Montana’s Sneak Peak

Montana’s Sneak Peak

Majestic. Indomitable. Words can describe Glacier National Park. Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park has wowed nature-seekers since President Taft signed a bill creating the park in 1910. Once remote, the park now attracts two million people each year. However, glaciers landscape is changing before their eyes. Rangers and visitors watch, helplessly, as the park’s 26 glaciers disappear, victims of global warming. Naturalists estimate that by 2030 the ice will completely vanish.

• LODGES: When the park was young, few Americans could afford the journey. They arrived in nearby East Glacier and checked in at grandiose stone and wood hotels. All of the lodges survive to this day.

• HIKES: the Park’s favorite feature is the spectacular going-to-the-sun-road-50 miles of engineering audacity, sharp curves, and great views traversing the Continental Divide. A new shuttle system was introduced in 2007. Sally Thompson, a resident for three decades and partner in the Glacier Raft Company and Outdoor Center, recommends a few stops along going-to-the-sun. The first is a popular 2.3 mile hiking trail to Avalanche Lake; from there it’s a short hike uphill, but even kids can do it. It’s a wild beauty.


• WILDLIFE: Glacier Park is home to a variety of mammals, and despite the crowds it isn’t hard to see some. It’s a good place to see White Mountain goats-the park’s symbol. At the top of the Continental Divide, is a good place to see animals from a distance. Glacier Park is home to both grizzly and black bears.


Time is of the essence at Glacier National Park, where you can still see a glacier, hike amid rushing waterfalls, and lodge in a historic hotel.