Will Glacier National Park Open Its East Entrances This Season?
This summer, I finally made it out to Glacier National Park. Ever since I moved to Montana in 2018, that's what people kept telling was the thing I had to do, and man, it was worth it - an absolutely beautiful place, gorgeous scenery all around, we had a blast.
But there were also a lot of people there.
And that's to be expected - it's one of the most popular tourist destinations in Montana. But during a normal year, Glacier National Park has several entrances open on all sides, which helps with congestion and has people exploring different parts of the park so they're not all piled on top of each other.
As you may be aware, 2020 was NOT a normal year - COVID forced Glacier to close their eastern entrances for the summer, which basically eliminated about half of the entry points to get into the park. That means getting in can be kind of a nightmare, and even once you're in, the most popular parts of the park are likely already packed.
It's also been significantly affecting a lot of business owners over by the east entrances, who saw a huge decrease in business this year with less tourists on that side of the park. One business owner even said that if those entrances are closed for another season, a lot of those businesses will die out.
Glacier National Park officials plan to hold weekly meetings with business owners and the Blackfeet Tribe, whose reservation houses the eastern entrances to the park. Hopefully we'll know more about what's going on soon.
Do you think the time is right for Glacier National Park to open up its east entrances?