Glacier Park open for summer tourist season

Glacier National Park is rolling out the welcome mat at many of its campsites as tourist season kicks off this weekend.

Plowing crews on the east and west sides of the Big Drift — where snow depths piled up to 70 feet over the winter — will meet in the middle before public vehicles gain access to Logan Pass from the west side. 

Motorists on the west side can drive as far as the Avalanche Lake trailhead, 15.5 miles up the road. Over the holiday weekend, hikers and bicyclists will have unlimited access from Avalanche toward Logan Pass.

Park spokeswoman Denise Germann said she does not anticipate vehicle access to Logan Pass for at least two weeks after the Big Drift is plowed.

Additional preparations are also underway at the Logan Pass parking lot, with crews continuing to clear snow, install guardrails and clean up debris. Germann said Thursday the west-side crew is currently pioneering the drift, cutting through the top layers of snow until plows can safely begin working from the east as well.

The east side of Going-to-the-Sun Road will not open to motorists until June 19 at the earliest because of construction between Siyeh Bend and St. Mary.

This weekend is the only chance that hikers and bicyclists will be able to venture up the east side of the road, with road rehabilitation crews working seven days per week beginning Tuesday.

Although the alpine section of Going-to-the-Sun Road is closed to vehicles, most other Glacier Park roads — Camas, Chief Mountain, Many Glacier and Two Medicine plus part of the Inside North Fork Road — are open.

Most campgrounds in the park are available on a first-come, first-served basis, with the exceptions of Fish Creek and St. Mary. Reservations can be made at www.recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777.

Apgar Campground’s 200 camping sites will be open for tents and RV campers. Potable water is accessible, as are restroom facilities. All sites at Apgar cost $20 per night.

Campgrounds in primitive status cost $10 per night. Pit toilets are available, but water must be either brought or obtained from streams, requiring treatment before use.

Hiker and bicyclist sites are available at Apgar, Many Glacier, Rising Sun, Sprague Creek and Two Medicine campgrounds for $5 per person per night, and at Fish Creek and St. Mary for $8. The Bowman Lake Campground is also open.

Specific information about each campground, including a map of the sites, operating dates, current and historic fill times and available services, visit home.nps.gov/applications/glac/cgstatus/cgstatus.cfm.