Going-to-the-Sun Mountain


Going-to-the-Sun Mountain is located in Glacier National Park and rises dramatically above St. Mary Valley just north of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The mountain was named by James Willard Schultz in 1888.

Origin of name

During the winter of 1887-1888, James Willard Schultz, an early hunting guide in the St. Mary Lakes region, and his family built a cabin on the north shore of upper Saint Mary Lake. While hunting on Red Eagle Mountain with his Pikuni friend, Tail-Feathers-Coming-Over-the-Hill, Schultz gave this mountain the name it bears today. Warren Hanna, Schultz's biographer describes the naming thus:
Alternatively, numerous Blackfeet Indian legends are credited with the origins of the mountains' name. Used by the Blackfeet as a location for vision quests, it is one of the most accessible major mountain peaks in Glacier National Park. According to several sources, the actual Blackfeet name for the mountain is The-Face-of-Sour-Spirit-Who-Went-Back-to-The-Sun-After-His-Work-Was-Done Mountain, in explanation of the snowfields on the mountainside which, as viewed from the west, make the outline of a face.