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There Will Be No Reservation System To Visit Glacier National Park

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Published Date

July 24, 2020

Glacier National Park will not resort to a reservation system this summer to manage crowds/NPS webcam

While there have been crowding issues at Glacier National Park this summer, officials have decided not to resort to a reservation system to manage them/NPS webcam

Glacier National Park officials have decided they will not turn to a reservation system for controlling crowds in their park this summer.

The decision was made after discussing the matter with park staff, local businesses, and parks that already have implemented similar systems.

On June 27, park officials learned that access to the eastern side of the park across from the Blackfeet Reservation would remain closed for the summer due to COVID-19. Staff immediately began to explore implementing a ticketed entry system similar to what Yosemite National Park implemented.

Since the park opened on June 8, Glacier has seen high levels of congestion on the west side of the park due to other areas being closed, fewer recreational opportunities, and limited services.

Over the past three weeks Superintendent Jeff Mow has engaged with more than 100 businesses around the park to hear their questions and comments about implementing a ticketed entry system. Mow also met with park officials at other parks that have implemented reservation type services and discussed at length their experiences. 

“We heard support for a reservation system from community constituents because they know the park is at maximum capacity,” said Mow. “But there were serious concerns about implementing such a system with such short notice and midway through the visitor season.”

Visitors are reminded that the park is very busy and can be very congested throughout the summer months. The park may still have to implement visitor use restrictions to protect public health and safety and to provide for social distancing opportunities.

Visitors are encouraged to check the online Recreation Access Display (RAD), the park’s webcams, and the park’s Twitter account for current conditions.

“This continues to be a summer like no other. It is uncertain if visitation will continue to increase or how COVID-19 may require us to change how the park is managed for visitors,” said Mow. “As we have for the last several weeks, our goal is to provide the best visitor experience under these challenging and uncertain conditions.”

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