For the first time in years, summer visitors in 2026 will be able to drive personal vehicles into the Glacier National Park at any time of day without a reservation.

Officials implemented the vehicle reservation system in 2021 to reduce congestion along Going-to-the-Sun Road and U.S. 2 during peak summer visitation. While the vehicle reservation system succeeded in breaking up midday traffic, Superintendent Dave Roemer said it incentivized visitors to arrive at the park early in the morning.  

“We don’t think that people driving in the dark to get to Logan [Pass] is good for the park or good for the visitor,” he said, speaking at a Dec. 9 Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce meeting. “There’s wildlife on the road in those hours, and we don’t feel that you should have to get up at 4:30 in the morning to enjoy your day in the park.”  

Roemer said between 600 and 700 vehicles on average entered the park before 7 a.m. every day this past summer. With the vehicle reservation system rescinded, he hopes more visitors will arrive later in the day, when driving conditions are safer.  

Park officials plan to take a reactive approach to traffic congestion and shut down areas of the park that become overcrowded. Roemer said he did not anticipate any closures on Going-to-the-Sun Road, but warned that a handful of temporary shutdowns would likely occur in Two Medicine and Many Glacier. 

AT LOGAN Pass, officials plan to enforce a new three-hour parking limit on all personal vehicles. Roemer said that time frame mimics the average vehicle turnover rate at the popular Avalanche Lake Trailhead and allows enough time for most visitors to complete the 5-mile Hidden Lake Trail, which begins near Logan Pass Visitors Center. 

“If we could tune Logan Pass parking to a maximum of three hours, then the 270 or so spaces up there would turn over the same way that Avalanche does, and the public would have a reasonable chance of just arriving there and being able to park,” Roemer said. 

Officials are still discussing how to best enforce the new parking limitations, but Roemer suggested that gates might be installed at the entrance of the Logan Pass parking lot and that visitors would receive timed entry tickets through an automated kiosk. 

Hikers hoping to venture onto one of the area’s longer trails, such as the popular Highline Trail, will now need to secure a spot on one of the park’s shuttles. Unlike previous years, the shuttles will require a prior reservation and run what Roemer described as “an express route” to Logan Pass, beginning around 6 a.m.  

Through-hikers would still be able to hitch a ride back to Apgar or St. Mary from some locations, but shuttles will no longer stop at many of the most popular destinations on the west side of the park, including Avalanche Lake Trailhead. 

“We are going to change our shuttle service and really narrow the scope of what it does so they can be good at it rather than being fair to poor by trying to be an all-purpose people-mover,” said Roemer.   

He estimated that the park has capacity to shuttle about 1,000 people to Logan Pass each morning. Reservations for the shuttle system will be managed through recreation.gov. 

All aspects of the plan are still awaiting final approval. Roemer said the park intends to publish a detailed press release later this week. 

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at 758-4433 or [email protected].