Glacier National Park has multiple entrances, and the eastern approach offers something different from the western - instead of dense forest, visitors encounter the dramatic collision of mountains and plains. The peaks rise directly from the grassland, their flanks bare of the trees that blanket the western slopes. The landscape feels bigger, the sky wider, the scale more immediately apparent.

East Glacier serves as a base for exploring this eastern side of the park. Trails lead from town into the wilderness, past waterfalls and clear mountain streams, through habitat where moose, elk, and grizzly bears make their homes. Mountain goats traverse the high slopes. The wildlife viewing on this side of the park rivals any in the American West.

East Glacier sits on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, and this is Blackfeet country - land that holds cultural and historical significance for the tribe that has lived here for centuries. The mountains visible from town figure in Blackfeet cosmology, their peaks named in a language that predates English maps.

Five miles east on US Route 2, the Blackfeet Nation Bison Reserve keeps a herd visible from the road, a reminder of the animals that once covered these plains in numbers beyond counting. The pull-off offers interpretation of the bison's role in Blackfeet culture and the efforts to restore their presence on traditional lands. It's a glimpse into a history that most visitors only scratch.

The Empire Builder stops at East Glacier Park station daily, the train's route following the Great Northern Railway's original path across the northern tier of states. From Seattle or Portland, the journey crosses the Cascades, the Columbia Plateau, and the Idaho panhandle before climbing into the Rockies. From Chicago, passengers cross the Great Plains, watching the mountains grow on the horizon.

Arriving by train connects travelers to the original tourism of Glacier National Park. The Great Northern built the lodges that still serve visitors, promoting the park as an American Switzerland accessible by rail. The train schedule still serves this vision - arrive in the morning, step off into mountain air, begin your adventure without ever sitting behind a wheel.

East Glacier operates on a seasonal rhythm that modern travelers sometimes find surprising. Many businesses close from October through May, their owners departing when the tourists leave. Cell service can be spotty, and not all lodging offers WiFi. The infrastructure exists to serve summer visitors, not year-round residents.

This seasonality is part of the appeal. The town doesn't pretend to be something it's not - no manufactured attractions, no chain restaurants, just the services needed to access the wilderness beyond. Horse rentals are available for those who want to explore on hoofback. Shuttle services connect to trailheads. Car rentals offer flexibility for those who arrived by train. But mostly, East Glacier offers access - to the park, to the mountains, to a landscape that has drawn visitors since the railroad first reached it over a century ago.