"Boat Excursion Available!" Top 5 Page for this destination Glacier National Park Transportation Tip by Bwana_Brown

All of the major lakes in the Glacier/Waterton Lakes International Peace Park have tour boats plying them. During our 4-day stay in Glacier we took a short cruise on two of them and also saw a third one at anchor.

The idea of boats on the lakes made a lot of sense in the early days of Glacier NP when the road system was not so developed. The present fleet owes its existance to the Great Northern Railway, which had several of them constructed to ferry park visitors from various trailheads where horse rides delivered the wealthy tourists. We saw the 'deSmet' at anchor on Lake McDonald while we were staying at the Lake McDonald Lodge (2nd photo). This 57-ft vessel was built in 1930 and carries up to 90 passengers.

While staying at Many Glacier Hotel, we boarded the 'Chief Two Guns' (built 1961, 45-ft and 49 passengers) for a short ride down the length of Swiftcurrent Lake. A short overland trek later, on our hike to Grinnell Glacier, and we climbed aboard the 'Morning Eagle' (built 1945, 45-ft and 49 passengers) for the next stage of the trip, down Lake Josephine. We paid US$13.50 each for this combined excursion, which also included pick-up when we returned from the hike. The boats are very comfortable and would be a great way to tour around one of the major lakes if you have the chance!

Mode: AROUND
othercontact: info@glacierparkboats.com
Phone: (406) 257-2426
Type: Ship/Boat
Website: http://www.glacierparkboats.com