Glacier National Park, one of the largest of the national parks in the lower 48 states at 1600 square miles (1,013,598 acres), is located in the northern section of Montana near the Canadian border. The park is known for spectacular mountains, including 6 peaks over 10,000 feet, glaciers, lakes, and a diverse variety of wildlife. Much of the park is backcountry and wilderness, crossed by over 700 miles of trails. Despite its remoteness, the park draws over 2.7 million visitors a year.

The Glacier area has been visited and inhabited by human beings for 8000 years. In more recent times the area was used by a several Indian tribes, although the fearsome Blackfoot tribe controlled access to the area during much of the 18th and 19th centuries. Other tribes, such as the Kootenai, Kalispell, and Flathead on the west side of the mountains and Stoney on the east, occasionally visited park land. Blackfoot domination was ended by the end of the 19th century by war, whiskey, smallpox, and the disappearance of the buffalo upon which their economy largely depended.

The first white man to visit the park area was David Thompson of the Hudson Bay Company, in the 1780's, and the park was also spotted by members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition as well although overcast skies prevented them from seeing the mountains of the area. The first white man who traveled through the park lands themselves passed through in 1810, and the area was later mapped by a survey party led by A.W. Tinkham in 1853. A railroad south of the park was established through Marias Pass, the lowest altitude pass through the Rockies between Canada and Mexico, in 1891. Although some prospecting and mining activity took place in the park area, these activities in general were not successful and disappeared.