Lake McDonald
Lower valleys remain the fallback as alpine road access winds down.
October · Lake McDonald
What to see and do in Glacier in October
Choose an October outing that fits the route, weather and effort involved.
Western larch along US 2
NPS places the final western-larch color change around mid-October; the southern boundary highway is a useful viewing route.
October · Western larch along US 2
Glacier weather in October
October’s normal high is 52°F and low is 33°F, with 3.05 inches of precipitation. The W Glacier station sits near the West Entrance at about 3,148 ft, in the valley where the plowed winter road starts. The east side (St. Mary, Many Glacier, Two Medicine) and Logan Pass, at 6,646 ft, are higher, so expect colder weather there. Treat these numbers as a west-side valley guide; high-country hikes need a mountain forecast.
Cooler Hotter
Jan
High30°F
Low19°F
Precip · in3.54
Feb
High34°F
Low19°F
Precip · in2.17
Mar
High43°F
Low25°F
Precip · in2.58
Apr
High53°F
Low31°F
Precip · in2.15
May
High64°F
Low39°F
Precip · in2.62
Jun
High70°F
Low45°F
Precip · in3.80
Jul
High80°F
Low50°F
Precip · in1.39
Aug
High79°F
Low48°F
Precip · in1.17
Sep
High68°F
Low41°F
Precip · in1.96
Oct
High52°F
Low33°F
Precip · in3.05
Nov
High37°F
Low26°F
Precip · in3.23
Dec
High29°F
Low20°F
Precip · in3.21
Glacier crowds in October
October averages 139,359 recreation visits, 18% of the peak monthly average in July.
LowestLowModerateHighPeakAverage month: 254,484October
Tips for your October visit
Set the road plan before choosing the hike.
AWest EntranceBSt. Mary EntranceCMany Glacier EntranceDTwo Medicine EntranceEPolebridge Entrance (North Fork)
- Park boundary
Going-to-the-Sun Road access
Confirm the full-road opening and that year’s entry and shuttle rules. Lower-valley access does not establish access to Logan Pass or snow-free higher trails.
How we built this page.
An independent guide using official data. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service.
- Crowds
- 2021–2025 monthly averages. NPS recreation visits, compared with the park’s own busiest month. Visits are not unique visitors or a count of people on a trail.
- Weather
- 1991-2020 climate normals. NOAA’s W Glacier, MT station. These describe typical weather at the station, not every part of the park or a forecast.
- Roads & lodging
- Normal seasonal schedules. NPS guidance and official operator information. Confirm access, hours and availability before you travel.
Historical records and data-quality checks
- Visit history: 1979–2025 NPS monthly recreation visits.
- Weather history: 1949–2025 daily observations, separate from climate normals. We average daily highs and lows and total the rain for each month.
- Complete months only: every day must pass our quality checks for that metric. Missing or incomplete records stay blank; we never interpolate.
- Excluded measurements: flagged, presumed-zero and lagged values. Trace rain counts as zero measurable rainfall.