Glacier Guides and Montana Raft — Hotel in West Glacier

For 30 years, I have dreamed of floating down the Flathead river along the legendary snow-capped mountain peaks of Glacier National Park. Over the years, I have looked at dozens (OK, hundreds) of photos of the wet, smiling faces of the boaters splashing and paddling through the whitewater rapids. They always look so happy and excited! Oh, how I wanted to be “that guy” in the photo.

In 2024, I decided I had waited long enough and pulled the trigger. With a gentle nudge from my best friend, I booked a 2-day whitewater rafting adventure with Glacier Guides and Montana Raft. It was time- and it was now my turn!

We made our way north in June, 2025 crossing through 8 states and into Montana. A day before we arrived at the Glacier Guide office, I received a call from our rafting guide, Zack. He sounded as excited as we were and walked us through the itinerary and what we could expect when we arrived. Very professional!

The day had come! When we arrived at the Glacier Guide Office, we were greeted by our guides, Zack and Abby who are absolute Rock Stars and clearly love what they do. They made sure we had all the recommended gear and helped us re-pack our gear into waterproof bags for our Rocky Mountain adventure. We met the others assigned to our boat and got fitted for wet suits, life jackets and helmets. Within an hour, we loaded into our bus and headed north- 2 big, blue rafts in tow.

The first day was spent easing down the Flathead River along the banks of Glacier National Park. The views were just beautiful. Our guide on the first day was Abby, who was as funny as she was skilled at navigating the Class II river. Zack floated ahead of us in the “gear boat” which carried all our tents, food and camping gear. We stopped for lunch around noon which gave us an opportunity to stretch our legs and get to know the other members of our party. Bald eagles were observed every so often, as were momma ducks with their babies close by. Everyone was on the lookout for grizzly bears that are common in Glacier, but unfortunately none were seen on our trip.

After lunch, we continued down the river for several hours until Zack found a good spot to call “home” for the night. We had a few hours before nightfall and spent our time making camp, hanging wet clothes and enjoying some of the most beautiful mountain views in the world. We helped the guides unload the gear boat before enjoying grilled steak and salmon for dinner. The food was fantastic, as was the fellowship! After dinner, we sat around a little campfire and relaxed with our new friends. Tired from a long day on the water, we all headed to our tents around 10:00 PM.

6:00 AM, daylight and the smell of coffee and bacon stirred us from our tents. With the sounds of the river flowing below, we eased into the new day with a great breakfast before we broke camp, donned our protective gear and loaded our raft. We changed captains and Zack guided us down the river after a safety brief, Abby navigated the “gear boat” a safe distance behind. Another glorious Montana day on the river.

The closer we got to the entrance of Glacier Park, the more dramatic the views and more challenging the whitewater became. Zack expertly and safely navigated the Class III rapids, all while we paddled like crazy when the order “All forward!” was given. The last stretch of water had 8 named rapids like “Bone Crusher,” “Pinball” and “The Big Squeeze.” All of us got drenched to the bone and wouldn’t have it any other way. It was the Montana trip of a lifetime and everything I hoped it would be.

As our 2-day, overnight adventure came to an end, our guides “high-fived” us and thanked us for joining them. I was sad to leave, I cannot lie. Zack and Abby with Glacier Guides knocked it out of the park- true professionals and an absolute pleasure to be around. I will never forget my Rocky Mountain adventure and am so grateful for the staff of Glacier Guides that helped make a dream come true. I can confidently recommend Glacier...

Splitting headache from a helmet that was too small, back and neck ache from sitting on the bottom of an inflatable kayak in a vest not designed for that purpose, totally drenched and tired from trying to keep the kayak together with the large rafts that were killing time to fill the 2.5 hours on the river. Bad all around. Add to that a shirt ruined by red dye transferred from a wet safety west.

We called the Glacier Guides to inquire about the “Scenic Float Trip” and asked about a possibility of getting a kayak just for the two of us and doing the trip by ourselves to land at a marked place and be driven back as have done in several places before. The person we spoke to said that it was possible. We specifically asked if there were any rapids on that stretch of the river and were told that there were none. It sounded good and we booked the kayak for two along with the dinner after.

The trouble started when we boarded the bus to go to the river. One of the guides called us out by name and handed us helmets. Other people on the bus were not given any. The guide explained that because we were on a kayak, she could not let us go without the helmets. News to us, never had to do it on float trips. My helmet was too small, she had no other helmets on the bus and nobody checked or mentioned helmets before we left. When we arrived to the shore, she gave us more bad news: “everything in the kayak will be wet”. We were not warned about that and were not dressed or equipped accordingly. And, finally, she told us that we must keep our kayak between the third and the fourth rafts and not go by ourselves. Totally different from what we discussed before but by then the bus was gone and we were trapped.

This was the most uncomfortable kayak we ever tried. Not only sitting on its floor was not comfortable but they also made us wear floater vests that were way too thick and too high for paddling. Siting on high benches in a big raft in them is OK, but not on the floor of a kayak while paddling. The helmet that was too tight gave me a splitting headache. The scenery was nice but the guides driving the big rafts with eight people in each were moving deliberately slowly and it was frustratingly hard to keep the kayak from just floating away with the current. The guide was right – everything got wet. First the paddles had no rings on them that prevent water from running down the paddle into the kayak, second contrary to what we were told there were multiple rapids. Not large or dangerous, but enough to splash inside. By the end of the trip were totally drenched. The guide who was visibly unhappy that we were complaining offered an explanation to all the mis and under representations: “maybe you spoke to a new office person…” Maybe we did, but our money was taken and our trip was ruined.

As to the dinner, although we were told that we had plenty of time to go to the hotel and change, by the time we came back thirty minutes later everybody was finishing their meals. They did keep our two pieces of salmon in the foil albeit a bit dried up and even had two pieces of bread along with a bit of salad and...

I booked its "Four day Glacier Park backpacking trip" for last weekend in August. It was Great! Our tour guide, Lillian, was an expert in many subjects: botany, mineralogy, geology, and an excellent cook! As we hiked the Gunshot Pass trail on Day 1, she pointed to us & explained native plants, rock formations, and more. We were 7 Hikers, none of us knew each other from before. But by the end of the 4 days we were like family! The meals that Lilli prepared for us were not only plenty but loaded with enough calories to fuel us through these intense hikes. Day 3 was the longest hike, 15 miles, but we had the most relaxing time at the beach of Lake Saint Mary as our half way through brake. Every night we camped either at a lakeside or near the river. Lilli immediately set up water filters for us to replenish our hidropacks. Some of the campgrounds were magical! Lake Gunshot on day 1 was beautiful and we were able to swim before dinner. But Red Eagle Lake on day 3 was extraordinary. Serene and just magical. We were able to spot some elks near the opposite shore. The transportation from and to the Glacier Guides headquarters on West Glacier was in a very comfortable and modern van, were we had enough room for us and our gear. We also had a nice final meal at the end of Day 4, where we enjoyed many different options beautifully presented on a table (it was set up with the van that waited for us at the end of the last hike in the trailhead). I highly recommend this tour if you want to have a deep experience in the wilderness of Glacier NP but you don't have more than 4-5 days. Coming from an experienced hiker like me, who's familiar with multi day backpacking trips on other National Parks, I give this company, and particularly our great Guide Lillian, a...