Many Glacier

Many Glacier Hotel was built in 1914 by the Great Northern Railway as a destination resort for its rail tourists. The hotel sits among soaring peaks and jagged arêtes that give this area the nickname “America’s Little Switzerland.” Since the park’s creation, myriad trails have been built to reach the scenic wonders surrounding the hotel, making the Many Glacier area a hub for day-hiking activities. Lush meadows and tumbling waterfalls below snowy peaks invite the traveler to pause and contemplate the awe-inspiring beauty of the mountains.

The lower end of the valley is dominated by Lake Sherburne, which was impounded during the early 1920s. The formation of this reservoir inundated the old mining town of Altyn, which had once served as a center for unsuccessful gold and copper operations in the surrounding mountains, as well as an oil boondoggle.

The Many Glacier area is home to many kinds of wildlife. Most prominent is the majestic grizzly bear, frequently seen foraging for bulbs and berries on the open slopes of the surrounding mountains. Mountain goats cavort on the rocky ledges of cliffs, and bighorn sheep ewes with their young sometimes appear in the lowlands around the hotel. The meadows and forests abound with rodents and songbirds of all kinds.

Visitor services are available in the area around the hotel as well as in the nearby town of Babb, on the neighboring Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Trail rides of varying duration depart from the Many Glacier corral above the hotel, and a privately owned tour boat runs between the hotel and the upper end of Lake Josephine, providing interpretive tours and transportation to the upper Cataract Creek drainage. The spacious campground at Many Glacier provides sites for all types of vehicles.