bowman lake

Spent a great 3 days camping, hiking and canoeing. Would highly recommend staying. Get there early to get a good site as it will fill up towards the end of the day.Great hike up to the Numa lookout, but take your bear spray. We saw multiple signs of bears in the area, but no direct visual sightings. Plenty of Huckleberry patches to hike through, and they are really good right off the bush ; )One thing, bring some really good mosquito repellant ! Those things were aggressive, if you had missed one spot of exposed skin they would bite you. Also, you can have a fire in the pits at the campsites but wood is sparse, I'd recommend trying to get some in Polebridge to bring with you.Enjoy !!Oh, btw make it a point to get up before the sun comes up and go out to the lake and watch it come up over the mountains, absolutely beautiful.

about 7 miles from Polebridge on a very rough dirt road but you don't need to have 4x4 just watch for oncoming traffic since it is basically one lane road. worth the trouble and staying the whole day. ton of huckleberries.

Wow, what a beautiful place is Bowman Lake, hidden in far less populated corner of Glacier National Park, what a treat. The lake is beautiful and the trip to the lake is fantastic. We can't wait to go back again.I wanted to address the roads first, as my wife and I were almost turned away by what we read in other reviews. We went expecting the track to be a minefield or potholes and soft sand and we would come back with a destroyed vehicle. In actual fact if you're in any way used to Montana backroads then I would honestly say the track to Bowman Lake is actually better than some, pretty good in fact. There's a handful of potholes and sure the road is narrow, only enough for one car some of the way but there are plenty of turnouts to let cars pass and really not too many blind turns. It's really not as bad as some of the review would have you believe. You could easily make it in a sedan, even though we drive an SUV. Sure you might get some scratches but it'll be very minor at worse, we didn't get any I don't believe! Glacier NP does look after the tracks you can tell, the flora is cut back and we saw several rangers out on the tracks making sure all is good. You're not going to get stuck, the road is hard and the views are beautiful. Just PLEASE PLEASE take it slowly and be courteous to others (you're in the Montana back roads!) make sure you give room to as many as you are given room from. Use common sense, brake distance should be half of your seeing distance. A couple of out-of-state drivers were driving way too fast but really that is all. The track can get busy, usually 5 minutes or so you'll come across a car coming the opposite direction. About an hour to make the 6 mile journey, but that's being conservative and stopping to take pictures. You could probably do it in ~40 mins safely if need be.Make sure you spend some time in Polebridge, get some yummy cookies (Credit Cards welcome) and also there's a place to eat that opens at 4:00pm, full meals (the special when we went was for rib eye steak).The lake itself is stunning, crystal clear water and only the sounds of nature. We cannot wait to go there again, next time we'll be checking out Kintla Lake though but plan to go camping at either in the next few months.Other notes to consider, depending on which direction, I would recommend you enter West Glacier and head north from there. The roads are much better than going via Columbia Falls where the gravel roads are VERY bumpy for about 10 miles. You have to pay the Glacier NP entrance fee either way you go because there is a ranger station on the track heads to both Bowman and Kintla Lakes. $25 for 7 days per car or $35 for an annual pass.Also you will lose cell signal (Verizon to be specific but Verizon is really the only provider that's any good in Montana!) no long after you leave West Glacier, about 10 miles north and you'll be without coverage so plan for that. Even with an external antenna attached the mountain pretty much destroy any chances of cell reception. There is however a public phone box in Polebridge.Overall it was a beautiful day and well worth the drive, we highly recommend taking the trip to this not so famous corner of Glacier NP. It's a must see.

We took the long, rough journey to Bowman Lake - thinking we were in the middle of nowhere... We were surprised to arrive at a bustling campground and hiking area. The lake was lovely but we did not see any opportunity for canoe or kayak rental - would have been nice.... We took a short hike to the patrol cabin and had a picnic lunch. There are pit toilets, picnic tables, camping, hiking. There is an entrance fee related to entering Glacier. It is a long rough road that is almost too narrow for two vehicles. Bugs are bad - bring bug spray. Bear spray is also recommended in the Glacier area. Worth the drive!

What a gorgeous reward after a fun drive! As is mentioned in previous posts, the road there is fun to say the least! Don't take your lowered car for this trip! Curves, potholes, tight roads, single lane with oncoming traffic, tight switchbacks...but worth it! Don't forget to take all of your supplies with you as there is nothing out there...and you will be cutting and chopping your own firewood but its free (wood!). You are rewarded however with a great campsite and fantastic lake, you must go for a swim and enjoy the scenery. Quiet, well planned out and great venture. Likely the drive out is quicker as you know what to expect on the roads, Have fun!