Glacier visitation down overall

With half of Glacier National Park closed due to COVID-19, visitation is down sharply over last year, with one exception — Polebridge.

The entrance at the north end of the park is way up over last year — by a whopping 46%, according to preliminary figures.

In July, the Polebridge entrance saw 35,652 visitors. Last year it saw 24,435. Year-to-date, even with Glacier being closed for more than two months, Polebridge had 49,401 visitors.

The east side of Glacier is closed because the Blackfeet Tribe has restricted all non-essential travel on the reservation.

Overall, park visitation is down 48.4 percent over last July, with 453,977 visitors. Last year there were just under 880,000 visitors for the month of July.

The west entrance was down in July, but not as much as one might expect, with 339,454 visitors. Last year was 410,135 in July, a 17 percent drop.

Year-to-date, Glacier has seen 712,727 visitors, which is a drop of 57.5 percent.

With all but one auto campground closed, most backcountry campgrounds closed and the Many Glacier Hotel closed, overnight stays are also down sharply. Overnight stays were down 77% in July and 83.5% for the year.

The park saw about 29,080 overnight stays in July; last year it saw 127,631 stays.

Glacier was closed completely in April and May due to COVID-19 concerns.