Situated along US-2 at the southwest edge of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, the town of East Glacier Park is, as the name suggests, the eastern gateway to Glacier National Park. It’s a tiny place, barely more than a wide spot in the road, with a couple of general stores and gas stations, plus Serrano’s, a good Mexican restaurant; and Blondie’s, a bar, grill, and pizza place.
With the main park entrance over 30 miles to the northeast at St. Mary, East Glacier Park is not an especially convenient base, though it does have one compelling attraction: the Glacier Park Lodge (406/892-2525), the grandest of all the historic park lodges. Built by the Great Northern Railroad to attract visitors to the park (and to their trains), the lodge centers on a magnificent lobby built of 60-foot-tall Douglas fir logs—each of which runs floor to ceiling, with the bark still on it. It’s an impressively rustic space, and well worth a look.
