You'll need a ticket to drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park this summer/Kurt Repanshek file
You'll have to land a ticket to drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park in Montana this summer. Going-to-the-Sun entry reservation tickets will be available at www.Recreation.gov starting April 29, barring any unforeseen delays.
The system will require visitors to set up an account on www.Recreation.gov and obtain a vehicle entry reservation ticket at ($2 non-refundable fee) to enter the 50-mile-long Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor at the West Glacier and St. Mary entrances between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
Entry reservation tickets will not be required for those with lodging, camping, transportation, or commercial activity within the GTSR corridor. Landowners with property within the GTSR corridor and affiliated tribal members are also not required to have a GTSR entry reservation ticket.
Glacier National Park saw record numbers of visitors in the last few years. This season is predicted to be one of the busiest on record.
“We have the making of a perfect storm this season,” said Glacier Superintendent Jeff Mow. “Not only do we have ongoing COVID-19 mitigations and reduced staffing, but we are also facing construction delays inside and around the park.”
In 2020, park officials implemented temporary closures 29 times in 25 days at the park’s West Entrance that at times resulted in backups along Highway 2. The ticketed entry system offers visitors increased certainty that they will be able to enter the park while reducing or eliminating the need for closures at the park’s west entrance.
“The goal is to maximize access while avoiding congestion that results in temporary closures of park entrance gates,” said Mow.
Numbers will be tracked each day and additional entry reservation tickets will be available if there is additional capacity. There will be fewer entry reservation tickets available prior to the full opening of GTSR. When the road opens, the number of entry reservation tickets available will increase. The date for GTSR opening is unknown at this time and subject to weather and plowing progress. The park plans to start plowing GTSR on April 5.
About two-thirds of the entry reservation tickets will be released for 60 days advance purchase on a rolling window, and the remaining entry reservation tickets will be released for 48 hours advance purchase, also on a rolling window. For example, on June 2 a visitor could purchase entry reservation tickets 48 hours in advance for entry on June 4. They could also purchase an entry reservation ticket 60 days in advance for entry on August 2.
Additional information:
The entrance fee for Glacier National Park is $35 per vehicle ($30 for motorcycles) and is good for seven days. The nonrefundable $2 GTSR entry reservation ticket is in addition to the entrance fee and is also valid for seven days. Both are required to drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road. If you hold a valid Interagency Annual/Lifetime Pass or a Glacier National Park Annual Pass, you will only have to purchase the $2 nonrefundable GTSR entry reservation ticket.
Visitors only need one entry reservation ticket per vehicle which will be valid for seven days.
Visitors who purchase a GTSR entry reservation ticket will receive an email confirmation from recreation.gov with an attached entry reservation ticket. Print out a copy of your entry reservation ticket or download on your mobile device or on the www.Recreation.gov mobile app prior to arriving at the park. All reservations are non-transferable and considered void if the reservation holder is not in the vehicle upon entering. A photo ID will be required from the reservation holder. If a visitor claims to have a valid Interagency Annual/Lifetime Pass or a Glacier National Park Annual Pass when making the reservation, the pass must also be shown at time of entry.
GTSR entry reservation tickets are not required for any other portions of the park (for example Many Glacier, Two Medicine, North Fork, Cut Bank, Chief Mountain Highway), but visitors are still subject to the per vehicle entrance fee.
Vehicles that arrive with reservations within the GTSR corridor such as at a campground, Lake McDonald Lodge, or a chalet do not need a GTSR entry reservation ticket for the dates listed on the reservation, but are subject to the per vehicle entrance fee. Visitors who have reservations for commercial services such as a horseback ride, boat ride or guided hike or other permitted special use and commercial use also do not need a GTSR entry reservation ticket but are subject to the per vehicle entrance fee.
If a visitor arrives at the West Glacier or St. Mary entrance without a GTSR entry reservation ticket, they will be turned away but can go online at www.Recreation.gov to see if an entry reservation ticket is available for that day. This may be possible if entry reservation tickets are not sold out.
GTSR entry reservation tickets will not be sold at the park, and are only available online at www.Recreation.gov. Visitors will still be able to pay per vehicle entrance fees at the park.
A GTSR entry reservation ticket does not guarantee a parking space. Parking will continue to be in demand at popular locations such as Avalanche, Logan Pass and St. Mary Falls areas.
In February, to protect the health of those who live, work, and visit national parks and National Park Service facilities, and in support of President Biden’s Executive Order on Protecting the Federal Workforce and Requiring Mask-Wearing, the NPS implemented a mask requirement for employees, visitors, partners and contractors. At Glacier National Park, face masks are required in all park buildings and facilities. Masks are also required on NPS-managed lands when physical distancing cannot be maintained, including narrow or busy trails, parking lots, pull-offs and overlooks.
When recreating, park visitors should follow local area and federal health orders, maintain social distance, and avoid high-risk outdoor activities. Please do not visit if you are sick or were recently exposed to COVID-19. Park staff will continue to monitor all park functions to ensure that visitors adhere to CDC guidance for mitigating risks associated with the transmission of COVID-19 and take any additional steps necessary to protect public health.
Comments
I HATE the Recreations.gov website and I'm beginning to think that all these reservation requirements at various NPs only exist to make more money for whoever is running this website. It is SO difficult to actually get a reservation on their crappy website!
Just my opinion - I think this is wonderful!
This entry ticket system is absolutely asinine. I live an hour away from Glacier and my wife and I bike the going to the sun road multiple times in June before the road opens. We buy an American the Beautiful pass to be able to get in all summer. I looked into getting this stupid GTSR entry ticket to be able to get in and just BIKE the road this summer, and the initial 3/4 of the tickets are already sold out, 4 days after they became available, they are already gone. So now we'll have to wait till 2 days before to try to get any of the remaining 1/4 tickets in the final lottery. How is this acceptable?
This is a NATIONAL PARK that we ALL pay our taxes to be able to access and enjoy. Now we can't even get in to the park to even BIKE the road. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY UN-ACCEPTABLE!!
Please write a complaint to whoever you can, submit written articles in local newspapers. Let these government beaurocrats know this is NOT ACCEPTABLE!
I live a 15 minute bike ride from the park and often used it 2-3 times a week for bike riding/exercise the past few years. I hate that things have come to this, but I support the day use reservation system. I would leave from home and ride up the Camas Road. Last summer there was so much traffic on the Camas Road, that it was not the pleasant ride it used to be. At some point, enough is enough, and that was actually reached more than a few years ago. When a visitor arrives, at say 9:00 am, pays for their weekly permit and then cannot find a parking spot anywhere along the Sun Road, and then proceed to find out that Polebridge and Many Glacier areas were filled/closed at mid day, that is a recipe for a lot of unhappy visitors.
I don't like that we have come to this, but what is the alternative? It is the new reality at Arches, Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, and a few other parks that are being loved to death. I too, hate having to make reservations, but for now, it is the best of a bad situation. Come to the park before and after the reservation system kicks in or find alternatives to these heavily used parks is the best I can offer. Returning to the gridlock of the past is not be a solution.
Why are "Tribal members" excluded from the GNP ticketed entry system?
I've been trying to purchase a"secondary" Going-to-the-Sun road entry ticket that becomes available 48 hours before you want to enter the park. 1/4 of the tickets are supposedly reserved for this. I was on the recreation.gov site with had my finger on the date atexactly 8am MT. Sure enough the date turned blue (available) and I clicked it and whooped with joy. It was short lived as I was not able to "select a Time" or buy a ticket. When I clicked on "select a time" only one choice came up and it said "select a tour time". There was nothing to select. I was not able to check the box for "Vehicle 7-Day Entry" either. Nothing. Very frustration. Does anyone know the trick to getting an entry ticket this way? Please help!!! Thanks.