over IIs.
short trip but,
I loved Two Medicine Lake, when I was there in '82.
canoeing Glacier
I would think the North Fork of the Flathead is probably your best bet. (It forms the western border of the Park). You could do a 3 day float from the Canadian border to just above the confluence with the Middle Fork. Although if you intend to haul all your gear in the canoe and camp along the way, I am honestly not sure how well that will work. I have always base camped out of the campground at Big Creek, or a rental cabin, and done day trips. The park prohibits camping anywhere but designated backcountry sights, none of which are along the river. The west shore of the river is Nat’l forest, but there are a lot of private inholdings, cabins etc. Most of the river bank is pretty rocky, but I’m sure you could find a tent sight here and there. I would not recommend you do the North Fork before the 4th of July. The water is VERY fast and VERY cold during run-off. The stretch from Big Creek down to Glacier Rim has the most rapids; solid class II in low water, class III at higher flows. I would not recommend the Middle Fork for canoes; much bigger water. If you want to do some lake paddling, Bowman Lake would probably be worth doing and it’s right there in that neck of the woods. The Falcon Press guide book Paddling Montana (Hank Fisher) would be a good resource for you. Good Luck!