Glacier Outdoor Center Blog

This weekend is the Whitefish Winter Carnival in Whitefish, Montana! Glacier Anglers is excited to be putting a boat into the float parade.

Our craft will be manned by the Casting for Recovery gang. The theme of the Carnival this year is Fiesta Pescado Blanco (that means Whitefish Festival, folks), so we will fiesta up the drift boat and do our best to show ‘em how we party in West Glacier! If you are around the Flathead Valley this weekend, don’t miss the parade and carnival – it is a ton of fun!

Casting for Recovery was founded on the principles that the natural world is a healing force and that cancer survivors deserve one weekend — free of charge and free of the stresses from medical treatment, home, or workplace — to experience something new and challenging while enjoying beautiful surroundings within an intimate, safe, and nurturing structure.

Parade starts at 3pm on Saturday, but check out the full schedule for all the fun things to do.

Glacier National Park has reported that the 2011 visitor figures dropped by about 15% from last year. Although we’re never happy to hear that kind of news (Glacier Outdoor Center is right outside the western entrance to the Park, so that means fewer folks visiting us too!), we also know when to appreciate the good side of news too.

First of all, 15% lower than 2010, which was an all-time record high in visitation, so let’s keep our perspective, right?And even at the reduced number, there were still 1.85 million people visiting this gorgeous Park. That’s a lotta folks!

And secondly, knowing this information now means we can get on the ball in encouraging everyone around the world to book their 2012 Glacier vacations now!   So, come on out! Plan a trip to Glacier.  There’s plenty of room for everybody!!

Here are some great examples of what you can experience in the Park. GNP posts ‘eHikes’ and ‘eTours’ on their website that let you take a virtual look around.

If you need more of the eye-candy we posted here, check out the photo gallery on the Park site, where we got these pics. You’ll be packing your bags by nightfall…

And, of course, you can find all sorts of good stuff on our website, and we are here and ready to help you with all of your vacation planning. Need lodging- we got it. Need whitewater – we know just where it is. Need fishing – yep, we’ll take you.  Give us a ring  or an electronic poke and we’ll schedule a great adventure for you.

If you happen to be heading to Ukraine for some fishing…. keep your fingers close, would you?

Turns out, there are piranhas in the waters. Here’s a crazy post about invasive finger-biters in the waters of the Dnepropetrovsk region of Ukraine.

Here’s an excerpt:

“The piranhas are already responsible for killing off large portions of fish, muskrats, ducks and snakes. Even a few fishermen have fallen victim to these vicious carnivores, though none have died yet.”

So, we would suggest you stay closer to home and let us show you the fine waters of Northwest Montana, where the fish look like this, and your fingers are safe:

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered

image from GoogleImages

Even though Glacier Outdoor Center is buttoned down for the winter, we’re still out there in cyberspace. Our online reservation system is waiting patiently (computers are like that) for you to book your spring and summer rafting, fishing excursions, and guided wilderness trips.

Set up the relatives, the friends who are planning a visit next year, the local friends, with a gift of some serious time on the river or in the wilderness.

So, head to our website and pick an activity. Click BOOK NOW, and you are in.

If you are not on the world wide web, you can call 800-235-6781 Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.

Wanna know what others think? Click that link.

Glacier Anglers is pretty excited about partnering up again with Trout TV for a new season. All Trout TV episodes will be hosted out of the Glacier Anglers shop next year.

Take a look at some of the productions from Trout TV. Former Glacier Anglers guides Rich Birdsell and Hilary Hutcheson take viewers to some incredible locations for big, small, strange and beautiful fishing. See some gorgeous backdrops and learn a thing or two about luring the lunkers!

And spread the word about Trout TV – the website is easy to remember: www.trouttvshow.com

Last Saturday The Flathead Valley Chapter of Montana Wounded Warriors teamed up with Columbia Falls Rotarians to show servicemen returning from Iraq and Afghanistan a good time fishing on the river. Wounded Warriors gives veterans a chance to get together and enjoy the outdoors. Glacier Raft Company provided guides and rafts, Columbia Falls Rotary supplied a steak dinner and funded the event, and Glacier Outdoor Center put the soldiers up for the night in one of their cabins. The veterans, John Greenwood of Butte, Brandon Olson of Billings, and Char Gatlin of Missoula relished the opportunity to be appreciated and treated to a great day of fishing and fresh air. You can read the Hungry Horse News article here.

One of the best things about working at Glacier Outdoor Center is the fact that we get to meet some pretty awesome people from around the world. We get to hear their stories, and we get the honor of introducing them to a place like no other: Glacier National Park.

One such awesome person is freelance writer Debbie Olsen. Hailing from Alberta, Canada, Debbie recently visited Glacier Outdoor Center for some fly fishing lessons. She later wrote about her experience in the Calgary Herald; check out what she had to say!

Thanks for joining us, Debbie — we hope to see you back in Glacier again soon!

I know you are busy paddling, laughing and enjoying every single moment of your whitewater adventure with us, so if you didn’t have time to snap an action shot of yourself—don’t worry. We take care of that too! We have professional photographers snap photos of your group at the most exciting spot along the way.

Digital photos of your raft trip are available for purchase immediately following your trip.Once you get home, your rafting trip photos will also be available for purchase at our online photo sales site. Just find the date on our website and the name of your guide to find pictures of your trip.

Here’s the best deal! Order a DVD of ALL of your whitewater rafting digital images for $57 including shipping and handling. To purchase the DVD just call us directly at 800.235.6781

Say cheese and remember your trip forever with these photos!

Here at the Glacier Outdoor Center, we’ve decided that all of that spring rain was, in fact, worth it. Thanks to that moisture, we now find ourselves in the middle of a stunning summer and an incredible rafting season.

The sun is out and so are we! Our team is taking folks on full and half-day float trips, fishing excursions and overnight camping trips. Whether we’re guiding a visitor’s adventure or getting them into the gear they’ll need beforehand, the Glacier Outdoor Center crew is dedicated to showing folks all of the great activities Glacier summers have to offer — and take it from us, the list is a long one.

Imagine, if you will, a day that looks like this:

You and your family are seated on a comfortable, sturdy raft. Above you is the giant blue sky Montana is famous for. Surrounded by deep forests infused with mountain air and peaks that soar heavenward, you fly down a roller-coaster river that will take you on the ride of a lifetime.

Sound like a good day? We think so. And since we also think that a “one-float-fits-all” package would get kind of boring, we’ve put together a variety of different trips for you to choose from. Interested in a family-friendly, half-day trip? Looking to do some fly fishing? Find the perfect Glacier Outdoor trip by clicking here.

If you’re looking for an especially unique experience, consider one of our Great Bear Wilderness trips. The Great Bear Wilderness connects the Bob Marshall Wilderness to Glacier National Park, and through its middle runs the Upper Middle Fork of the Flathead River. We are the only outfitter in Montana permitted to guide trips down this section of the Middle Fork, and we’d love for you to join us on our next float.

If there was an award for “most beautiful backyard,” we’re pretty sure Glacier Outdoor Center would win, especially in the summer. Come and see for yourself — the weather is warm, the days are long, and we’ve got a spot on the raft waiting for you!

For more information on planning your next summer adventure, give us a call or visit Glacier Outdoor Center online.