Glacier National Park said Friday it had not made a final decision on whether to introduce a reservation system in Two Medicine Valley and Many Glacier Valley.
At a meeting with East Side businesses on Thursday, park officials spoke about the prospects for an expanded reservation system. It was about trying to implement a system similar to what was already needed.
But on Friday, park spokeswoman Gina Kersman said no final decision had been made.
Park officials didn’t provide further details about the east side admission reservation concept on Thursday, but Superintendent David Roemer said the plan would be open by mid-December to give visitors and businesses time to adjust. I said I wanted to summarize the details.
Last year, reservations were required to access the North Fork and Going to the Sun Road from Memorial Day through the weekend after Labor Day. Half are available 120 days in advance and the rest 24 hours in advance. Booking the day before is very difficult and usually sells out within minutes.
All reservations are made through the federal government website, recreation.gov. However, it’s almost impossible to get a reservation if you have a slow internet connection.
Even with a reservation system, people still have access to the park. That window of opportunity only shifts to early morning or late afternoon. I was able to.
The North Fork reservation system offered the same morning hours, but later extended to 6pm.
The reservation system is working as intended on Going-to-the-Sun Road. Authorities were trying to avoid the traffic jams the park saw in years like 2019, and the system has done just that, smoothing out visitor peaks and making it a more enjoyable experience for visitors with reservations. did.
The park has seen an explosion in visitor numbers over the past decade. The number of annual visitors he increased by 64% to about 3 million people.
Park officials at Thursday’s meeting touted a reservation system on the east side as a way to guarantee access to the valley.
They noted that both entrances are regularly closed during the summer months due to overcrowding.
Last summer, Two Medicine closed 22 times due to overcrowding, while Many Glacier closed 57 times.
At Many Glacier it took about 2.8 hours for the valley to reopen, compared to just under 2 hours at Two Medicine.
Summer 2023 has another wrinkle — construction.
Phil Wilson, Glacier’s chief of science and management, said road construction from Apgar to Lake McDonald Lodge will continue through the summer.
Roads have already been torn out as the park upgrades sewers, telephones and other utilities from the lodge to Apgar due to public utilities. The road itself will be rebuilt this summer.
Wilson said the park hopes to be able to complete the work in 2023.
