5 Best Hotels in Outside Glacier National Park, Glacier National Park

This carefully restored, 1910 railroad hotel, the original winter headquarters for the park, has a great location just outside the West Glacier entrance and cozy, bright rooms with period furnishings and original woodwork. Some rooms open up to a private deck area with lovely views. The Lewis and Clark Cottages, which remain open in winter, are snug up against the evergreen forest behind the lodge. If train noise will bother you, ask for a room at the back of the hotel.

Five minutes from the entrance to West Glacier, these cozy two-bedroom cabins can accommodate up to 10 people and have living rooms, barbecues, private decks, and fully equipped kitchens. On site you'll also find an eight-room lodge, a horseshoe pit, a sand volleyball court, four ponds stocked with trout, and an outdoors-sports shop (packages are available that include accommodations and rafting or fishing trips). The lodge at a nearby sister property, the Glacier Homestead, can accommodate up to 26 people; it also has two cabins and a simple bunkhouse that is very inexpensive to book.

Just east of the park, across from the Amtrak station, this beautiful full-service hotel built in 1913 is supported by 500- to 800-year-old fir and 3-foot-thick cedar logs. Entertainers delight guests with storytelling and singing in the spectacular great hall. Rooms are sparsely decorated, but historic framed posters hang on the hallway walls. There is also a house for rent on the grounds. It's next to the golf course, the oldest grass greens course in Montana. If you golf on it, watch out for moose.

Built of cedar timbers and decorated in a Western style, this lodge-style B&B is warm and inviting. A hearty breakfast is served at individual tables in the dining room, and hors d'oeuvres are served with wine by the fireplace in the late afternoon. All rooms have private baths, and most have balconies with mountain views. The lovely garden has a deck, gas fire pit, and hot tub. As the lodge is very close to Whitefish Mountain Resort, it has a ski room with boot and glove dryers, and the snow bus to the ski area stops right outside. Fitness center passes are free for guests, and there are also on-site laundry facilities.

This cozy inn has a wraparound deck that provides wonderful mountain views; inside is a comfortable lounge area where guests can relax and mingle. The inn accommodates a maximum of 18 guests, and also on the property are two log cabins with fully-equipped kitchens that can sleep six and seven people. The inn's spacious rooms are decorated with Western-style wood furnishings and Western arts and crafts. All rooms have flat-screen TVs and mini-refrigerators. Some rooms have fireplaces and private patios. The room rate includes a delicious breakfast with hot and cold menu items. There are complimentary laundry facilities on-site.