Whistle Stop At Glacier Izaak Walton Inn Cozy Spot Complete With ‘Compleat Angler’
Four mornings each week, the eastbound Empire Builder blows its whistle as it approaches this quiet outpost.
Alert hotel staff and savvy guests know that’s their cue to scurry onto the front porch and wave their hearts out to Amtrak passengers and crew.
Friendliness is certainly a hallmark of the Izaak Walton Inn - described by one cross-country ski magazine as “the coziest resort in the Rocky Mountains” - and the waving ritual has lured a fair number of first-time visitors.
It also testifies to the symbiotic relationship between resort and railroad.
If Amtrak didn’t pass by the inn’s front door, many guests would never have heard of the Izaak Walton, tucked away 60 miles east of Kalispell at the southern tip of Glacier National Park.
And thanks to the inn’s hospitality - and the rising popularity of cross-country skiing, to which the Izaak Walton enthusiastically caters - Essex has become Amtrak’s busiest nonroutine “flag stop” between Seattle and Chicago.
This year, more than 2,000 guests from northern-tier states will board the Empire Builder and head for the Izaak Walton, where they’ll stay either inside the historic, rail-memorabilia-laden hotel or in one of four refurbished cabooses nestled into a hillside across the tracks.
Built in 1939 to accommodate rail workers and occasional guests, the inn lost money for years. When the anticipated southern entrance to the park never materialized, there seemed little reason to visit Essex, halfway between East Glacier and West Glacier on U.S. Highway 2.
Then it dawned on someone that Essex’ 244 inches of average yearly snowfall might be enough to attract skiers and snowshoers. By the time ranchers Larry and Lynda Vielleux (pronounced VAY-you) bought the Izaak Walton 14 years ago, there was already a primitive trail system nearby that generated local interest on weekends.
Gradually, the Vielleuxes expanded the system to 30 kilometers (19 miles), including 1K of lighted trail.
Convincing Amtrak to stop at Essex required cutting through a web of red tape. But since the service began several years ago, winter activity at the Izaak Walton has grown into a steady seven-days-a-week operation starting in midNovember and continuing through April 15. (Most guests still arrive by car, either driving from home or flying into Glacier International Airport outside Kalispell and renting a vehicle.)
Business also thrives during the summer - Glacier Park’s busiest season - with activity slowing in spring and autumn. That’s when church groups, weddings and reunions take advantage of special rates, and “rail fans” descend on the Izaak Walton to swap stories and chase trains.
Last year, the Vielleuxes undertook a $600,000 restoration project, adding or upgrading bathrooms in all 33 rooms, installing a fire-sprinkler system, expanding storage space and creating a more functional rear entrance.
Yet the changes compromised none of the inn’s historic charm, which includes a cheerful, wood-paneled dining room where meals are served on reproduction “Glory of the West” Great Northern Railway china.
The basement houses a saloon-like lounge with piano and two jukeboxes (four bits gets you “Satin Doll,” “Mr. Sandman” and five other picks), plus a game room (pool and Ping Pong), ski rentals and a reading area.
Some guests prefer to relax in the first-floor lobby, where mounted ram and mountain goat heads watch from above and the fire in the hearth crackles ‘round the clock.
Other amenities include a gift shop featuring assorted made-in-Montana items, a laundry room, sauna and meeting space.
Rooms are furnished with railroad-theme comforters, lamps fashioned from rail spikes, and clerestory glass above bathrooms that’s etched with the image of Great Northern’s famous goat.
What you won’t find in Izaak Walton’s rooms are TVs or telephones. Why bother, Larry Vielleux figures, “when a $2 puzzle keeps 10 people busy all night?”
And if guests get tired of puzzles, pool, Ping Pong or skiing, there’s always a copy of Izaak Walton’s “Compleat Angler” to help put them to sleep.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 photos
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: IF YOU GO There’s still plenty of winter left at at the Izaak Walton Inn, culminating in the annual Snow Rodeo the weekend of March 23-24. The resort’s 30-kilometer cross-country trail system remains open and groomed through April 15. You can get to the Izaak Walton Inn by private vehicle via Interstate 90 and U.S. Highway 2. The journey from Spokane takes six hours in good weather. Amtrak leaves Spokane at 1:35 a.m. four days a week, traveling through Sandpoint and arriving in Essex around 8:56 a.m. The return train departs Essex at 8:11 p.m., arriving in Spokane at 2:03 a.m. Round-trip coach fares start at $72 for adults, $36 for children. Inn staff meet your train, and provide a changing area and storage space for luggage if you choose to ski or hike before your room is ready. Room rates run $92 (plus tax) per couple, $5 for each additional guest. Two-room suites are available for $126 to $146, depending on the number of occupants. Two-and fourperson cabooses cost $425 for three days, $100 for each additional day. All rooms have private baths; cabooses also have kitchens. Meals in the dining room range from $5 to $7 for breakfast, $7-$10 for lunch and $9-$18 for dinner. Three-day packages start at $608 per couple, and include accommodations, two meals a day, gratuities and activities. The inn rents cross-country skis, snowshoes, mountain bikes and cars. For more information, contact the inn at (406) 888-5700 or write to Izaak Walton Inn, P.O. Box 653, Essex, MT 59916. Other resources include the state-run Travel Montana at (800) 847-4868; Glacier National Park headquarters, (406) 888-5441; and Amtrak information and reservations, (800) 872-7245.