Discovery Center will open soon in West Glacier

The former Rawhide Restaurant in West Glacier will soon transform into the Crown of the Continent Discovery Center, showcasing the region’s history, landscape and geotourism through interpretative displays and exhibitions.

Swan Mountain Outfitters bought the restaurant last year and has been working on the new venture through the winter and spring, Aubrie Lorona, vice president of finance and administration, said last week.

Lorona, her husband Erik and her father Pat Tabor run the company, which started out in 2004 after Tabor bought Lion Creek Outfitters from Cecil Noble and began guiding horseback excursions in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Swan Mountain Outfitters became the Glacier National Park horse ride concessioner in 2007, and the company has grown to include area snowmobile tours.

Several years ago, the company was featured on the David Letterman Show after the Hungry Horse News reported that wrangler Erin Bolster and her draft horse Tonk turned away a charging grizzly bear that charged a boy during a summer outing near West Glacier in 2011.

The Discovery Center helped get Swan Mountain Outfitters on National Geographic’s new Crown of the Continent geotourism map.

The business must follow 13 principles of geotourism laid out by National Geographic, which include community involvement, community benefit and protection and enhancement of a destination.

In layman’s terms, the idea is to educate the public during their visit, Lorona explained.

“So people understand it’s more than just a raft trip or a horse ride,” she said.

The Discovery Center will also offer some good Montana eats. At the south end of the building will be Bubba Luke’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor, featuring Montana ice cream makers Sweet Peaks, Wilcoxson and Big Dipper. The parlor is named after the Lorona’s son, Luke.

The north end will be occupied by the Glacier Coffee House, operated by Jane and Brittany Ratzlaff under a lease agreement. The coffeehouse will feature Montana Coffee Traders coffees as well as pints of beers from local breweries, and Montana wines and local spirits when available. The coffee house will operate more as a tasting room for alcohol rather than a bar, Lorona said.

The Crown of the Continent Discovery Center will have a soft opening Memorial Day weekend and a grand opening June 15.

“We’re really excited,” Lorona said. “It’s new territory for us.”