If the tourist is going to spend all his time on the rim of the lake, ordinary outing clothing with light-weight woolen underwear will be sufficient. If much climbing and tramping is to be done, heavy shoes with hobnails should be worn. Women should wear short skirts, bloomers, or riding-breeches.
If the tourist expects to camp in the Park, he should obtain pack-horses, guides, and equipment at Medford. Provisions and general supplies of all kinds may be obtained at the general store at Anna Spring Camp and the branch store at Crater Lake Lodge.
Fishing
Originally the lake contained no fish, but it has been stocked with rainbow trout and is now one of the best fishing places on the West Coast. The best fishing is by fly-casting from the sh.o.r.e. Flies used are the Jock Scott, black gnat, yellow-bodied cow dung, professor, queen of waters, royal coachman, brown hackle, and gray hackle. No fishing license is required in this Park. All fish less than 8 inches in length must be returned to water.
Glacier National Park
Location: Northwestern Montana. Area: 1534 square miles. Season: June 15 to October 1. Address of Supervisor: Belton, Montana.
Railroad Connections
GLACIER PARK is the only National Park that is on the main line of a transcontinental railroad--the Great Northern. Areas east of the Continental Divide are reached from Glacier Park Station, while the portion of the Park west of the Divide is accessible from Belton.
Stopovers are allowed at Glacier Park Station and at Belton during the season on all tickets reading through these points. Stopovers are also permitted on through sleeping-car tickets. Round-trip excursion rates in effect during the season are as follows: Chicago, $48.00; St.
Louis, $45.00; Kansas City, $37.50; Denver, $35.00; Seattle, $26.95; San Francisco, $60.90. Tourists" tickets from Denver and points east of that city may be purchased to include Yellowstone Park for $10.00 in addition to the fares quoted above. All tickets from eastern points may be made to read via Denver in one direction without extra charge.
Tourists holding transcontinental tickets reading via Northern Pacific Railway should obtain stopover at Helena or b.u.t.te and purchase excursion tickets to Glacier National Park via Great Northern Railway.
Fare, Helena to Glacier Park and return, $13.15; b.u.t.te to Glacier Park and return, $13.35.
Tourists holding transcontinental tickets reading via Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway should obtain stopover at b.u.t.te and purchase excursion ticket to Glacier National Park via Great Northern Railway.
Automobile Routes
Tourists traveling on the Yellowstone Highway may reach Belton, the western entrance to Glacier Park, from Missoula, Montana. The total distance is 167 miles. From Yellowstone Park the following routes may be taken to Glacier Park: From Gardiner (northern entrance) through Livingston, b.u.t.te, and Missoula; total distance 509 miles. From Yellowstone, Montana (western entrance), through b.u.t.te and Missoula (482 miles), or through Bozeman, b.u.t.te, and Missoula (519 miles).
Hotels and Camps
In Glacier Park are camp and hotel accommodations that range from the teepee to the modern steam-heated hostelry. Two hotels--the Glacier Park and the Many Glacier--are operated by the Glacier Park Hotel Company, whose address is Glacier Park, Montana. The Glacier Park Hotel is located at Glacier Park Station, while the Many Glacier Hotel is on the sh.o.r.e of Lake McDermott, 55 miles to the north by automobile road. Both these hotels have been constructed within recent years and are modern in every respect. The rates range from $4.00 and $4.50 per day, without bath to $5.00 and $7.00 per day, with bath. On the sh.o.r.e of Lake McDonald is the new Glacier Hotel, owned by J. E. Lewis, Lake McDonald, Montana; connected with it are 20 log cabins which furnish comfortable accommodations. Rates range from $3.00 to $5.00 per day.
Other places on Lake McDonald are The Park Hotel, address, Belton, Montana; rates $2.00 to $3.00 per day; and the National Park Cabin resort, address Belton, Montana; rates $2.00 to $3.00 per day. The hotels on Lake McDonald are reached by stage from Belton to the lake, thence by launch. The National Park Cabin resort is at the foot of the lake and the launch trip is not necessary. Chalets are maintained by the Glacier Park Hotel Company at or near Two Medicine Lake, Cut Bank River, the lower end of St. Mary Lake (St. Mary Chalets), the narrows of St. Mary Lake (Going-to-the-Sun-Chalets), Lake McDermott (Many Glacier Chalets), Granite Park, Sperry Glacier, and Belton Station. Rates at the chalet groups are uniformly $3.00 per day. Each of these chalet groups consists of log or stone buildings, attractively grouped, in the vicinity of a central structure used for a dining- and lounging-room. Most of the dormitory chalets have one or more attractive lounging-rooms, equipped with large stone fireplaces.
The service is less conventional than at the hotels, the aim being to furnish clean, comfortable beds, plain food, well cooked, plenty of it, and served in family style.
[Ill.u.s.tration: TRAVEL-GUIDE MAP OF THE GLACIER NATIONAL PARK MONTANA
_By permission of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior_]
Teepee camps are maintained by the Glacier Park Hotel Company at or near Two Medicine Lake, Cut Bank River, lower end of St. Mary Lake, narrows of St. Mary Lake, and Lake McDermott. All these teepee camps are near the chalets in the same locality; the rates are uniformly 50 cents a person a night.
All teepee camps are equipped with cookstove and cooking-utensils and dishes for serving meals. Food may be purchased at reasonable prices at the near-by chalets, the tourist being permitted the free use of the range, cooking-utensils, and dishes.
All teepees are wooden floored and each equipped with two single cot beds and bedding. They will be found very comfortable by those who desire to enjoy an inexpensive outing.
The only place in the extreme western portion of the Park where accommodations may be obtained is at Adairs, on Flathead River, about 2 miles south of Logging Creek.
Rooms with bath and bathing facilities for tourists occupying rooms without baths are provided at the Glacier Park Hotel and Many Glacier Hotel. There is a large plunge pool at the Glacier Park Hotel.
Detached shower and tub baths are provided at Two Medicine, St. Mary, Going-to-the-Sun, Many Glacier, and Belton Chalets, for which a charge of 50 cents per bath is made.
The distances between the hotels and chalets are as follows:--
_Miles_ Glacier Park Hotel to Two Medicine Chalets, road 12 Two Medicine Chalets, trail 11 Cut Bank Chalets, road 22 St. Mary Chalets, road 32 Many Glacier Hotel, road 55
Two Medicine Chalet to Glacier Park Hotel, road 12 Glacier Park Hotel, trail 11 Cut Bank Chalets, trail 18
Cut Bank Chalet to Glacier Park Hotel, road 22 Two Medicine Chalets, trail 18 St. Mary Chalets, trail and road 16
St. Mary Chalets to Going-to-the-Sun Chalets, launch 8 Cut Bank Chalets, road and trail 16 Many Glacier Hotel and Chalets, road 23 Many Glacier Hotel and Chalets, trail 16 Glacier Park Hotel, road 32
Many Glacier Hotel and Chalets to St. Mary Chalets, road 23 St. Mary Chalets, trail 16 Going-to-the-Sun Chalets, trail 22 Granite Park Chalets, trail 9
Going-to-the-Sun Chalets to St. Mary Chalets, launch 8 Many Glacier Hotel and Chalets, trail 22 Sperry Chalets, trail 17
Sperry Chalets to Going-to-the-Sun Chalets 17 Glacier Hotel on Lake McDonald, trail 7
Glacier Hotel, on Lake McDonald, to Sperry Chalet, trail 7 Granite Park Chalets, trail 18
Granite Park Chalets to Many Glacier Hotel and Chalets, trail 9 Glacier Hotel, on Lake McDonald, trail 18
Tours
From Glacier Park Station an automobile road leads to St. Mary Chalets and Many Glacier Hotel and Chalets, with side roads to Cut Bank and Two Medicine Chalets. From Belton there is an automobile road to the foot of Lake McDonald. There is also a wagon road along Flathead River from the foot of Lake McDonald to the northern border of the Park.
There is no road across the Continental Divide, and all trips in the mountain region must be by trail.
Transportation between Glacier Park Hotel, Two Medicine Chalets, Cut Bank Chalets, St. Mary Chalets, and Many Glacier Hotel and Chalets is by automobile. There is launch service on St. Mary Lake between the St. Mary and Going-to-the-Sun Chalets and on Lake McDonald between the foot of the lake and the hotels near the head. There is also a trail between Going-to-the-Sun and St. Mary Chalets, on Lake St. Mary, as well as between the foot of Lake McDonald and the hotels at the head of the lake. Trails furnish the only means of communication between the other chalet groups and between the chalets and the hotels on Lake McDonald. On the trails the only transportation is on horseback or afoot. The following rates are authorized in the Park:--
_One way_ Automobile fare between-- Glacier Park Hotel and St. Mary Chalets $3.50 Glacier Park Hotel and Many Glacier Hotel 6.50 St. Mary Chalets and Many Glacier Hotel 3.00 Glacier Park Hotel to Two Medicine Chalets 1.50 Belton and Lake McDonald .50
There is no regular automobile service to Cut Bank Chalets; a rate of $5.00 for the round trip is made for a minimum of 4 fares.
Launch rates are as follows:-- Between chalets on St. Mary Lake $.75 Between points on Lake McDonald .75
Guides, saddle- and pack-horses can be secured from the Park Saddle-Horse Company, at Glacier Park Station, Many Glacier Hotel, Going-to-the-Sun Chalets, Glacier Hotel, and Lake McDonald at the following rates:
_Per day_ Parties of 1 to 5 people:-- Saddle- and pack-horses, each $3.00 Guides, including horse and board 5.00
Parties of 6 or more people:-- Saddle- and pack-horses, each 3.00 Guides, including horse and board 3.00
Park rules require 1 guide for every 10 persons or fraction of 10.
Pack-horses are not needed for short one-day trips, but are necessary for long trips of several days. One pack-horse will carry the dunnage of 10 people.
All saddle-horses are required to be equipped with waterproof slickers, which outfitters supply free.