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# Glacier National Park [Montana] ### By United States. Department of the Interior

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[Illustration: (Front Cover)]

Glacier NATIONAL PARK [MONTANA]

_American Section_ WATERTON-GLACIER INTERNATIONAL PEACE PARK

United States Department of the Interior

_Harold L. Ickes, Secretary_

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

_Arno B. Cammerer, Director_

[Illustration]

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1937

RULES AND REGULATIONS

Briefed

The Park Regulations are designed for the protection of the natural beauties as well as for the comfort and convenience of visitors. The complete regulations may be seen at the office of the superintendent and at ranger stations. The following synopsis of the rules and regulations is for the general guidance of visitors, who are requested to assist in the administration of the park by observing them.

=_Fires._=--Fires are the greatest menace to the forests of Glacier National Park. Build camp fires only when necessary and at designated places. Know that they are out before you leave them. Be sure your cigarette, cigar, pipe ashes, and matches are out before you throw them away. During periods of high fire hazard, camp fires are not permitted at nondesignated camp grounds.

=_Camps._=--Camping is restricted to designated campgrounds. Burn all combustible garbage in your camp fire; place tin cans and unburnable residue in garbage cans. There is plenty of pure water; be sure to get it. Visitors must not contaminate water-sheds or water supplies.

=_Natural features._=--The destruction, injury, or disturbance in any way of the trees, flowers, birds, or animals is prohibited. Dead and fallen wood may be used for firewood. Picking wild flowers and removing plants are prohibited.

=_Bears._=--It is prohibited and dangerous to feed the bears. Do not leave foodstuffs in an unattended car or camp, for the bear will break into and damage your car or camp equipment to secure food. Suspend foodstuffs in a box, well out of their reach, or place in the care of the camp tender.

=_Dogs and cats._=--When in the park, dogs and cats must be kept under leash, crated, or under restrictive control of the owner at all times.

=_Fishing._=--No license for fishing in the park is required. Use of live bait is prohibited. Ten fish (none under 6 inches) per day, per person fishing is the usual limit; however, in some lakes the limit is 5 fish per day and in others it is 20. Visitors should contact the nearest district ranger to ascertain the fish limits in the lakes. The possession of more than 2 days' catch by any person at any one time shall be construed as a violation of the regulations.

=_Traffic._=--Speed regulations: 15 miles per hour on sharp curves and through residential districts; 35 miles per hour on the straightaway. Keep gears enmeshed and out of free wheeling on long grades. Keep cutout closed. Drive carefully at all times. Secure automobile permit, fee $1.

=_Rangers._=--The rangers are here to assist and advise you as well as to enforce the regulations. When in doubt consult a ranger.

FOREST FIRES

Forest Fires are a terrible and ever-present menace. There are thousands of acres of burned forests in Glacier National Park. Most of these "ghosts of forests" are hideous proofs of some person's criminal carelessness or ignorance.

Build camp fires only at designated camp sites. At times of high winds or exceptionally dry spell, build no fires outside, except in stoves provided at the free auto camps. At times of extreme hazard, it is necessary to restrict smoking to hotel and camp areas. Guests entering the park are so informed, and prohibitory notices are posted everywhere. Smoking on the highway, on trails, and elsewhere in the park is forbidden at such times. During the dry period, permits to build fires at any camp sites other than in auto camps must be procured in advance from the district ranger.

Be absolutely sure that your camp fire is extinguished before you leave it, even for a few minutes.

Do not rely upon dirt thrown on it for complete extinction.

_Drown_ it completely with water.

Drop that lighted cigar or cigarette on the trail and step on it.

Do the same with every match that is lighted.

_Extreme caution is demanded at all times._

Anyone responsible for a forest fire will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

_If you discover a forest fire, report it to the nearest ranger station or hotel._

Events OF HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE

The heart of a territory so vast it was measured not in miles but degrees, the site of Glacier National Park was indicated as terra incognita or unexplored on most maps even as late as the dawn of the present century. To its mountain fastness had come first the solitary fur trader, the trapper, and the missionary; after them followed the hunter, the pioneer, and the explorer; in the nineties were drawn the prospector, the miner, and the picturesque trader of our last frontier; today, the region beckons the scientist, the lover of the out-of-doors, and the searcher for beauty. Throughout its days, beginning with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Glacier country has been a lodestone for the scientist, attracted from every corner of the earth by the combination of natural wonder and beauty to be found here. A chronological list of important events in the park's history follows:

Contents

_Page_

International Peace Park 1

How to Reach Glacier Park 3 By Rail 3 By Automobile 3 By Airplane 3

Centers of Interest 3 Glacier Park Station 3 Two Medicine 4 Cutbank 6 Red Eagle 6 St. Mary and Sun Camp 6 Many Glacier Region 8 Belly River Valley, Waterton Lake, and Goathaunt 11 Flattop Mountain and Granite Park 13 Logan Pass 14 Avalanche Camp 14 Lake McDonald 15 Sperry Chalets 16 Belton 16

What to Do and See 17 Fishing 17 Hiking and Mountain Climbing 18 Popular trails 21 Swimming 22 Camping out 22 Photography 22

Park Highway System 22

How to Dress 23

Accommodations 24

Saddle-Horse Trips 25

All-Expense Tours by Bus 26

Transportation 27

Launches and Rowboats 28

Administration 28

Naturalist Service 29

Automobile Campgrounds 29

Post Offices 29

Miscellaneous 29

The Park's Geologic Story 30

Flora and Fauna 34

Ideal Place to See American Indians 34

References 37

Government Publications 40

[Illustration: _Photo by Hileman._ KINNERLY PEAK FROM KINTLA LAKE]

GLACIER _National Park_

SEASON JUNE 15 TO SEPTEMBER 15

Glacier National Park, in the Rocky Mountains of northwestern Montana, established by act of Congress May 11, 1910, contains 981,681 acres, or 1,534 square miles, of the finest mountain country in America. Nestled among the higher peaks are more than 60 glaciers and 200 beautiful lakes. During the summer months it is possible to visit most of the glaciers and many of the lakes with relatively little difficulty. Horseback and foot trails penetrate almost all sections of the park. Conveniently located trail camps, operated at a reasonable cost, make it possible for visitors to enjoy the mountain scenery without having to carry food and camping equipment. Many travelers hike or ride through the mountains for days at a time, resting each evening at one of these high mountain camps. The glaciers found in the park are among the few in the United States which are easily accessible.

INTERNATIONAL PEACE PARK

The Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park was established in 1932 by Presidential proclamation, as authorized by the Congress of the United States and the Canadian Parliament.

At the dedication exercises in June of that year, the following message from the President of the United States was read:

The dedication of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is a further gesture of the good will that has so long blessed our relations with our Canadian neighbors, and I am gratified by the hope and the faith that it will forever be an appropriate symbol of permanent peace and friendship.

In the administration of these areas each component part of the Peace Park retains its nationality and individuality and functions as it did before the union.

[Illustration: _Copyright, Hileman._ WATERTON LAKE--THE INTERNATIONAL PEACE LAKE]

HOW TO REACH GLACIER PARK

BY RAIL

The park entrances are on the main transcontinental line of the Great Northern Railway. Glacier Park Station, Mont., the eastern entrance, is 1,081 miles west of St. Paul, a ride of 30 hours. Belton, Mont., the western entrance, is 637 miles east of Seattle, a ride of 20 hours.

For information regarding railroad fares, service, etc., apply to railroad ticket agents or address A. J. Dickinson, passenger-traffic manager, Great Northern Railway, St. Paul, Minn.

A regular bus schedule is maintained by the Glacier Park Transport Co. to accommodate persons arriving by rail.

BY AUTOMOBILE

Glacier National Park may be reached by motorists over a number of well-marked automobile roads. The park approach roads connect with several transcontinental highways. From both the east and west sides automobile roads run north and connect with the road system in Canada, and motorists may continue over these roads to the Canadian national parks. Glacier National Park is the western terminus of the Custer Battlefield Highway.

A fee of $1 is charged for a permit to operate an automobile in Glacier Park. This permit allows reentry into the park at any time during the current season. Maximum speed limit in the park is 30 miles per hour. On mountain climbs and winding roads, utmost care in driving is demanded. All cautionary signs must be observed.

BY AIRPLANE

Fast de luxe airplane service is available by Northwest Airlines to Missoula, Mont., and Spokane, Wash., as is transportation via United Air Lines, from the east and west coasts to Spokane. National Park Airlines has a service from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Great Falls, Mont.

CENTERS OF INTEREST

GLACIER PARK STATION

Glacier Park on the Great Northern Railway is the eastern entrance to the park. It is located on the Great Plains, near the base of Glacier's Rockies. It is on U S 2, which traverses from the east through northern Montana along the southern boundary of the park to Belton, the western entrance, and on to the Pacific coast. Glacier Park is also the southern terminus of the Blackfeet Highway which parallels the eastern boundary of the park and connects with the Alberta highway system. It is the southern end of the Inside Trail to Two Medicine, Cutbank, Red Eagle, and Sun Camp.

The commodious Glacier Park Hotel, several lesser hotels, auto camps, stores, an auxiliary park office, a Government fish hatchery, a post office and other structures are located here. The village gives a fine touch of western life, with Indians, cowboys, and picturesque characters contributing to its color. An encampment of Blackfeet is on Midvale Creek; these Indians sing, dance, and tell stories every evening at the hotel.

TWO MEDICINE

Two Medicine presents a turquoise mountain lake surrounded by majestic forest-covered peaks separated by deep glaciated valleys. A road leads into it from the Blackfeet Highway and ends at the chalets near the foot of Two Medicine Lake. Across the water rises Sinopah Mountain, while to the north sweep upward the gray-green slopes of Rising Wolf to terminate in purple-red argillites and snow banks. One of the most inviting camp sites of the park is immediately below the outlet of the lake, not far from the chalets. From it, one looks across a smaller lake, banked with gnarled and twisted limber pines, to the superb mountain scenery in every direction.

The cirques and broad mountain valleys above timberline are studded with cobalt blue lakes, and carpeted with multicolored beds of flowers. Mountain goats and sheep are frequently seen in these higher regions. Beaver colonies are located at the outlet of Two Medicine Lake and elsewhere around it, making this one of the best regions in the park to study these interesting mammals. An abundance of brook and rainbow trout in Two Medicine waters makes it a favorite spot for fishermen.

[Illustration: _Photo by Hileman._ TRICK FALLS IN TWO MEDICINE CREEK]

A campfire entertainment with a short popular talk is conducted every evening in the campfire circle of the auto camp by a resident ranger naturalist. Both chalet and campground guests avail themselves of the opportunity to meet for pleasure and instruction under the stars. Trails for hikers and saddle-horse parties radiate to adjacent points of interest: to Glacier Park via Scenic Point and Mount Henry, to Upper Two Medicine Lake and Dawson Pass, to Two Medicine Pass and Paradise Park, and up the Dry Fork to Cutbank Pass and Valley. A daily afternoon launch trip across Two Medicine Lake brings the visitor to the foot of Sinopah, from which there is a short, delightful path through dense evergreen forest to the foot of Twin Falls. Trick Falls, near the highway bridge across Two Medicine River, 2 miles below the lake, is more readily accessible and should be visited by everyone entering the valley. A great portion of its water issues from a cave beneath its brink. In the early season it appears a very proper waterfall, paneled by lofty spruce with the purple, snow-crowned Rising Wolf Mountain in the background. In late season water issues from the cave alone, with the dry fall over its yawning opening.

CUTBANK

Cutbank is a primitive, densely wooded valley with a singing mountain stream. Six miles above the Blackfeet Highway are a quiet chalet, a ranger station, and a small grove for auto campers. A spur lane, leaving the highway at Cutbank Bridge, 4 miles north of the Browning Wye, brings the autoist to this terminus. A more popular means of approach is on horseback, over Cutbank Pass from Two Medicine or over Triple Divide Pass from Red Eagle. Cutbank is a favorite site for stream fishermen. At the head of the valley above Triple Divide Pass is the Triple Divide Peak (8,001 feet) which parts its waters between the three oceans surrounding North America, i. e., its drainage is through the Missouri-Mississippi system to the Gulf of Mexico (Atlantic), through the Saskatchewan system to Hudson Bay (Arctic), and through the Columbia system to the Pacific.

RED EAGLE

Red Eagle Lake in Red Eagle Valley is reached by trail only from Cutbank over Triple Divide Pass or from St. Mary Chalets or Sun Camp via the Many Falls Trail. From the lake rise imposing Split, Almost-a-Dog, and Red Eagle Mountains. On its sloping forested sides reposes Red Eagle Camp, which furnishes rest and shelter. It is a stopping place for travelers on the Inside Trail from Sun Camp or St. Mary to Glacier Park, and is a favorite spot for fishermen, as large, gamey, cutthroat trout abound in the waters of the lake. Reached by a secondary, picturesque trail that winds through magnificent forests, the head of Red Eagle Creek originates in a broad, grassy area almost as high as the Continental Divide. This bears Red Eagle Glacier and a number of small unnamed lakes, and is hemmed in by imposing rock walls and serrate peaks.

ST. MARY AND SUN CAMP

To many people Upper St. Mary Lake is the most sublime of all mountain lakes of the world. From its foot roll the plains northeastward to Hudson Bay and the Arctic. Its long and slender surface is deep emerald green, nestled in a salient in the Front Range, with peaks rising majestically a mile sheer over three of its sides. These for the most part possess names of Indian origin: Going-to-the-Sun, Piegan, Little Chief, Mahtotopa Red Eagle, and Curley Bear.

[Illustration: _Hileman photo._ GOING-TO-THE-SUN CHALETS]

St. Mary Chalet at the lower end of the lake, Going-to-the-Sun Chalets (Sun Camp) near the upper end, Roes Creek Camp Grounds on the north shore, and a hikers' camp at the outlet of Baring Creek furnish ample accommodations for all classes of visitors.

The celebrated Going-to-the-Sun Highway from St. Mary Junction over Logan Pass to Lake McDonald runs along the north shore of St. Mary Lake past Roes Creek Camp. Spurs connect the chalets. Trails centering at Sun Camp lead everywhere: Along the south shore (the Many Falls Trail) to Red Eagle and St. Mary Chalets; up St. Mary Valley to Blackfeet Glacier, Gunsight Lake, and over Gunsight Pass to Lake Ellen Wilson, Sperry Chalets, and Lake McDonald; up Reynolds Creek over Logan Pass and along the Garden Wall to Granite Park; a spur from the trail up the same creek turns right and joins at Preston Meadows, high on Going-to-the-Sun Mountain, with another trail from Sun Camp which leads up Baring Creek past Sexton Glacier and over Siyeh Pass; from Preston Meadows over Piegan Pass and down Cataract Canyon to Many Glacier; up Roes Creek to Roes Basin; up Mount Reynolds to a fire look-out.

A ranger naturalist is stationed at Sun Camp who conducts field trips daily, lectures each evening in the chalet lobby, and maintains a cut-flower exhibit there. Small stores are maintained at both chalets; gasoline is obtainable at each. Scenic twilight launch rides on the lake are featured when the waters are calm. The ranger-naturalist generally accompanies these trips to impart interesting information about the lake and mountains.

Walks and hikes are popular at Sun Camp--to Baring, St. Mary, Florence, and Virginia Falls; to Roes and Baring Basins; to Sexton and Blackfeet Glaciers; to the summit of Goat Mountain. Sunrift Gorge, 100 feet north of the highway at Baring Creek Bridge, should be seen by everyone. It can be reached by trail from Sun Camp.

MANY GLACIER REGION

For many Swiftcurrent Lake is the hub of points of interest, to be surpassed by no other spot in the park. From it branch many deep and interesting glacial valleys. Fishing, boating, swimming, hiking, photographing, mountain climbing, horseback riding, and nature study are to be enjoyed at their best here. It is reached by an excellent spur road from the Blackfeet Highway at Babb, or by trail from Sun Camp, Granite Park, and Waterton Lakes.

Many Glacier Hotel, the largest hotel in the park, is located on Swiftcurrent Lake. Just beyond the hotel is an excellent auto camp and a group of auto housekeeping cabins. The hotel has telegraph and telephone services, an information desk, curio shop, a grill room and soda fountain, swimming pool, barber and shoe-shining shop, photograph shop, a first-aid medical establishment, and other services. A garage is situated near the hotel. A store with an ample line of campers' needs, including fresh meat, bread, butter, and eggs, is located in the auto campground.

Ranger-naturalist service is available at Many Glacier. This includes daily field walks; a nightly lecture augmented by motion pictures and slides in the Convention Hall in the basement of the hotel; an evening campfire entertainment in the auto camp; a cut-flower and geological exhibit in the hotel lobby and in the auto camp; a small museum on the opposite shore of the lake from the hotel, on the road leading to the campground; a self-guiding trail around Swiftcurrent Lake; information service in the museum; a naturalist-accompanied launch trip on Swiftcurrent and Josephine Lakes in the afternoon. In addition to this last-named, several other launch trips are taken daily on these lakes. This service may be used to shorten hikers' distance to Grinnell Lake and Glacier.

[Illustration: _Grant photo._ PICTURESQUE GLACIER PARK HOTEL]

Many Glacier is a center for fishermen, as there are a dozen good fishing lakes in the vicinity. Rainbow, brook, and cutthroat trout abound in Swiftcurrent, Josephine, and Grinnell Lakes, and the lakes of the Upper Swiftcurrent Valley. Wall-eyed pike are plentiful in Lake Sherburne, the only body of water in the park in which these fish are found.

There are many excellent trails in the Swiftcurrent region. Cracker Lake, Morning Eagle Falls, Cataract Falls, Grinnell Lake, Grinnell Glacier, Iceberg Lake, and Ptarmigan Lake are all reached by oiled horseback trails. Good footpaths lead around Swiftcurrent and Josephine Lakes to the summit of Mount Altyn and to Appekunny Falls and Cirque.

[Illustration: _Hileman photo._ BIGHORN RAMS ARE AMONG THE MANY INTERESTING ANIMALS TO BE SEEN IN GLACIER]

The possibility of seeing and studying wildlife is best in the Many Glacier region. Except during midsummer, mountain sheep are commonly seen at close range around the chalets or in the flats above Lake Sherburne. Throughout summer they are high on the slopes of Mount Altyn or Henkel. Mountain goats are often seen clinging to the precipitous Pinnacle Wall on the way to Iceberg Lake, or on Grinnell Mountain while en route to Grinnell Glacier, or on the trail to Cracker Lake. Black bears and grizzlies occasionally visit the grounds near the hotel. Conies are to be heard bleating among the rock slides back of the ranger station along the trail to Iceberg Lake, or near the footpath across the lake from the hotel. Early in the morning, or at twilight, beavers are frequently seen swimming in the lake. Marmots are common in many valleys near the hotel and auto camp. Deer infrequently visit the region. Hikers, horseback riders, and rangers have reported seeing such rare animals as foxes, wolves, and lynxes. Without moving from one's comfortable chair on the veranda of the hotel one may watch the ospreys soaring back and forth over the lake in quest of fish. These graceful and interesting birds have their huge nest on top of a dead tree across the lake from the hotel. The pair of birds return annually to the same nest. Beside Swiftcurrent Falls, two families of nesting water ouzels may be studied at close range.

BELLY RIVER VALLEY, WATERTON LAKE, AND GOATHAUNT