04/09/2021
In 1914, Granite Park was the last of the chalets to be constructed by the Great Northern Railway in Glacier National Park. It soon became a popular destination for hikers and riders traveling over Swiftcurrent Pass from the Many Glacier Valley. Once the Highline Trail opened in 1918, Granite Park became part of the popular Triangle Trip: Granite Park to the Going-to-the-Sun Chalets via Logan Pass, Going-to-the-Sun Chalets to Many Glacier via Piegan Pass, and Many Glacier to Granite Park via Swiftcurrent Pass.
Why do they call it Granite Park? Prospectors visiting the area in 1890 mistook the speckled Purcell lava to be granite. In reality, there isn’t any granite in Glacier, but the name stuck.
Sitting at 6,690 feet in elevation, Granite Park is the highest chalet in Glacier. The most popular way to get there is via the Highline Trail from Logan Pass (7.6 miles). You can also get there via the 4 mile Loop Trail, but the steady 2,300’ climb through terrain burned by the 2003 Trapper Creek Fire can be hot and tiring. The 7.5 mile Swiftcurrent Trail from Many Glacier is another option, with a 2,285’ climb. However you get there, you’ll be rewarded with fine views of Heaven’s Peak and the Livingston Range.
This photo of Granite Park Chalet was taken by T.J. Hileman around 1939.
(Thanks to funding from the Glacier National Park Conservancy, this photo is part of our historical photographs collection on the Montana Memory Project: https://mtmemory.org/digital/collection/p16013coll83/id/198)
