Vista Motel

Glacier National Park


The no-nonsense Vista does at least have a vista, along with comfortable beds, powerful showers and a spatially challenged swimming pool. Located half a mile along Hwy 2 (there’s a wide shoulder) from the West Glacier train station, it’s a viable crash pad if you’re arriving by train and plying the park by public transport.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Glacier National Park attractions

1. Apgar Visitor Center

2.37 MILES

This LEED–certified center with a large parking lot and free wi-fi signal is 1½ miles north of West Glacier at the west end of Going-to-the-Sun Rd. Catch…

2. Apgar Village

2.76 MILES

Supporting little more than a couple of lodges, a gift shop or two, a recommended outdoor gear outfitter and a restaurant with an adjoining window for ice…

3. Lake McDonald Valley

9.05 MILES

Greener and wetter than the St Mary Valley, the Lake McDonald Valley harbors the park’s largest lake and some of its densest and oldest temperate…

4. Lake McDonald Lodge

10.32 MILES

On the northeastern shore of the lake, this rustic lodge, first built in 1895 as the Glacier Hotel, is the park’s oldest hotel. Replaced by a newer Swiss…

5. Stumptown Historical Society Museum

16.57 MILES

Whitefish’s fine old tudor revival Great Northern Railway Depot, built in the 1920s, doubles as a history museum displaying train memorabilia and…

6. City Beach Park

17.16 MILES

Glued to the southern shore of Whitefish Lake, this busy sandy stretch is where the whole town comes to date and debate in the summer months. The swimming…

7. Glacier National Park

17.39 MILES

The rival of any of the United States' most spectacular national parks, including Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon, Glacier National Park is…

8. Les Mason State Park

17.54 MILES

Ideal Whitefish Lake swimming spot with an anchored wood 'raft', great for big jumps as well as mid-swim rests, and a cobblestone beach.