Glacier House

A ninety room hotel complete with a bowling alley and observation tower once stood in this quiet clearing. Operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway from 1887 to 1925, it served as a base for mountaineers, adventurers, and sightseers from around the world, providing a small island of civilization in the remote wilderness of Glacier National Park. In 1899 the railway stationed Swiss climbing guides at the hotel to help visitors enjoy the peaks, and the many steep trails beginning here were built by the C.P.R. as access routes for mountain climbers. When the railway retreated from Rogers Pass in 1916, the line no longer ran by the hotel and its popularity declined. The hotel closed in 1925 and was torn down in 1929. The old railway line can still be traced behind the clearing, building foundations remain around it, and the trails continue to be popular.

British Columbia · Canada