HIKING ON YOUR ELOPEMENT DAY: HOW TO PLAN ENOUGH TIME TO HIKE AND GET MARRIED IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
If you're seeking a remote and adventurous location, a short hike is a perfect choice! The thrill of the unknown and the joy of hiking can make your wedding day truly unique. Your trail will determine our time for pre-ceremony preparations and after-hike documentation.
Much more goes into a day than expected, mainly when it includes a hike. Planning for stops, breaks, photo locations, travel time between locations, and pre-planning for the lighting and sunset—it's a lot to work out. I plan out the route and timing for my couples to make things easier. However, suppose you're considering having a hiking elopement. In that case, I've created this post so you can better understand what amount of time you'll be looking at.
It's important to remember that a hiking elopement is a one-of-a-kind experience. A hike that typically takes 2 hours to complete can easily turn into a minimum of 4 hours when you factor in photo stops, breaks, scenic views, and the logistics of a wedding dress. This unique experience, tailored to your adventurous spirit, is what makes a hiking elopement so special and memorable.
Here are some hikes to consider for your wedding day that I've personally done with other couples to give you an idea of how long it takes. Estimated times include photo stops, breaks, and elevation.
Hidden Lake Overlook, Glacier National Park (Early July)
JOHNS LAKE LOOP (WEST GLACIER)
Est. Completion Time: 2.5 Hours
Length: 1.9 mi Out & Back
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Gain: 183 ft
AVALANCHE LAKE (WEST GLACIER)
Est. Completion Time: 4 Hours
Length: 5.7 mi Out & Back
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation Gain: 748 ft
3 FALLS ST MARYS, BEARING, & VIRGINIA FALLS (ST MARYS)
Est. Completion Time: 4 Hours
Length: 7.5 mi Out & Back
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Gain: 710ft
HIDDEN LAKE OVERLOOK (LOGAN PASS)
Est. Completion Time: 4 Hours
Length: 2.8 mi Out & Back
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation Gain: 580 ft
LAKE JOSEPHINE (MANY GLACIER)
Est. Completion Time: 3 Hours
Length: 3.2 mi Loop
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Gain: 249 ft
JOHNS LAKE LOOP TRAIL, WEST GLACIER
AVALANCHE LAKE TRAIL, WEST GLACIER
3 FALLS ST MARYS, BEARING, & VIRGINIA FALLS (ST MARYS)
CHOOSE YOUR HIKE WITHIN YOUR MAIN LOCATION
The best way to choose your trail would be to know where the main area for your wedding will take place. There are five main areas within Glacier National Park to choose from. Paring your hike with the area you’ll be in works best for timing and coordination.
West Glacier (Lake McDonald)
Logan Pass (Going-to-the-Sun Road)
Two Medicine
St. Mary’s
Many Glacier (Swift Current)
Polebridge (Bowman Lake)
CAN WE DO MULTIPLE MAIN LOCATIONS?
I often get asked if couples can do multiple areas during the day. Yes, however, you’ll also need to consider the other parts of your day like pre ceremony, ceremony, and post ceremony documentation; travel times, sunset times, etc. If you want to do multiple main locations, a hike, and still have time for the rest of your day, you’re looking at 12-16 hours. Choose a hike that is within your main location.
Sarah and Matt used West Glacier as their main location. On their day we went to Apgar, Sandy Beach, Lake McDonald Lodge, and hiked Johns Lake Loop. The only way we had the ability to accomplish all of this under 13 hours was to stick to West Glacier for all of their glacier locations. Below is a preview of the locations we used as well as their wedding day timeline.
Sarah & Matt’s Elopement Timeline Glacier National Park | 12 HOUR DAY
8:00am | Aundrea Arrives at Whitefish Lake Lodge
Sarah and Matt wanted pre ceremony candid’s of them hanging out and getting ready. They decided to not have the first look documented for their day.However, they did have one privately in their room while I waited for them downstairs. This is a great example to show there is more than photographs that takes up time during the day. We left the lodge at 10:15am.
10:30am | Breakfast at Lula’s Café
11:30am | Leave Whitefish for Glacier National Park
12:00pm | Arrive in Glacier Park
When we arrived to West Glacier, we stopped by the West Glacier sign for some photos.
12:30pm | Sandy Beach (7 Mile Pull Off)
Sarah and Matt picked Sandy Beach for their ceremony location. Before their ceremony, the chilled champaign in the lake, and took a short walk.
1:30pm | Ceremony
1:45pm Picnic and Intimate Celebration
Sarah and Matt did a champaign toast and had a picnic along the shores of Lake McDonald right after their ceremony.
2:00pm | Leave for Johns Lake Loop Trail West Glacier
It takes 30 minutes to drive to the trail head from Sandy Beach. Vehicle access to Johns Lake Loop trail is typically open till the end of November.
2:30pm | Start Hike
To accomplish it in 2.5 hours.
4:00pm | Sunset
Sunset in November is at 4pm in Glacier Park. Since it was cloudy, we took the extra time on the trail to get couples photographs instead of making back to the lake. It was a last minute decision and worked out perfect!
4:30pm | Leave Glacier Park
We rushed to pack up after the hike but managed to get out of there in 10 minutes. This is why I highly recommend planning to much time then not enough.
5:00pm | Glacier Distilling
Sarah and Matt wanted to go to Glacier Distilling to have a glass of whisky while they face timed family and friends to share the news about their elopement!
6:00pm | Dewdrop Inn
We went to the Dewdrop to play some keno and have a Cold Smoke.
7:00pm | Leave DewDrop
7:30pm | Dinner at Abruzzo in Whitefish
As they were waiting to be seated, they had a drink at the bar, signed their marriage license and recreated the photo of when they first met.
8:00pm | Aundrea Departed
As the hostess came up to seat them for dinner, I said my farewells, and this is when we ended the evening. Of course, we could have continued through dinner for a late night fire, but we were already at 12 hours and they felt good about their day of documentation coming to a close.
PLANNING YOUR HIKE
If you're hiking, you'll need to plan for the total time it will take and an additional 30 minutes before taking bathroom breaks and getting prepped for the hike. You'll also want to schedule 30 minutes after the hike to cool down, take a bathroom break, eat something, and decompress. You must consider these times to avoid getting burnt out. It would be best to have these times to ensure your day is relaxing and enjoyable. Here are a couple of timelines I've created for hiking elopements. Remember, these timelines do not include the time you'll also need for pre-ceremony documentation, the ceremony, or post-ceremony documentation.
Timeline Example #1 | St Mary’s
1:00pm Arrive at Sun Point Parking Lot
1:30pm Start Hike to Virginia Falls
5:30pm End Hike
7:30pm Ceremony @ Sun Point
8:00pm Couples Photographs @ Sun Point
9:30pm Sunset
10:00pm End Sunset Photographs
WHEN SHOULD YOU NOT DO A HIKE?
If you’d like to do a Going to the Sun Road tour and stop at several locations, I would not hike. If you also have several events and activities planned, like a bonfire, drinks, dinner, and several hours of travel that day, I would not hike. To give you an idea of what a day looks like with several activities, hours of driving, and a hike, here’s an example timeline.
9:00am | Aundrea Arrives
A few candid’s will take place while you finish getting ready. We will also pack up the Jeep. It takes some time to do this. You can find a check list of things to pack for your elopement so nothing is forgotten before you leave for Glacier Park.
9:45am | Leave for Glacier Park
Columbia Falls – West Glacier 30 minutes
10:30am | First Look & Couples Photos @ Lake McDonald
11:00am | Leave For Ceremony
12:30pm | Arrive @ Big Bend
If you have a 20 minute ceremony and photographs at Big Bend, expect to be there for 45 minutes – 1 hour.
1:30pm | Couples Photos
There is about 15 minutes on average between each spot with 20 minutes at each location for photographs (averaging 1 hour of photos, 45 minutes of driving) so let’s round up to 2 hours.
3:30pm | Arrive at Sun Point Parking Lot
A half an hour is needed for bathroom breaks, packing up and getting ready for the hike. The drive iCs long and I’ve never arrived at this spot without everyone needing to use the bathroom.
4:00pm | Start Hike to Virginia Falls
This hike takes 4 hours for an elopement starting at the Sun Point trail head. You will see 3 waterfalls along the way. You can start the hike at St. Mary Falls trailhead, but you’ll miss out on a waterfall and beautiful scenery. Starting at Sun Point is not only prettier with more options, but it’s easier to find parking. Don’t waist precious time waiting for a parking spot to open and take advantage of the parking lot at Sun Point for a better experience.
8:00pm | End Hike
After the hike is over, you’ll spend some time packing up the car, makeup and hair check, water and stretch break, removing twigs from your dress, etc.
8:30pm | Arrive Sun Point
Sunset photographs will be done at the next location and we’re usually here for an hour, sometimes more.
10:00pm | End Sunset Photographs
1 hour and 33 minutes of driving from St. Mary’s-Coram
11:30pm | Arrive in Coram
Bonfire & Brews in Coram
1:00am | End Evening
I will drop you off at your lodge / Airbnb in Columbia Falls
This day ended up being 16 hours of photography coverage with a Jeep Adventure. It’s not uncommon I do full days like this and I’m sharing to make you aware of what kind of day you’d expect doing several activities, multiple locations, all of the moments documented and seeing the full GTSR.
If a hike is something you’d like to do for day, it can be done successfully! Choose a photography package with enough time to accomplish your day, lean on your photographer for coordinating the times and locations; and most importantly - choose a main location to explore.
HAPPY ADVENTURES!