Celebrating the First Hundred Years
Looking Towards the Next 100
There is nothing like Glacier National Park – this land; carved by glaciers, populated by the wildest of mother nature’s creatures, showing awe inspiring sites from the lakes along the valley floor to the rocky peaks carving out their place in the sky, it’s the Crown of the Continent, the place where the freshest water flows, and the place we call home.
It was on May 11, 1910 that President Teddy Roosevelt made Glacier this country’s 10th national park. The legacy of this wild place endures 100 years later. It’s the reason we live here. Countless hikes along Glacier’s numerous trails, overnight backpacking trips under the stars – so many stars, nearly within your grasp – spotting Bald Eagles soaring along the cliffs, and Grizzlies from afar; driving up the Historic Going-to-the-Sun-Road and meeting people at the top from all over the world; people drawn to the adventure, the history, and the natural beauty of Glacier National Park.
Glacier Park sits at the northern most spot, of the northwest corner, of western Montana. The park tells the story of the west. Historically, the mountains divided the native peoples of the area; the Blackfeet on the eastern edge where the Rocky Mountains cascade into the plains, and the Salish and Kootenai on the western edge, traveling by trail to the east to hunt buffalo.
European exploration came to the land by the early 1800’s as trappers looked for new sources of beaver fur. By the turn of the century, the railroads were establishing depots and hotels, and visitors began making the long journey; by rail, horse, and boat, to see the wonders of what would soon become Glacier National Park.
Today those hotels built by the railroads still exist, and the train still stops along the edge of the park. Glacier’s also become an epicenter for study; geology, wildlife biology, and aquatic ecological studies find ample material in the glaciers, the habitat, and the pristine waters running their course through the park.
Exploration of the park continues today as visitors learn the history, the science, and enjoy this exquisite environment; and the adventures continue as the United State’s 10th national park enters into the next hundred years.
