Glacier National Park

July and August are peak season: the whole of Going-to-the-Sun Road is open, the shuttles and boats run, and the high trails are mostly clear of snow by late July. They are also crowded, car parks fill by early morning, and smoke from wildfires can haze the views in August. Early to mid-September is often the best time to visit, with crisp days, golden larches and aspens, fewer people and bugling elk, though snow can fall at any time and services start to close after Labor Day.

In June the valleys are green and the waterfalls are at their fullest, but the road over Logan Pass is usually still being cleared of snow, and many trails are snowbound. In spring and autumn, cyclists and walkers can sometimes use sections of the road that are closed to cars. Winter is quiet and snowy: the road is open only from West Glacier to Lake McDonald Lodge, and the park becomes a place for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Entrance fees are lower from November to April.

Most visitors drive. The West Entrance at West Glacier is about 33 miles (53 km) from Kalispell and 30 miles from Glacier Park International Airport; the east-side entrances at St Mary, Many Glacier and Two Medicine are reached on US Highway 89 through Browning. Amtrak's Empire Builder, on its Chicago to Seattle and Portland route, stops year-round at West Glacier and in summer at East Glacier Park, a romantic way to arrive.

A private vehicle costs $35 for seven days in summer ($25 from November to April), and a park annual pass costs $70. In 2026, non-US residents aged 16 and over also had to pay a $100 per person nonresident fee unless they hold an annual or America the Beautiful pass, so a $250 non-resident America the Beautiful pass can be better value for a longer trip.

The park did not require vehicle reservations anywhere in 2026, after several years of timed-entry permits, but it may turn cars away at entrances when areas are congested. Instead, it piloted three-hour timed parking at Logan Pass and a ticketed Logan Pass Shuttle, running from 1 July to Labor Day. Shuttles left in the early morning from Apgar Visitor Center and Lake McDonald Lodge on the west side, and from St Mary Visitor Center and Rising Sun on the east, and returned in the afternoon. Tickets cost only a $1 booking fee, and they were sold on Recreation.gov 60 days ahead and the evening before; they could not be bought in the park. Rules have changed every year recently, so always check the park's website before you travel.

Glacier National Park Lodges runs the vintage red "Jammer" buses on narrated tours of Going-to-the-Sun Road, and Blackfeet-led tours give a perspective on the park from the people who have always lived here. Boats on Lake McDonald, St Mary Lake, Swiftcurrent Lake, Lake Josephine and Two Medicine Lake double as transport for hikers.

• There are no petrol stations in the park; fill up in West Glacier, St Mary or East Glacier.
• There is no mobile signal outside Apgar and St Mary. Download maps and save the shuttle schedule before you go.
• Start early. Car parks at Logan Pass, Avalanche and Many Glacier often fill soon after sunrise.
• Check the trail-closure report each morning; trails close often for bear activity and snow.
• Weather on the Divide changes fast. Carry rain gear and warm layers, even on a hot day in the valley.
• Water from lakes and streams may be unsafe to drink without treatment. Carry plenty, as the Loop has no drinking water.
• Drones are banned in both Glacier and Waterton.
• Lodges and campgrounds that take reservations fill months ahead; book as soon as dates open.

Glacier has one of the densest populations of grizzly bears in the lower 48 states, and the park estimates it is home to nearly a thousand bears, black and grizzly. Bears can be anywhere, including busy trails near the road. Carry bear spray on every hike, in a holster or hip pocket rather than inside your pack, and learn how to use it; it can be bought in the gateway towns and cannot be carried on planes. Make noise by calling out and clapping, especially near streams, in thick brush and on blind corners: bells are not enough. Hike in groups, as there has never been a reported attack on a party of four or more in the park, and avoid hiking at dawn, at dusk or after dark. Don't run on trails.

Never leave food, rubbish, coolers or scented items unattended, even for a moment, and use the food lockers in campgrounds. It is illegal to approach within 100 yards (91 m) of a bear or wolf, or within 25 yards of other wildlife. If you see a bear from the road, don't stop beside it; drive on and pull over at a safe distance. Bears that learn to associate people with food usually have to be removed.

Glacier's northern neighbour, Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, is its Canadian twin. Together they formed the world's first International Peace Park in 1932, and they share a UNESCO World Heritage listing. The little resort of Waterton Park sits on the shore of Upper Waterton Lake beneath the Prince of Wales Hotel, a grand chalet on a bluff overlooking a lake that runs south across the border. Cruises sail down the lake to Goat Haunt in Montana. Short walks lead to Cameron Falls in the village and up the Bear's Hump for a view over the lakes, and the park still shows signs of recovery from the 2017 Kenow fire.

From Many Glacier, the most direct route is the Chief Mountain Highway and its border crossing, open in summer only; the year-round alternative is the Carway crossing on Highway 89. You need a passport (or another accepted travel document), and Waterton charges its own Parks Canada admission. If you want to travel on to Banff, Calgary is around 270 km north of Waterton.

Huckleberries are Montana's signature flavour, and the small wild berries turn up in pies, milkshakes, ice cream, jam, pancakes and even beer. Bison and elk burgers are common on menus, and Montana has a lively craft beer scene, with several breweries around Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Kalispell. Inside the park, the lodges at Lake McDonald, Many Glacier and Rising Sun have restaurants and cafés, and there are casual places in Apgar and at the camp stores. The Polebridge Mercantile's bakery, with its huckleberry bear claws, is worth the dusty drive. Pack a picnic for days on the road, as food options at Logan Pass are almost non-existent.

Inside the park, the historic lodges are an experience in themselves: Lake McDonald Lodge and the Village Inn at Apgar on the west side, Many Glacier Hotel and the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn in Many Glacier, and the Rising Sun Motor Inn on St Mary Lake. Granite Park and Sperry chalets, reached only on foot, offer simple beds in the backcountry. Book a year ahead if you can.

The park's campgrounds range from large, reservable ones like Apgar, St Mary, Many Glacier and Fish Creek to small, primitive sites in the North Fork. Outside the park, Whitefish is the liveliest base, with restaurants and a ski resort, while Columbia Falls, West Glacier and Hungry Horse are closer to the West Entrance. On the east side, St Mary and East Glacier Park, home to the grand Glacier Park Lodge, put you close to Many Glacier and Two Medicine.

The Blackfeet (Niitsitapi) on the east side and the Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Oreille people on the west have lived in and travelled through these mountains for thousands of years. Much of the land east of the Divide was sold to the US government by the Blackfeet in 1895, and the Blackfeet Nation still borders the park today. In 1910, after a campaign by the conservationist George Bird Grinnell, the area became a national park.

The Great Northern Railway, which crossed Marias Pass at the park's southern edge, promoted it as "America's Switzerland", building Glacier Park Lodge, Many Glacier Hotel and a network of backcountry chalets for tourists who arrived by train and travelled on horseback. Going-to-the-Sun Road brought the car era in 1932. When the park was founded, it held well over a hundred glaciers. Today only a few dozen remain, as the park is warming at nearly twice the global average, and scientists expect most of the remaining ice to disappear within decades.

Use the shuttle, boats or a guided tour for Going-to-the-Sun Road where you can, and consider the quieter valleys, especially Two Medicine and the North Fork, to spread the load. Stay on trails, as alpine meadows at Logan Pass recover very slowly, and never feed or approach wildlife, including the goats and ground squirrels at Logan Pass. Pack out all your rubbish. Respect the Blackfeet Nation when travelling through its land on the east side, and remember that permits are needed to hike or fish on reservation land. Clean, drain and dry boats and paddleboards, as the park inspects watercraft to keep invasive mussels out of its lakes. For more great American national parks, see our guide to Yellowstone, a long day's drive to the south.