Glacier Park Lodge

Glacier Park Lodge is a historic hotel in East Glacier Park, just outside Glacier National Park's east boundary. Great Northern Railway built it in 1912–13 as its first lodge for the park, across from the train station. Its huge timber lobby makes it a worthwhile stop even if you're not staying: visitors may enter and look around without an admission fee or reservation. It's roughly seven miles from the Two Medicine Entrance.

The main lobby is the reason to step inside. Twenty-four Douglas fir columns rise several stories under the timber roof, alongside a stone fireplace, open balconies and paintings from the Great Northern era. Step back far enough to take in how the columns meet the roof. For a photo, include the upper balconies with one of the columns so the room's scale comes through.

The columns came from old-growth Douglas firs about 800 years old when felled in Oregon and Washington, then traveled here in custom railway cars. You can still see chain marks on some timbers. It's an unusually direct link between the lodge and the railroad that brought its early visitors.

The park was established in 1910, and Great Northern built the lodge soon after as a grand eastern arrival point. For many early visitors, the train was how they reached Glacier; the station platform is still across the street. The building sits outside the park boundary, so think of it as its own stop before or after Two Medicine rather than a lodge inside the park.

The property has the Great Northern Dining Room, Empire Lounge and a lobby coffee counter, along with a gift shop and gardens. A nine-hole golf course on the grounds dates to 1928 and looks toward the surrounding mountains. It's an easy place to stretch out a drive if a meal, the old lodge or a round of golf is part of your day.

The lodge operates seasonally in summer. If you're booking a room, the historic main building has no elevator, and the rooms have fans rather than air conditioning. It's a better fit if you're interested in the building, railway history or a meal than if you're racing straight to the park's trails.