Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations

Glacier National Park is expanding its reservation system to all main entrances

A full parking lot at Logan Pass at the top of Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, July 1, 2016.
Jacob Frank
/
National Park Service
The parking lot at Logan Pass at the top of Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, July 1, 2016.

Glacier National Park’s vehicle registration entry program is expanding next year. That means visitors will now need to book in advance to drive into all the park’s main entrances.

The Many Glacier and Two Medicine Valley access points are the latest additions to Glacier National Park’s entry reservation system. Park spokesperson Gina Kerzman says that both areas have become very popular.

“There are some key hiking attractions in those valleys that have caused the parking to fill up and go beyond capacity where we have more cars in there than we have parking spaces.”

Glacier has required vehicle reservations for Going-to-the-Sun Road since 2021. The system was expanded to the North Fork last summer. Officials say the system has reduced congestion and gate closures on those roads.

The Many Glacier and Two Medicine entrance points on the park’s eastern side will require reservations starting on July 1. The vehicle reservation system on Glacier’s west side begins on May 26.

Visitors should also anticipate up to a 30-minute wait due to construction on Going-to-the-Sun Road along Lake McDonald starting in June.

The park’s website will provide updates as more information becomes available.

O’Brien first landed at Montana Public Radio three decades ago as a news intern while attending the University of Montana School of Journalism. His first career job out of school was covering the 1995 Montana Legislature. When the session wrapped up, O’Brien was fortunate enough to land a full-time position at the station as a general assignment reporter. Feel free to drop him a line at edward.obrien@umt.edu.