In the northernmost reaches of Glacier National Park lies Goat Haunt, a remote ranger station serving as the U.S. port of entry for travelers to the world’s first International Peace Park.

For years, visitors arriving by ferry from Canada have found a silent reception crossing onto American soil, but a centennial boost in the National Park Service’s budget now has interpretive rangers staffing the outpost for the first time in six years.

“Right now when you go to Goat Haunt, you get off the boat and there’s no one there to greet you,” said Mark Wagner, the park’s district ranger. “Now we’ll be able to meet and greet a lot of the boats when they land and welcome them to the country, welcome them to Glacier.”

Full staffing at Goat Haunt has been intermittent for years, after budget cuts and the post-9/11 installation of border patrol officers in park housing left a skeleton crew for much of the last 15 years.

With this year’s 100-year anniversary of the Park Service, however, Glacier Superintendent Jeff Mow said he hopes to restore a more welcoming vibe for international visitors as the agency embarks on its next century.

“When I think about what Glacier brings to the family of the National Park System, it is the world’s first peace park,” Mow said.

In honor of the centennial, Glacier received a more than $200,000 boost to its $13.3 million budget, which Mow said is expected to continue into the future. Parks are required to use the additional money for staff salaries.

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Goat Haunt sits at the foot of Upper Waterton Lake, framed by the dramatic stone cliffs of Mount Olsen, Mount Cleveland and the Sentinel.

It’s typically accessed by the historic M.V. International ferry from Waterton, or by the 8.5-mile hiking trail leading south from the Canadian townsite in Waterton Lakes National Park.

Wagner, whose first stint in Goat Haunt was as a seasonal park employee back in the 1970s, describes Goat Haunt as a unique experience in Glacier.

“It’s remote. That alone makes it sort of a more interesting place,” he said, noting it’s the park’s only ranger station without any roads. “There’s something about that whole being off the road, that alone sets it up as a different feel. It’s sort of a more of an old-fashioned Park Service feel.”

Wagner compared the lush environs of the valley to the west side of the park, which receives more annual rainfall and is characterized by dense vegetation. With a full crew operating the station, he’s looking forward to once again hosting interpretive hikes and peace-park-related activities for visitors to Goat Haunt.

“The peace park is one of the most significant parts of Glacier,” he said. “That is the place we really do highlight it.”

Among the guided hikes that will be offered to visitors, Wagner said the International Peace Park Hike is by far the most popular, with rangers from both parks leading visitors from the Bertha Lake Trailhead in Waterton to the ranger station.

“That really was and will be one of the most important duties for the Goat Haunt staff,” Wagner said. “That’s one of the best joint activities that we have.”

Glacier staffers also will lead visitors on two-mile hikes to and from Rainbow Falls, a quick jaunt rewarded with views of the rushing cascades overlooked by Mount Cleveland.

At 6 miles round-trip, the guided Kootenai Lakes hike is a bit more strenuous, but involves minimal elevation gain, offers views of Citadel Peak looming overhead and provides hikers with perhaps the best opportunity in all of Glacier to see a moose.

“It’s a real swampy area, and there’s always moose there,” Wagner said, adding that trumpeter swans are also common sights along the way.

The other guided hike offered this year leads visitors along Porcupine Ridge, through old-growth forest to Janet Lake. It’s a seven-mile round trip.

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International visitors should note that only Canadians and Americans with proper identification are allowed to venture beyond the ranger station without visas.

Citizens of other countries will need to first enter the United States at an official border crossing, such as Chief Mountain (just east of the park boundary) or Roosville/Grasmere near Eureka, and must obtain visitor visas or waivers.

Americans without passports can also visit Goat Haunt, but should prepare for a little extra legwork.

From Kintla Lake up the North Fork, hiking trails lead nearly 30 miles east across the Continental Divide, passing through the gorgeous glacial cirque called Hole in the Wall before reaching the ranger station. Or backcountry travelers can hike the 32 miles from Logan Pass along the Continental Divide Trail — known as “the Dash” to those who manage to traverse it in one day.

For more information on the International boat cruises and hours of operation, visit www.watertoncruise.com.