Glacier National Park Vehicle Reservations Guide
Don’t be overwhelmed by the Glacier National Park reservations system!
Despite being a bit tricky to navigate, the current reservations system is required to access many must-see sections of the park at peak times, including the stunning Going-to-the-Sun Road.
But knowing which reservation you need to book for which park and at what times can be intimidating if you’ve never done it before.
In the guide below, you’ll find everything you need to successfully score reservations for your trip to Glacier National Park from details on the different sections of the park to tips on how to nab those elusive vehicle reservations.
A ranger at the West Glacier reservations checkpoint
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Why does Glacier need a reservation system in the first place?
The current Glacier National Park reservation system has been in place since 2021, though these change from year to year in response to feedback from previous years.
It might seem silly to require reservations in a national park—and one that has separate entrance fees, too.
But, if you’ve ever been to Glacier in peak season, you’ll quickly figure out that the number of visitors who want to explore the national park vastly outnumbers the current infrastructure.
This means that you’re fighting for parking at trailheads, waiting in long lines for food and souvenirs, and getting in traffic jams along Going-to-the-Sun Road.
In other words, a potentially magical trip to the Crown of the Continent turns into the national park equivalent of Disney World.
While the reservations system is annoying to figure out, it alleviates some of this stress by scattering visitors more evenly across the park and across different days.
There are still some pain points across the park during the summer months even with the reservations system (I’m looking at you, Avalanche Creek and Logan Pass), but, for the most part, the system does what it is intended to do with crowd control.
Reservations are NOT entrance fees
Keep in mind that your reservations for the park’s most popular areas are not the same thing as your entrance fees.
Yes, you’ll need to pay for your reservations (a nominal fee intended to cover administrative fees) to access the most popular parts of the park at certain times, but that is separate from the entrance fee to get into the park.
The reservation fee is paid online at the time of successfully getting your reservation, while the entrance fee can be paid in person at one of the entrance kiosks, online via a national park digital pass, or with an America the Beautiful pass.
Speaking of the entrance fee, I highly recommend that you get an America the Beautiful pass if you plan to go to more than 2 NPS site in one 12 month period. NPS sites aren’t just the national parks; they’re national battlefields, national memories, national historic sites, and national seashores.
We visit a bunch of NPS sites every year, and that America the Beautiful pass more than pays for itself in what we save.
What does a Glacier entrance pass get me?
Think of the entrance pass as general admission. It gets you into the park with access to 2 of the visitors centers, some of the shops and restaurants, some camping, and Lake McDonald.
Then, the reservation is like an upgrade, allowing you to navigate into those popular parts of the park where rangers need to manage the crowds.
You can still get into Glacier National Park in places with zero reservations and zero planning—just show up at the entrance station and pay your entrance fee or show your annual interagency pass.
However, if you do this, you need to go into the experience knowing that you may miss out on some of the best parts of the park depending on your time outlay and overall itinerary constraints. (There are some ways to get around the need for a reservation, so see more about that below.)
Explore all of the fun things to do with visiting Glacier National Park with kids with my comprehensive guide, including family friendly hikes, places to eat, accommodations, and more.
Glacier National Park Reservation Guide: Step-by-Step
Where you need a reservation
You will need a vehicle reservation to see these attractions in Glacier:
There are two specific areas that require reservations:
the North Fork area and
westbound Going-to-the-Sun Road.
North Fork is accessed by small roads that aren’t completely paved. There are hiking and camping opportunities in this part of the park, as well as the cute town of Polebridge just outside of the park’s boundaries where you can shop and eat huckleberry pie. (NOTE: if you just want to visit Polebridge, you don’t need a reservation for that, only if you’re going beyond that into the park’s tiny roads.)
Going-to-the-Sun Road is the only road the runs all of the way across the park from West Glacier/Apgar Village to St. Mary. It provides access to the incredible alpine areas of the park, waterfalls, overlooks, and many trails.
>> Read my complete guide to Going-to-the-Sun Road with suggested overlooks, driving tips, and more. <<
Keep in mind that you only need reservations for these areas if you’re visiting in peak times of the summer, usually mid-June to the end of September. Always check for the specific days each year on the NPS site for Glacier National Park.
If you plan to access either of these areas between 7 AM and 3 PM during the summer, you will need a reservation. If you show up to the park without one, you will be denied access to those areas by the rangers.
North Fork Road requires a vehicle reservation to access.
When you do NOT need a reservation
You don’t need a vehicle reservation to do any of these incredible things:
You will only need your entrance fee and NOT a reservation in these situations:
You are entering the park at any time of the day between the end of September and the middle of June (i.e. outside of peak season and in the fall, winter, or spring).
You plan to drive Going-to-the-Sun Road east-west starting at the St. Mary entrance at any time.
You plan to access Polebridge or westbound Going-to-the-Sun Road before 7 AM between mid-June and the end of September (aka peak season).
You plan to access Polebridge or westbound Going-to-the-Sun Road after 3 PM between mid-June and the end of September (peak season).
You plan to visit East Glacier and Two Medicine at any time.
You plan to visit Many Glacier at any time.
You are a tribal member and have unfettered access to the park.
You are a landowner within the park.
What’s New in 2025
This year, the reservations have changed slightly.
Last year, you needed a reservation for entering the restricted zones anytime between 6 AM and 3 PM. You didn’t need to go any more specific than that in the reservation process and just showed up between those times with your reservation in hand.
This year, they’ve changed it to a specific time slot between 7 AM and 3 PM. These time slots are a couple of hours long, so there’s still some flexibility there. This is in contrast to the 1-hour reservation time slots over at Arches National Park, which requires you adhere closely to your schedule.
You will be turned away if you show up outside of this time period, and you will not be able to enter the restricted areas until after the 3 PM cut off time.
How to get a Glacier National Park reservation
If you know you’ll be visiting either of those restricted areas from 7 AM to 3 PM in the summer, then you need to prepare to get a reservation.
There are 3 ways to procure a reservation, each of which have its own pros and cons, and instructions.
Option 1: 4 Months Ahead
The largest number of tickets are released 4 months ahead of the opening day of peak season, and then on a rolling basis for every day of the summer.
Typically, the reservations system kicks in June 15, which means you need to be ready to get tickets for that day on February 15 for those tickets. If you’re going June 16, be ready on February 16, and so on.
The tickets in this option are released at 8 AM MST, so be sure to account for your time zone. I’m over in EST, so I had to be at my computer at 10 AM EST to wait for the ticket release.
Since the largest chuck of daily tickets is handed out this way, you have the best chance of getting one, but you have to be prepared.
The tickets will sell out, usually in less than 15 minutes. The total number of tickets available via this distribution system is usually around 1200, and you’ll be able to see that number fall in real time as you work through the reservation. No pressure!
About 5 minutes before the reservation sales open up, go ahead and navigate to Recreation.gov’s page for Glacier National Park. If you do not have an account for Recreation.gov, go ahead and create one ahead of time so that you don’t lose out on precious check-out time later.
You will also want to have your license plate number on hand to enter it when prompted. If you know you’re going to be using a rental car (and, therefore, don’t know the license plate yet), there is an option in the drop down box to indicate that.
Have the page open and be logged in; at 1 minute until 8 AM MST, begin refreshing the page so that you’re able to access the reservations the moment they come up. Before the reservations go live, the page will read “No available times.”
As soon as you see that they are live, you will be able to access the calendar and select your needed date. You can only do one day at a time, so if you’re planning a multi-day trip to Glacier, you will need to go through this process each day you need reservation passes.
Select the date and time you would like to enter the park. Be prepared if your first choice of time has already been selected.
The time selection is new in 2025. Previously, you could enter any time between 6 AM and 3 PM if you had a pass; this year, the reservations are requiring both a specific day and a specific time block. These arrival time blocks are 2-3 hours each, so you still have some flexibility in your day once you’re on the ground.
You’ll likely get a warning on the site that says it’s experiencing heavy traffic. If it’s very heavy traffic, you’ll have to do this process again (and again). At the worst of times, you might have to select a day and time 6 or 7 times before the site frees up enough memory to allow you complete checkout.
If you did nab a ticket, check out as quickly as possible and do not leave your cart. Have your credit card on hand to pay the nominal fee. Your reservation pass will be emailed to you and will have a unique code on it.
Here’s a reel I made about the experience along with screenshots:
Note that a few things have changed slightly since I recorded this video (see updates for 2025, above, for details.
Option 2: 1 Day Ahead
If you didn’t get a ticket in the rolling 4-months-in-advance situation, you’ll have to try another option.
Glacier does hold back some tickets for those with late minute plans to visit the park and those who couldn’t get tickets before.
These are released on Recreation.gov at 7 PM MST the day before you’d arrive in the park, beginning with arrivals on June 15. So, those needing a ticket for June 15 would have to wait until June 14 at 7 PM. Those needing a ticket on June 16 would need to wait until June 15 at 7 PM, and so on.
I’m too much of a planner to only rely on this option—plus, it takes considerable time and effort for us to come from South Carolina all the way to Montana, so I’m not leaving that big decision until the night before.
But, if you’re a fly-by-the-seat of your pants kind of traveler or only kind of care about doing the busier parts of Glacier, know that this option is available.
Option 3: Book a commercial activity.
You can skip the stressful reservation process entirely, but you’re going to need to pay for that opportunity in the form of an in-park commercial activity.
If you book a camping spot at Sprague Creek Campground or Avalanche Creek campground, you can show that reservation in lieu of a reservation pass to get onto Going-to-the-Sun Road from the west side. (NOTE: these spots go very quickly, too!)
If you have certain boating tours, guided tours, or other paid commercial activity between Apgar Village and Logan Pass, that will qualify.
Camping or staying in a hotel in Apgar Village, paddle board or boat rentals in Apgar Village or Jammer tours from Apgar DO NOT qualify. Your paid activity must be beyond the ranger checkpoints outside of Apgar.
For example, the boat tour for Lake McDonald Lodge or reservations at the hike-in Granite Park Chalet would both include a pass to get in.
Reservation Tips on the Day of Your Visit
When you get to the park, you’ll pay your entrance fee and then head to the reservation check area. There will be rangers waiting there for you, and they will scan each and every one of the reservations to ensure that you have a valid pass for that day.
I highly recommend that you have your reservation pass either printed out or have a screenshot of it as the cell reception is dicey in most of Glacier National Park.
You don’t want to wait in line to go through the ranger check area only to find out that you can’t pull up that email with the reservation information.
If you don’t have the correct information at hand, you’ll be directed out of the ranger check line and back to an area of the park that doesn’t require a reservation. If you decide not to cooperate (or try to make a break for it), there is a law enforcement ranger on duty next to the rangers who are checking you in.
Be nice to those rangers as they have to deal with hundreds of questions and complaints throughout the day. If you are mistaken about your reservation or have misplaced it, ask them for help.
One day when we were visiting, I pulled up one of my boat and hiking reservations for Many Glacier instead of my West Glacier Going-to-the-Sun reservation pass, and the ranger was incredibly patient with me.
He had us pull off to the side near Apgar visitors center so I could find the right one, but we ended up having to drive out to the West entrance station because the cell service was so bad!
I was able to find the correct email at that point and then return to show him the proper pass.
We got the same ranger again (there are often 2 or 3 out to check multiple vehicles simultaneously), and he was happy that we had the right pass in hand.
Moral of that story: be prepared, but be polite if something goes wrong.
It’s the Day of My Visit and I Don’t Have a Reservation. Help!
If you are visiting during peak season and you DO NOT have reservations—either because they sold out or you’re making a spontaneous trip to the park—you should either:
visit Going-to-the-Sun Road via the St. Mary entrance,
go to Many Glacier or Two Medicine (which are truly incredible parts of the park that are far less crowded than the reservation areas!), or
wait until after 3 PM to enter via West Glacier. During the summer, you’ll still have plenty of light to explore some of the shorter trails, stop at overlooks along Going-to-the-Sun Road or wander through the park.
Other Things to Be Aware of with the Reservations
There are so many things to consider with these reservations, which can be difficult to remember.
For example, if you enter via the St. Mary entrance of Going-to-the-Sun (which doesn’t need a reservation), but travel beyond the ranger checkpoint over in Apgar in West Glacier, you’ll need a reservation to re-enter Going-to-the-Sun Road before 3 PM.
If you book camping, accommodations, or tour reservations for in the park, be sure to read those details very carefully to see if they are eligible for double duty as your vehicle reservation. The camping, accommodations, or tour reservations should state clearly if they work as a vehicle reservation or not.
If you have any doubt about whether you have the right documentation to access a needed section of the park, please reach out to the park at 406-888-7800.
