Apgar is one of the main villages in
Glacier National Park, located at the southern end of
Lake McDonald, about one mile from the park's west entrance. Apgar has one of the most popular campgrounds in Glacier National Park. It includes a visitor center, a general store, and a gift shop. It is the starting point for most
Red Jammer bus tours on the
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 trav ...
. Apgar's campground is connected to the village by a road as well as a bike path through the woods, in which smaller wildlife can be seen, though
grizzly bears
The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...
have been spotted close to the camp.
History
The
Kootenai
The Kutenai ( ), also known as the Ktunaxa ( ; ), Ksanka ( ), Kootenay (in Canada) and Kootenai (in the United States), are an indigenous people of Canada and the United States. Kutenai bands live in southeastern British Columbia, norther ...
knew Apgar as ''Ya Kit Haqwitnamki'' ("the place where they dance"), as tribal bands used to meet and perform ceremonies where the current campground is, long before White settlers arrived.
Apgar takes its English name from Milo Apgar, an early settler in the
Lake McDonald area. In the 1890s, Apgar, along with Frank Geduhn and Charlie Howe, built homes at the lower end of the lake with the intention of farming the area. This proved impractical, so they and other settlers became involved in servicing tourists visiting the park. As these services increased, the village that grew up around them acquired the name Apgar.
Apgar has two small hotel buildings operated by the same company. It also has its own boat launching ramp and a boat rental dock on its portion of Lake McDonald. Apgar is within a twenty-minute drive from the
Lake McDonald Lodge. The summer home of western artist
Charles M. Russell, Bull Head Lodge, was formerly located in Apgar. As a young man, artist
Ace Powell was also a resident of the village.
Notable people
*
Charles M. Russell
*
Ace Powell
See also
*
List of Glacier National Park (U.S.) related articles
References
{{Flathead County, Montana
Glacier National Park (U.S.)
Populated places in Flathead County, Montana
1890s establishments in Montana
Populated places established in the 1890s