Glacier Park Boat Company — Local services in West Glacier

Tours can be good...company/management is awful (AVOID TWO MEDICINE!!)

Genuinely don't understand how Annie Courtway hasn't been fired yet. This "captain" has had tyrannical rule over the Two Medicine area for years, is the only one to consistently lose staff members, yet management can't seem to see that she's the problem? Deadpan (and not in a funny way), unenthusiastic voice, doesn't care about the Indigenous history in an area where it's extremely important/sacred, just there for a power trip. This company doesn't even bother to train their captains professionally in interpretation, and it's glaringly obvious if you take a tour with Annie. They just hand them the NPS interpretation booklet and hope for the best. No certifications from the NAI, or anything else required like most other tour companies would require at a national park. Management themselves doesn't even have anyone professionally trained or certified in interpretation on staff, so it's not really a surprise they don't bother to put in the effort with their seasonal staff. That's how you end up with "captains" like Annie, who are not only exceedingly unpleasant to deal with, but also apparently can't interpret information effectively to save their life. It's no wonder she does her best to not communicate with upper management; if she did, she'd be out of a job by now.

However, if you happen to have a good tour, that is the responsibility of that captain entirely, not the company. For example, the tours and interpretation you will get at Lake McDonald are generally very good. That is because the location staff there have put in the effort to learn the material, and not only that, they have enthusiasm for it. None of that was taught by the company; the company simply got lucky by having talented staff at certain locations.

Two Medicine is, unfortunately, not one of those locations. So, if you really want to hear about the importance and beauty of a place like Two Medicine, I recommend taking Sun Tours, which is run by Blackfeet Tribal Members. You'll develop a meaningful connection with that gorgeous place (and the entire park) rather than listening to some blonde white girl give some half-assed explanation of it in passing.

Bottom line, this company does not care about their employees, sees them as completely disposable and not worth investing in because they're young, and therefore easy to take advantage of. Which they do, year after year, inevitably take advantage of at least a couple employees, expecting nothing will ever be done about it because they're young, and therefore have little experience in how to deal with toxic companies and their questionable practices. So, if you must take a tour, do it at Lake McDonald. You'll have a good time there with good captains. Whatever you do, avoid Two Medicine, and Annie Courtway,...

Wonder why they don't do same day reservations? Because they don't have to. They know they are going to get paid for empty seats, because of their poor cancelation policy and unclear advertising about admission to "Going to the sun road" being included in their reservations. 1st, You have to cancel 3 days in advance, or you get NO MONEY back. Not a cancelation fee, or a portion, they keep all of your money and get paid for an empty seat. See why they aren't worried about making same day reservations for boats that clearly have empty seats? They are worse than the airlines! 2nd, Not all of their locations included 1 day admission to the "Going to the sun road." But... it's not like they include that warning, in Big Bold Red letters at the top of the description of the tour... They include it in small print in the confirmation email AFTER you have bought your tickets. Because sneaky companies know that no-one reads the fine print. And yet they are still listed as a company that is within the park that you can make reservations with so as to gain a day pass to the "Going to the sun road." Important caveats such as NOT ALL TOURS WILL COUNT TOWARDS GOING TO THE SUN ROAD ADMISSION, should be clearly advertised on all pages. It is misleading advertising, and most people CLEARLY think that any reservation with this company will gain your day access to "Going to the Sun Road." 3rd, Going to the Sun road is still closed right now. Very late in the season, as it is usually open by 4th of July. We literally can't get to the boat tour location right now, as we are staying in West Glacier, without driving the ridiculous 3 hour round about alternative road to get there. 4th, They know that internet and cell service is spotty in surrounding areas, yet still try to direct cancellations to the website, not even bothering to answer their phones. 5th, other companies, such as Swan Mountain Outfitters and Glacier Raft Company, just to name a few, have 48 hour, not 3 day, cancelation policies. I called 2 days in advance to cancel my tour, because I literally had no service and because the going to the sun road was still closed, and they would not give me even a portion of my money back. These people are taking advantage of tourists. They...

This is the 3rd time I’ve rented a 9.9HP on a Jon boat through this company. Every other time was a blast, with no problems. Today, within 30-45 minutes, and on the isolated north end of the lake, the motor completely died. There is absolutely no cell service (understandable, obviously). I have grown up boating, working on boats, driving boats, etc. I know what I am doing to a very competent level. I get that stuff like this can happen at any time to any boat, but what I cannot wrap my head around is that this company sends you out to anywhere on the lake with NO form of communication: no radio, no walkie talkie, no GPS or SOS signal beacons. It took us over an hour to flag somebody down, and then about 30 minutes for an employee to arrive to verify that the motor was indeed inoperable, and then another 30 minutes for a different boat to tow us back. When we got back, they tried to charge me for an hour of the 3 hour ordeal. They wanted me to pay them my money for essentially stranding my girlfriend and I an hour away. I had to explain the basic morals of “no, this is not the condition of a boat that I rented. I will not pay you.” Imagine being stranded for 2 hours in the middle of nowhere with no form of communication in 90 degree weather with a motor that, even though you know how they work, you don’t know this specific motor and how it has been used/abused….and then someone asking you to hand them money for that experience. No shot. Not out of me. This isn’t even the NPS, it is essentially a private company. Send radios on EVERY BOAT. Yall have a business here, you know that’s important. That $30 radio can save lives, spend the money you cheapskates. There will be one day that, if you keep operating the way you are, you will find yourselves in a huge lawsuit. Goodbye company, goodbye employees, goodbye NPS money, goodbye everything. You will not exist anymore. Buy a radio, keep people safe, and be better....