Located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, 30 miles north of US-2 at the east entrance to Glacier National Park, the town of St. Mary makes a great alternative to the in-park lodges. At the east end of the historic Going-to-the-Sun Road, St. Mary has a large visitors center, and the clean modern St. Mary’s Lodge ($99 and up; 406/732-4431) resort has a nice café, the Snowgoose Grill, serving buffalo burgers and huckleberry pie. Another great little place, the Park Cafe and Grocery (406/732-4482), serves mega-breakfasts and yet more great berry pies, a half mile north of the park entrance.
St. Mary makes an especially handy base for visiting the comparatively quiet Many Glacier section of Glacier National Park, and for seeing the sights of adjacent Waterton National Park, across the border in Canada.
