Sperry Chalet is located about seven miles east of
Lake McDonald 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 so ...
of
Montana
Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
. The chalet was opened in 1914 by the
Great Northern Railway and was a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
contributing property, being one of five structures in the
Great Northern Railway Buildings National Historic Landmark. Along with
Granite Park Chalet, Sperry Chalet is one of the two remaining backcountry chalets in Glacier National Park, both operated by Belton Chalets, Inc.

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 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 Glacial period, glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with 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. This hike averages 9 hours.
The chalet, nestled in a glacial
cirque
A (; from the Latin word ) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by Glacier#Erosion, glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from , meaning a pot or cauldron) and ; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform a ...
, 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 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 serving as the U.S. representative for since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Zinke served in the Montana Senate from 2009 to 2013 and as the U.S. re ...
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. 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