Glacier National Park will break all-time visitation mark

With October numbers yet to be released, Glacier National Park will break its all-time visitation record previously set in 2017.

Through September, Glacier saw 3.294 million people, an increase of 11% over last year. The September figures were released last week.

Last October saw more than 125,000 visitors, and this year with good weather most of the month, will also see close to that, putting the overall numbers well over the record 3.305 million set in 2017. 

Visitation this year was up in most locations except for Two Medicine, where access was limited due to construction in the valley.

There were a few reductions, however. For people willing to walk, backcountry stays in September were down 24.6% over last year, with 5,901 visitors.

Backcountry use is a hard number, not an estimate, as people have to get a permit to camp in the backcountry legally.

All told for the year, backcountry stays were down 10%, which is interesting considering the park during the summer months had good weather overall and no large wildfires. Heavy rains in June though did damage some trails and close some backcountry camps as a result for a few weeks in some cases, which may have had an impact on numbers.

But the surge in overall visitation was not entirely unexpected. For the first time since 2020, Glacier did not have a reservation system for entry. The park had previously instituted some sort of reservation system since 2021.

The Park Service did, however, put a 3-hour parking restriction this year at Logan Pass and instead offered an express shuttle system to the pass. People needed a reservation to get get a seat and they went quickly, as it was the only way to hike the Highline Trail to Granite Park Chalet, save for hitchhiking to Logan Pass.

Without reservations, there were often long lines to get into the park, but Superintendent David Roemer said that once people got in, traffic moved fairly smoothly.

In the long term, Glacier plans on putting more parking at Apgar and St. Mary and bolstering its shuttle fleet. The idea is that more people will take the shuttle to access key trailheads along the Going-to-the-Sun Road.