Glacier Lodges, Chalets and Montana Fire Lookouts: 2027 Booking Guide

Glacier National Park's lodges were built by the Great Northern Railway between 1910 and 1940 to fill its trains, and most still run on that summer-only schedule: open from May or June, closed by early October, with no TV or air conditioning in the rooms. Around them sit two hike-in chalets with no road access, a handful of modern hotels just outside the boundary, and, across the rest of Montana, more than 100 Forest Service cabins and fire lookouts you can rent for the price of a motel room.

This guide covers who runs each Glacier property, when 2027 bookings open, what the rooms lack, how the two backcountry chalets work now that they are moving to a lottery, and how to book a lookout or cabin on Recreation.gov. Rates are quoted only where the operator publishes them.

Two companies, one park

Inside Glacier National Park, lodging is split between two concessioners:

• Xanterra (Glacier National Park Lodges) runs Many Glacier Hotel, Lake McDonald Lodge, Rising Sun Motor Inn, Swiftcurrent Motor Inn and the Village Inn at Apgar. It also runs Cedar Creek Lodge in Columbia Falls, outside the park.
• Pursuit (Glacier Park Collection) runs Apgar Village Lodge, Apgar Lookout Suites and Motel Lake McDonald inside the park, and Glacier Park Lodge (East Glacier Park), Belton Chalet (West Glacier) and St. Mary Village (St. Mary) outside it. Older maps and signs still call this company Glacier Park, Inc.

The two backcountry chalets, Sperry and Granite Park, belong to a third operator, Belton Chalets, Inc. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with Pursuit's Belton Chalet hotel.

The in-park lodges and their 2027 seasons

Many Glacier Hotel (1914–15) is the largest hotel in the park, with 205 rooms, 7 family rooms and 2 suites on Swiftcurrent Lake, and it is the base for the Grinnell Glacier trail. Sources disagree on whether it has a lift that serves some floors; if stairs matter to you, ask when you book.

Lake McDonald Lodge (1913) has 82 rooms split between the main lodge, a row of cabins, the Cobb House suites and Snyder Hall, a converted dormitory with 8 hostel-style rooms and shared bathrooms. The lodge has no elevator, and its guest rooms are on the second and third floors.

Swiftcurrent Motor Inn is the cheapest bed on the east side: its "historic" cabins have a cold-water sink and a shared bathhouse. It sits at the trailheads for Iceberg Lake and the Ptarmigan Tunnel.

Rising Sun Motor Inn (1940) is 6 miles west of the St. Mary entrance on the Going-to-the-Sun Road and 12 miles from Logan Pass.

Apgar Lookout Suites are sold by Pursuit as the only lodge rooms inside the park open all year, and they are the only in-park rooms with air conditioning, TV and Wi-Fi. The Park Service's winter page says no in-park lodging is open in winter, so confirm winter dates directly. Pursuit is offering 25% off stays from October 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027.

What the rooms don't have

Xanterra's own FAQ lists the gaps, and they apply across most of the park:

• No air conditioning. Fans are in the room or at the front desk. Every room has heat.
• No TV, except in the Lake McDonald suites.
• Wi-Fi only in lobbies, by satellite, and too slow for streaming or uploading photos. The Apgar and St. Mary visitor centers have free public Wi-Fi.
• No in-room phones at Rising Sun, Swiftcurrent or Snyder Hall.
• No pets (service dogs excepted) and no fuel inside the park.
• Check-in is at 4 p.m. and check-out at 11 a.m. You must be 18 to check in. Children 11 and under stay free, and extra adults cost $15 a night.

When to book for 2027

Xanterra opens each month 13 months ahead: online at midnight Mountain Time on the 1st, by phone from 7 a.m. the same day. Summer 2027 at all five Xanterra lodges is therefore already open: September 2027 dates went on sale on September 1, 2026. Xanterra says Lake McDonald Lodge and Many Glacier Hotel "sell out quickly" and keeps no waiting list.

The deposit is one night. For stays from May 1 to October 14, cancel at least 14 days before arrival to get it back. Xanterra's FAQ also notes that rooms often reappear close to the date, so it is worth checking again two weeks before your trip.

Pursuit lists 2027 dates for all its properties and is taking bookings, but doesn't publish when each window opens. Neither company shows rates outside its booking engine. The only published range we found is from National Parks Traveler, which gave about $338 to $756 a night before tax for Many Glacier Hotel in 2026. All rates are approved by the National Park Service, and Montana's 8% lodging tax is added.

Just outside the park

• Glacier Park Lodge, East Glacier Park (1913): the Great Northern's first large hotel, known for a lobby held up by tree trunks about 3 ft across that were brought in by train. It also has what Pursuit calls Montana's oldest grass-greens golf course. No TV or AC. Open May 28 – Sep 20, 2027.
• Belton Chalet, West Glacier (1910): the railway's first chalet, opposite the West Glacier station. Open May 7 – Oct 10, 2027.
• St. Mary Village: 127 rooms, from budget motel rooms to lodge rooms, at the east entrance. In summer 2027 Pursuit adds Wildscape, 41 new cabins at St. Mary, already taking bookings.
• Cedar Creek Lodge, Columbia Falls: a modern year-round hotel 18 miles from West Glacier, with an indoor pool and breakfast included.

The Izaak Walton Inn at Essex is closed. Its owner went into financial distress, the last guests checked out on March 1, 2026, and the 1939 railway hotel was listed for sale at $18 million. As of October 2026 no buyer or reopening had been announced, so don't plan a stay there.

Sperry and Granite Park chalets

The Great Northern built nine backcountry chalets; these two survive, both National Historic Landmarks, both reached only on foot.

Sperry Chalet opened in 1914 at about 6,500 ft. Its dormitory burned in the Sprague Fire in August 2017 and reopened fully in 2020. It is the comfortable one: 17 private rooms, made-up beds, and dinner, breakfast and a trail lunch included. There is drinking water but no showers. The trail from Lake McDonald Lodge is 6.7 miles with a 3,300 ft climb. Season: July 10 – September 12 in 2026.

Granite Park Chalet (1914–15) is self-catering. It has 12 bunk rooms, a shared 12-burner kitchen, and no running water since 1996: you carry water, buy it there, or treat stream water. Bring a sleeping bag or pay $40 for linens. The shortest route is the 4-mile Loop trail (2,300 ft of climbing). The more popular approach is the Highline Trail from Logan Pass, 7.6 miles, which usually opens only after the first week of July.

2026 rates, now per room rather than per person:

Montana's 8% lodging tax is added. Children 3–12 eat free at Sperry.

Booking for 2027 is changing. On September 1, 2026 the operator announced it will pilot a reservation lottery for 2027, with details to come; reservations will not open before January 2027. Watch sperrychalet.com and graniteparkchalet.com. Chalet guests can't use the park's free shuttle, because its passes are day-specific; the operator runs its own shuttle for $40 per person round trip, from the Quarter Circle lot inside the West Entrance. A chalet booking doesn't need a backcountry permit.

Forest Service cabins and fire lookouts

Montana's seven national forests rent out more than 100 cabins, guard stations and fire lookouts on Recreation.gov. Most cost $30 to $75 a night for the whole building, not per person.

How booking works: dates open on a rolling basis about six months ahead, released one day at a time. On October 31, 2026, Garnet Mountain Lookout was bookable through May 4, 2027. Each rental sets its own rules, such as a maximum of 5 nights or a 2-night minimum on weekends. The door code arrives in your confirmation email.

What you get: usually bunks with mattresses, a wood or propane stove, a table, some cookware and an outdoor vault toilet. What you don't get: water, electricity, bedding, lights, toilet paper or rubbish collection. Cabins aren't cleaned between guests, and candles are banned.

A few well-known examples:

• Garnet Mountain Lookout (Gallatin Canyon south of Bozeman, $65): 8,245 ft. In summer it is a 4.5-mile hike with 2,800 ft of climbing; in winter, up to 10 miles by ski, snowshoe or snowmobile.
• Hornet Lookout (North Fork of the Flathead, $40): a two-story ground-level lookout a mile from parking, with views to Glacier and Kintla Lake on clear days.
• Mission Lookout (Swan Valley, $45): a rare drive-up lookout facing the Swan and Mission ranges.
• Kings Hill Cabin (Little Belt Mountains, $75): a 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps cabin with electricity, on paved US-89 opposite Showdown ski area.
• Thompson Peak Lookout (near Superior, $75) and Double Arrow Lookout (Seeley Lake, $75): electricity and a fridge, for people who want the view without the camping.
• Savenac Bunkhouse (near Haugan, $115): sleeps 30 at the historic Forest Service tree nursery, with flush toilets and showers.

Popular winter rentals go fast. On October 31, 2026, Garnet Mountain had 49 of the next 51 Friday and Saturday nights already booked, and Kings Hill Cabin 47. Midweek nights were still widely available.

State park cabins and yurts

Montana State Parks rent cabins at Lewis and Clark Caverns, Tongue River Reservoir and Finley Point on Flathead Lake; yurts at Big Arm and Makoshika; tipis at Beavertail Hill and Missouri Headwaters; and wall tents at Bannack. A cabin or standard yurt costs $54 a night with a park pass, or $66 for non-residents without one, plus a $10 booking fee, at montanastateparks.reserveamerica.com.

Before you book

• Set a reminder for the 1st of the month, 13 months before a Glacier trip; summer 2027 is already on sale.
• Expect no AC, no TV and lobby-only Wi-Fi in the historic lodges.
• Check whether "Glacier" in a hotel's name means inside the park: Glacier Park Lodge, Belton Chalet, St. Mary Village and Cedar Creek are all outside.
• For Sperry or Granite Park in 2027, wait for the lottery details, due before January.
• For a lookout, bring water, a sleeping bag and a headlamp, and book on the morning dates release.
• Remove the Izaak Walton Inn from old itineraries; it closed in March 2026.

Details checked October 2026.