Glacier National Park
Montana Est. 1910

Glacier National Park

Mountains Glacier Lake Forest
Plan a visit Check conditions
Established
1910
Size
1,013,572 acres
Visitors / yr
3.1M
Entrance
$35
Best season
July through September
Nearest airport
FCA Glacier Park International
Information: Two Medicine North Shore Trailhead Reroute +1 more Details Wildfire Tracker
01

Why Glacier is worth the trip

Montana · Established 1910

They call it the Crown of the Continent, and for once the nickname undersells the place. Glacier National Park sits on 1,013,572 acres of northwestern Montana where the Northern Rockies make their last violent stand before the Great Plains flatten everything east to the horizon. The mountains here look unfinished. Aretes so sharp they could cut paper. Cirques scooped out like someone took an ice cream scoop to granite. Waterfalls pour off every hanging valley in July, fed by snowpack that can top 80 feet on Logan Pass in heavy years.

This is not a polished landscape. It is not Yosemite's clean granite or the Grand Canyon's orderly layers. Glacier is raw, crumbling, and actively reshaping itself. Rockslides close trails every summer. Glacial flour turns entire lakes the color of antifreeze. The weather can swing 40 degrees in an afternoon. That roughness is exactly what makes it feel more alive than almost any park in the system.

Start with our full Glacier guide, then use the planning below.

02

Top things to do in Glacier

Where we would start, and what we would plan a day around. Read the full guide.

Glacier National Park
Start here

15 Things to Do in Glacier National Park

Read the guide
01 Listen to Glacier's Podcast Guided Tours · nps.gov Listen to Glacier's Podcast Rangers recommend Glacier's podcast, Headwaters: a podcast about how Glacier is connected to everything else! 02 Red Foxes Wildlife Watching · nps.gov Red Foxes Red foxes are found throughout the northern hemisphere. In Glacier, they are adapted to a wide range of habitats, from open grasslands to dense... 03 Bighorn Sheep Wildlife Watching · nps.gov Bighorn Sheep Bighorn sheep live in a variety of habitats throughout the year. During the summer, they can be found in meadows, fellfields, and on mid-elevation... 04 Gray Wolves Wildlife Watching · nps.gov Gray Wolves The subspecies of gray wolves (Canis lupus) found in Glacier is called the northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf (C. l. irremotus). There are three...
03

Best hikes in Glacier

The trails that define the park, with the distance and elevation numbers that decide your day.

1 Swiftcurrent Pass Up the Swiftcurrent valley, with the park's highest maintained lookout spur. 2 Siyeh Pass Trail Climb to the saddle of Mount Siyeh for the view. 3 Ptarmigan Tunnel Walk through a 1930s tunnel, typically open July through September. 4 Pitamakan and Dawson Pass A demanding 17.2 mile loop from Two Medicine Lake. 5 Iceberg Lake A glacial lake so cold icebergs float in it year round. 6 Highline Trail Our overall pick, along the Continental Divide from Logan Pass.
All Glacier hikes
Before you go

Get the Glacier heads-up

Permit windows, closures and seasonal alerts, plus our best Glacier guides, in your inbox before you go. Free, no spam.

Planning day by day? The Perfect Glacier National Park Itinerary
04

Plan your trip

Our guides for the big decisions, plus the gear, maps and lodging we would actually use for Glacier.

Things to Do Best Hikes When to Visit Itinerary

Where to stay

Gateway towns with lodging, food and outfitters.

  • West Glacier, MTGateway town
  • East Glacier Park, MTGateway town
  • St. Mary, MTGateway town
  • Apgar Campground 194 sites · Reserve
  • Avalanche Campground 87 sites · Reserve
Compare stays near Glacier

Maps & guides

Carry paper. Cell service dies fast inside most parks.

Glacier Trails Illustrated map
Waterproof National Geographic topo of the park.
View on Amazon
Glacier field guide
Trail-by-trail detail and planning help in print.
View on Amazon
America the Beautiful pass
$80 a year. Covers entrance fees at more than 2,000 federal recreation sites.
Get the pass

What to bring

Field-tested picks we bring on park trips.

  • Bear Spray
    Required carry in grizzly country. Practice the quick-draw before you need it. View on REI
  • Trekking Poles
    Save your knees on steep descents and river crossings. View on REI
  • Rain Jacket
    Mountain weather turns fast. Pack a shell even on clear mornings. View on REI
  • Fleece Jacket
    Mid-layer warmth for alpine mornings and evening campfires. View on REI

Getting there

  • FCA Glacier Park International 30 mi
  • GTF Great Falls International 150 mi
  • MSO Missoula International 155 mi
NPS Official Page Reservations Google Maps

Some links in this section are affiliate links. If you book or buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend what we would use ourselves.

Glacier map

VC Visitor Center CG Campground Nearby Park
05

When to go

Read our seasonal guide
Loading weather...

Month-by-Month Conditions

Tap any month for details

Month
High
Low
Crowds
Roads
Jan
29°
14°
Low
Closed
Feb
34°
17°
Low
Closed
Mar
41°
22°
Low
Closed
Apr
52°
30°
Low
Closed
May
62°
37°
Moderate
Partial
Jun
70°
43°
Peak
Partial
Jul Best
80°
48°
Peak
Open
Aug Best
79°
47°
Peak
Open
Sep Best
67°
39°
Peak
Open
Oct
52°
30°
Light
Partial
Nov
36°
22°
Low
Closed
Dec
28°
14°
Low
Closed
Best months to visit Crowd level (low to peak)

Seasonal Road Openings

Seasonal Road Tracker

Typical opening windows, the last few years of actual open dates, and current status pulled live from the National Park Service where available.

Going-to-the-Sun Road

Glacier National Park
Current status · live from NPSGoing-to-the-Sun Road is Open for 2026 SeasonThe Going-to-the-Sun Road is fully open for the 2026 summer season. The road may now be accessed by motorized vehicles over Logan Pass from both the West Glacier and St. Mary Entrances.NPS road conditions
Typical opening windowMid-June to early July
Fall closureThe alpine section closes for winter in mid-October, often after a run of temporary weather closures in early October.
Recent full-open dates
YearOpenedSource
2025June 16NPS official
2024June 22NPS official
2023June 13NPS-sourced
2022July 13NPS official
2021June 25NPS official
2020July 13NPS official
2019June 22NPS official
Sources NPS opening & closing dates list·NPS 2025 season release·NPS 2024 season release
06

More Glacier guides

07

Parks near Glacier

Within reach if you are building a longer trip.

Yellowstone National Park
Wyoming

Yellowstone

336 miles away
North Cascades National Park
Washington

North Cascades

338 miles away
Grand Teton National Park
Wyoming

Grand Teton

374 miles away
Mount Rainier National Park
Washington

Mount Rainier

390 miles away

Worth protecting

Glacier belongs to all of us

Protections that took generations to win can be rolled back in a single session of Congress. We keep watch so they hold.

See what's at stake Join the fight for Montana

Threatened Lands Map

Follow what's happening on federal lands across the country with our interactive map.

View the Tracker
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