Discover Glacier National Park

Looking south along the trail to the Granite Park Chalet, Glacier National Park, photo by Rich Gannon

"One blessed thing about Montana: for the most part, the air is pure, clear and one can see the mountains from 75 to 100 miles away. When the mountains are covered with snow in the winter, one can see them shining in the moonlight at least fifty miles away." (Wilbur Werner an excerpt from his book "Recall".)

Werner must have been in the Cut Bank area looking at the mountains surrounding Glacier National Park when he said this. Their fabulous peaks are a beautiful sight whether it’s 50 miles away or 50 feet away.

Cut Bank is fortunate to have a national park literally out its back door. In just about an hour, you can find yourself enjoying the spectacular scenery of Glacier National Park up close and personal.

Since its official designation as a national park in 1910, Glacier National Park has received a steady stream of visitors. With over a million acres of forests, mountain peaks, alpine meadows, valleys and lakes, it is obvious what keeps them coming. Whether you’re a hiker interested in exploring some of the 700 miles of maintained trails or you just want to take a gorgeous drive up the Going-To-The-Sun road, Glacier National Park is for you.

The park is home to over 1,000 kinds of plants, 25 major classes of trees, 70 species of mammals, 260 species of birds, 17 different kinds of fish and 27 named glaciers. Glacier National Park has an elevation change of over 7,000 feet from the lowest point, which is in a fork on the Flathead River to the highest, which is the summit of Mount Cleveland.

While Glacier National Park is open year-round, many of the visitor services are only available from late May through September.

How you choose to experience Glacier National Park is entirely up to you. Driving, hiking, horseback riding, biking, boating, water skiing, cross country skiing, or snowshoeing are just a few of the ways visitors can "motor" through the park.

Many tourists are "jammin" when touring Glacier National Park. In other words, they are taking a ride back in time on the Red Bus Tour. These vintage motor coaches have been traveling the park since 1936. They drive up and over the Going-To-The-Sun road and link up with all of the hotels and inns within the park. The historic buses have roll-back canvas tops allowing visitors fantastic viewing opportunities.

If you are an avid fisherman, Glacier National Park offers a large number of lakes, filled to the "gills" with a wide variety of fish. There are park regulations fisherman will need to take note of before dropping their lines, so be sure and read up on those before beginning your quest.

For those interested in some serious R&R, Glacier National Park can give you as much of that as you need. Accommodations in the park are numerous and range from designated campgrounds, hike-in chalets, semi-primitive and back country camping to a number of comfortable and cozy hotels.

Developed campgrounds are first-come, first-serve and usually fill by late morning. Hotels also fill early with many visitors making reservations before the season begins and some even planning a year in advance.

Glacier National Park is a breathtaking piece of paradise on earth. Whether you spend a day or a week, you’ll leave feeling refreshed and relaxed. No doubt you’ll be planning your next visit before you leave the park’s boundary. Come see and experience for yourself the grandeur of Glacier National Park.