Bowman Lake, Montana, United States

4Shelby W 5:00 PM Aug 7, 2020

GORGEOUS
You guys, this place is STUNNING, but let me tell you, it's a rough ride in. The road is incredibly narrow and unkept and there are very few parking spots. We were lucky that a park ranger was allowing cars to park in the empty camp sites, otherwise we would have had to turn back. There were a ton of people swimming in the lake and there were plenty of places to social distance around the shores of the lake. BRING BUG SPRAY. There were quite a few bugs flying around, so we were glad we saw ahead of time to bring this with us. Otherwise, great spot to enjoy that is just outside the hustle and bustle of Going to the Sun road.

4David H 5:00 PM Jun 28, 2020

Serene Lake
I loved Bowman Lake. It was hard to get to, the NPS was limiting the amount of visitors due to parking availability, and there is absolutely no cellular service there. We took the outer North Fork Road to Polebridge. Most of the road is loose gravel and incredibly dusty. There are stretches of paved road. From the Polebridge entry into Glacier to Bowman Lake is a hard drive - it is six miles and took us about 20 minutes. We had a Toyota Highlander AWD so it was fine. The lake is beautiful with very small crowds. It is a much different experience than the east side of Glacier. There were families fishing and just relaxing. When we reached the parking lot there was a deer hanging out. As a note, the rangers were controlling the number of cars going into the park. There was a wait list and they would admit a vehicle when one exited. We ended up waiting around one hour. We headed out on the Bowman Lake hike. It can be a very long hike it you complete the entire hike. We only did about three miles out from where the trailhead begins at the lake. It was a very disappointing hike. While you hike along the lake, there are very few views of the lake due to tree and other plant growth after the first half mile. The trail is quite overgrown in spots and there was patches of mud. We did not see any wildlife outside a few squirrels. The entire hike may be amazing, but I would advise against the stretch we completed. Overall, do not be afraid of the drive to Polebridge is you have an appropriate vehicle. You get a different perspective of Glacier and you may enjoy the lack of crowds.