Sperry Chalet is located about seven miles east of

Lake McDonald Lake McDonald is the largest lake in Glacier National Park. It is located at in Flathead County in the U.S. state of Montana. Lake McDonald is approximately 10 miles (16 km) long, and over a mile (1.6 km) wide and 472 feet (130 m) ...

in Glacier National Park in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

. The chalet was opened in 1914 by the Great Northern Railway and was a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

contributing property, being one of five structures in the

Great Northern Railway Buildings The Great Northern Railway Buildings are a set of five building complexes in or near Glacier National Park in Montana. They were built by the Great Northern Railway during the period of the park's founding to provide a unified tourist experience ...

National Historic Landmark. Along with

Granite Park Chalet Granite Park Chalet is located in the heart of Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana at an elevation of 6,693 feet above sea level. The chalet was built in 1914 by the Great Northern Railway and is a National Historic Landmark contr ...

, Sperry Chalet is one of the two remaining backcountry chalets in Glacier National Park, both operated by Belton Chalets, Inc. Sperry Chalet on fire

The chalet is reached only by trail, via hiking or horseback. One of the two trails leading to the chalet is the Sperry Trail, which starts at the

Lake McDonald Lodge The Lake McDonald Lodge is a historic lodge located within Glacier National Park, on the southeast shore of Lake McDonald. The lodge is a -story structure built in 1913 based on Kirtland Cutter's design. The foundation and first floor walls are ...

parking lot and stretches 6.7 miles to the chalet, climbing 3200 feet in the process. The trail passes along the base of Mount Brown and over the west ridge of Mount Edwards, with views of

U-shaped valley U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...

s along the way. A side trip to Sperry Glacier is also possible, being a 4-mile hike (8 miles round trip). The other means of accessing the chalet is via the Gunsight Trail, which is a 12.1-mile hike from the Jackson Glacier Overlook on

Going-to-the-Sun Road Going-to-the-Sun Road is a scenic mountain road in the Rocky Mountains of the western United States, in Glacier National Park in Montana. The Sun Road, as it is sometimes abbreviated in National Park Service documents, is the only road that trave ...

. This hike averages 9 hours. The chalet, nestled in a glacial cirque, consists of two buildings from the Great Northern era: a two-story hotel building and a kitchen/dining room building. A restroom facility was added, but was not part of the historic landmark designation. The dormitory building, completed in 1913, was built with random rubble masonry, providing a feel of architectural ruggedness, and was topped with a large gable roof that had two dormers on either side. The kitchen building, completed in 1912, is also made of random rubble masonry, but used smaller stones and appears less striking in its design. The kitchen building is topped with a lower gable roof. Unlike Granite Park Chalet, Sperry Chalet provides traditional meal service: dinner, breakfast, and either a trail lunch or an ala carte lunch in the dining room. The guest rooms are private, but in line with the backcountry experience, there is no electricity or heat. There is running water at the restroom facility. On August 31, 2017 the hotel/dormitory building of Sperry Chalet burned during the

Sprague Fire The Sprague Fire was a wildfire in Glacier National Park (U.S.), Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. It was first reported on August 10, 2017, around 8:30 pm after it was caused by a lightning storm. The fire encompassed . It n ...

. The wood portions of the main chalet burned, gutting the structure, but the surrounding outbuildings were saved. After the fire, U.S. Secretary of the Interior

Ryan Zinke Ryan Keith Zinke (; born November 1, 1961) is an American politician and businessman. Zinke, a member of the Republican Party, served in the Montana Senate from 2009 to 2013 and as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional d ...

stated that rebuilding the Sperry Chalet would be a top priority and an engineering firm had already inspected the structure and was preparing a proposal on how to reinforce the stone walls for the upcoming winter and other stabilization efforts. A fund for stabilization was established, overseen by the

Glacier National Park Conservancy The Glacier National Park Conservancy was established on January 1, 2013, from a merger of the Glacier National Park Fund (established in 1999) and the Glacier Association (established in 1941). The Glacier National Park Fund previously operated a ...

. Work to brace the stone walls to prevent their collapse was scheduled to begin in October 2017, with supplies brought in by helicopter. After an environmental impact statement was completed National Park Service authorities determined that the chalet would be rebuilt using the original stone exterior and aside from some minor modifications to meet current building codes, have all the same design as the original structure. The rebuilding process was expected to last during the summers of 2018 and 2019, and is scheduled to reopen in July 2020. The National Park Service awarded two contracts to Dick Anderson Construction to complete the rebuild project in two phases during the summers of 2018 and 2019. Subcontractor work was performed by Anderson Masonry of Kalispell with redesign efforts led by Anderson Hallas Architects. On July 18, 2020 Sperry Chalet opened its doors to guests for the first time since it was burned in the Sprague Fire. Reservations can be made online beginning in January for the subsequent summer season.

Gallery

File:Sperry Chalet Campground Sign.jpg, A sign at the campground located beside the Sperry Chalet

References

{{Montana Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana Mountain huts in the United States National Historic Landmarks in Montana Great Northern Railway (U.S.) hotels Hotel buildings completed in 1913 Rustic architecture in Montana Tourist attractions in Flathead County, Montana Historic district contributing properties in Montana 1913 establishments in Montana National Register of Historic Places in Flathead County, Montana National Register of Historic Places in Glacier National Park Burned hotels in the United States Rebuilt buildings and structures in the United States Swiss Chalet Revival architecture