As one of America’s oldest established National Parks, Glacier boasts four different historic hotels (and several rustic chalets)- all built before 1930!
Many of these hotels were built by the Great Northern Railway, which heavily advertised Glacier National Park as a tourism destination and built rail stations on both the East and West side of the park. The accommodations themselves are built starting close to the rail stations and spaced about a day’s horse ride apart within the park to allow visitors to make their way from point to point through the park.
These days, travel by car means that the buildings are more accessible to guests, and therefore more popular.
Since Glacier National Park was promoted as “America’s Switzerland”, the hotels were built to look like Swiss chalets to match! Keep in mind that although these hotels have been updated relatively recently, they are still considered rustic- don’t book these expecting air conditioning, TVs, or even decent wifi (the horror!).
Still, these hotels are a stunning walk back in time in one of the most beautiful parks in America. Whether for a visit or an overnight stay, they’re definitely worth checking out!
Lake McDonald Lodge
1912-1913
Built in 1912-1913, and predating road access to the area, Lake McDonald Lodge is a popular stop for visitors and guests alike. Fully functional, the three-floor Lodge hosts guests on its second and third floors, while the main floor is dedicated to its spacious common area complete with a roaring fire, a souvenir shop, and a few restaurants. Cabins are also located along the shore nearby.
The lodge was recently renovated in 2015, but the decor still reflects its origins as a hunting lodge with its original native taxidermy and paintings throughout the building, and much of the furnishings are either original or replicas.
The hotel is also a launching point for scenic boat tours of Lake McDonald, the Red Bus Tour of the park, and evening Ranger programs.
I stopped by for a boat cruise and a nice lunch at Russel’s Fireside Dining Room. The meal was great, but the huckleberry pie was out of this world!
Many Glacier Hotel
1914-15
The Great Northern Railway considered this hotel a jewel its crown and for good reason- it’s sat right on the shore of Swiftcurrent Lake and has one of my favorite views in the park!
The five-story hotel contains over 200 rooms for its overnight guests, and given the unavoidable five-mile drive down an unpaved road to get to and from this area from the Visitor Center, it might be worth renting a room!
The massive balcony with its adirondack chairs was one of my favorite places to sit and enjoy the view with coffee from the snack shop downstairs, but if you get bored of that view (how!?), the hotel offers a restaurant, lounge, snack shop, and gift shop, as well as a huge common area complete with a piano older than the state of Montana!
There’s plenty of Ranger-led activities here, or consider going on a gentle hike around the lake- the trail starts and ends at the hotel.
Glacier Park Lodge
1912-13
This lodge is located just outside the border of Glacier National Park, but still finds itself inextricably linked to the history of the park having been the first hotel constructed but the Great Northern Railway. Visitors can actually still arrive at this hotel via Amtrak’s Empire Builder train.
The huge 200-ft long lobby is a staple of the building, but most notably, the 48ft high Douglas fir columns that line the hall each had to be brought in by rail to achieve the vision of the architects.
For those interested in golfing, Glacier Park Lodge is home to the first golf course in Montana.
Prince of Wales Hotel
1926-27
Although technically located in Canada, this hotel is still considered one of Glacier’s historic hotel- mostly, I think, because it was built by the Great Northern Railway rather than a Canadian company. On the other hand, the hotel is located within Waterton Lakes National Park- part of the larger Waterton-Glacier International Peace so I supposed it can claim it’s Glacier Park affiliation on a technicality.
These days the hotel is a National Historic Site of Canada.
Although the Great Northern Railway has merged into another railway service in modern day, we can thank them not only for their stunning hotels, but also for the creation and popularity of Glacier National Park itself!
The company lobbied Congress into the creation of the park in order to attract more visitors and built the hotels in order to house said visitors, marking perhaps the only time capitalism has had a positive effect on nature conservation!
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