Glacier Park to provide limited access to Many Glacier during 2025 Swiftcurrent construction

Yesterday, park officials announced that due to extremely limited parking during construction in the Swiftcurrent area, the park will restrict personal vehicle access into Many Glacier and provide a temporary shuttle service for hikers to access Many Glacier and Swiftcurrent from July 1, 2025, to September 21, 2025.

Construction began in the fall of 2024 and will continue through mid-May 2026. The project will replace the water system at the Swiftcurrent developed area. Most of the infrastructure providing water to the area was originally installed in the 1960s. The project will also rehabilitate the road, including pavement and drainage improvements, between the Many Glacier Hotel intersection and the Swiftcurrent developed area, and address parking concerns and pedestrian safety. The construction area is closed to vehicles, bikes, and foot traffic. As a result of the construction, about half of the parking in the Many Glacier Valley will not be available.

“We chose to keep Many Glacier open during construction, with mitigations, after taking public comment on this project in July 2023,” said Glacier National Park Superintendent Dave Roemer. “There was a lot of support for keeping the valley open and available for hiking, despite the limited parking capacity. The hiker shuttle service will be available to around 120 groups per day, limited by parking, and only available to reserve on short notice, either one week before or the night before at 7p.m.”

This temporary hiker shuttle service, accessed through a ticket purchased on Recreation.gov, is not part of the vehicle reservation system that the park has been piloting since 2021, but a temporary solution for day hikers to access Many Glacier Valley during construction.

There will be no general public entrance into Many Glacier between July 1 and September 21, 2025, without a shuttle ticket, or commercial service or lodging reservation. A gate will be in use at the fee booth to restrict overnight access and limit parking in the valley to reservation holders.

In 2025, the Many Glacier Hotel, Swan Mountain Outfitters and Glacier Park Boat Company will operate as usual. Visitors with a lodging reservation will be provided access details with their lodging reservation confirmation. Visitors with horseback and boating reservations can drive into the valley by showing their reservation confirmation at the park entrance during hours when the entrance is staffed. The only parking available during the closure will be at Many Glacier Hotel, and will be set aside for visitors with lodging, horseback riding and boating reservations between July 1 and September 21, 2025.

To use the hiker shuttle service, hikers will need to obtain one shuttle ticket from Recreation.gov for their party to board the shuttle. Hikers with a shuttle ticket will park at one of several designated pull-outs, transformed into temporary parking lots, along the Many Glacier Road. Hikers will board the shuttle from their parking location for a 15–30-minute ride to Many Glacier Hotel.

A valid park entry pass is also required for each party boarding the shuttle. These passes could include any of the following: a $35 vehicle entrance pass, good for seven days; a valid Interagency Annual/Lifetime Pass; or a Glacier National Park Annual Pass. Shuttles will stop near the Many Glacier Entrance station where park entry passes will be validated prior to entry.

Access to all trails will begin at the Many Glacier Hotel upper parking lot, with maps and signs indicating detours around the construction zone. Hikers should be aware that detours may add up to an extra mile each way to hiking distances.

Shuttle tickets will be available seven days in advance each morning at 8 a.m., starting on June 24, and at 7 p.m. the night before entry, starting on June 30. Tickets will be limited and determined by shuttle and parking capacity. Time blocks for shuttle boarding and details on the daily shuttle service will be announced in late spring.

Shuttle tickets will be scanned when hikers board the shuttles. Hikers without a shuttle ticket will not be permitted to ride the shuttle. Parking areas will be reserved for ticketed shuttle riders only, and parking will only be allowed at designated parking locations. Only one shuttle ticket is required per vehicle and will admit all members of the party included in the vehicle. No overnight parking will be permitted in the parking areas intended for ticketed shuttle riders.

The park is offering timed shuttle tickets to avoid hikers waiting for long periods of time for the shuttle in the dustiest part of the road. Visitors without a shuttle ticket, or commercial service or lodging reservation, are encouraged not to drive into the valley past Babb, since there will be no parking and additional traffic will cause congestion and dust.

With no available general parking, hiking and biking will not be allowed on the Many Glacier Road between July 1 and September 21.

Pursuant to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978, tribal members will have access to enter Many Glacier Valley during all hours when the entrance is staffed.

Prior to July 1 and after September 21, entrance to Many Glacier is accessible without a shuttle ticket or commercial service or lodging reservation. However, because parking is limited to the Many Glacier Hotel parking lot, capacity will be reached quickly, and daily temporary access restrictions are expected. Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, Many Glacier Campground, and all trailhead parking in the Swiftcurrent area will be closed through mid-May 2026. All waters in the Many Glacier Valley will be closed to private personal watercraft the entire 2025 season.



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Glacier National Park preserves more than a million acres of some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth. With more than 740 miles of trails meandering throughout this vast park, how will you find and choose the most scenic and rewarding hikes?

Exploring Glacier National Park takes all the guesswork out by focusing on the most amazing hikes, and provides you with handpicked recommendations that will allow you to make the most of your trip to Glacier:

Glacier National Park: A Day Hikers Overview

Encompassing more than a million acres, Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana is home to some of the most beautiful alpine meadows, lakes, pristine forests, rugged peaks and glacially-carved valleys in the world. Its diverse habitats support nearly 70 species of mammals, including grizzly bears, black bears, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, moose, wolverines, gray wolves and mountain lions. With more than 740 miles of trails leading to some of the most spectacular scenery on the planet, Glacier is also a hiker's paradise.

Considering its massive size, most people divide the park into sections in order to focus on one or two areas at a time. The four most popular areas in the park are West Glacier and Lake McDonald, Two Medicine, Logan Pass, and Many Glacier. The following are a few suggestions for day hikes in each of these areas.


Two Medicine:

Although not quite as popular as some of the other areas in Glacier, the Two Medicine Valley in the southeast corner of the park still offers some incredibly beautiful scenery. One of the best hikes in this area leads to Scenic Point. This rock outcropping, which sits above an alpine tundra meadow, offers panoramic views of much of the entire Two Medicine Valley. On a clear day you can even see the Sweet Grass Hills rising above the Great Plains roughly 90 miles away!

The most well-known backcountry hike in the Two Medicine area is Dawson Pass. Although this route usually gets most of the attention, I think the views from Pitamakan Pass are much more dramatic. From the knife-edge ridge you can see five cobalt-blue lakes on either side of the divide. Can’t decide on which one to hike? The two passes can be combined to create one epic day on the trail.


Many Glacier:

One of the most popular destinations in the park is Many Glacier. Classic hikes such as Iceberg Lake and Grinnell Glacier get most of the attention; however, there are two other destinations that shouldn’t be overlooked, especially if you’re seeking a degree of solitude in this stunning valley.

One of these is Ptarmigan Tunnel. The highlight of this hike is passing through a 240-foot tunnel that was cut through Ptarmigan Wall. The tunnel was built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 1930's so that visitors on horseback could pass over into the remote Belly River area. After hiking all day in the Many Glacier Valley, walking through the tunnel and emerging on the other side is like passing into another world. The views from the opposite end are simply stunning.

The other destination, Cracker Lake, has to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. It has the most beautiful turquoise color you could ever imagine. If it were possible to ignore the magnificent scenery of the surrounding mountains, it would still be well worth the 12.6-mile roundtrip hike to see the amazing color of this lake. Cracker Lake’s deep shade of turquoise is the result of light refraction through its suspended load of glacial silt.


West Glacier / Lake McDonald:

For more than a century one of the things that has made hiking in Glacier unique are its two Swiss-style backcountry chalets: Granite Park and Sperry. The Granite Park Chalet can be reached by taking the epic Highline Trail from Logan Pass, or by making the 4.2-mile climb from The Loop area on the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Although the historic dormitory building at Sperry Chalet was severely burned during the summer of 2017, the outer stone structure survived. Fortunately for all, the chalet was rebuilt, and reopened for the 2020 season. The 6.1-mile hike from the Lake McDonald Lodge to the chalet passes through Glacier Basin where hikers will enjoy views of several waterfalls flowing hundreds of feet down the cliff walls that surround the alpine meadow. Day hikers may also want to note that the dining room is open for hot lunches during the summer season.

From that same trailhead is the hike that leads to the historic Mt. Brown Fire Lookout. The trail climbs 4250 feet in only 5 miles, making it one of the toughest day hikes in the park. The elevation gain is similar to the amount gained on many of the trails leading to the summits of 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado. However, at a much lower elevation, hikers will have far more oxygen to breathe. From the lookout the views into the heart of Glacier are simply amazing.

For a much easier hike, but one that still includes the stunning scenery that Glacier is famous for, be sure to check out Avalanche Lake.


Logan Pass:

To see the best of what Glacier National Park has to offer you have to go deep into the high country. One of the most popular hikes in the park is the Highline Trail. In fact, this world famous hike should be on the bucket list of every self-respecting hiker! The views, the wildlife and the wildflowers, all combine to make this a hike you'll remember the rest of your life. From Logan Pass, high adventure awaits from the start. Just beyond the trailhead hikers will arrive at the famous ledge with

the reputation for terrifying those with a fear of heights. In most places the ledge, hanging like a shelf, is only six to eight feet in width, and has sheer drop-offs of roughly one hundred feet or more. Fortunately, the park has installed a hand cable along this stretch of the trail. My advice is to not let this deter you, as this is one of the most scenic trails in America. Almost 99% of the Highline passes through open country, so there's never any dull scenery on this hike. The trail is also famous for wildlife, especially bighorn sheep and mountain goats, which are frequently seen just off the side of the trail. Hikers will have the choice of taking the moderate hike to Haystack Pass, or the extremely strenuous hike up to an overlook along the crest of the Continental Divide which offers stunning views of Grinnell Glacier, some one thousand feet below. This just might be the best view in the park.

Just a notch below the Highline Trail on the “awesome meter”, but far less crowded, is Piegan Pass. The trail offers mind-blowing views of mountains, glaciers, alpine meadows and an up-close view of the Garden Wall, a glacially-carved arête that marks the Continental Divide. Near Piegan Pass, and one of my absolute favorite areas in Glacier, is Preston Park. In the early summer, after the snow finally melts, this incredibly beautiful alpine meadow becomes a carpet of wildflowers.

For more information on all these hikes, and many others throughout the park, please visit HikinginGlacier.com.



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Glacier National Park preserves more than a million acres of some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth. With more than 740 miles of trails meandering throughout this vast park, how will you find and choose the most scenic and rewarding hikes?

Exploring Glacier National Park takes all the guesswork out by focusing on the most amazing hikes, and provides you with handpicked recommendations that will allow you to make the most of your trip to Glacier:

Public comment period now open to develop Flathead National Forest’s Comprehensive River Management Plan; Public informational sessions announced for January 2025

The Flathead National Forest is developing a Comprehensive River Management Plan for the three forks of the designated Wild and Scenic Flathead River. The Forest has released a proposed action document that describes draft river management components, available for public review on the project webpage: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/flathead/?project=56536

The proposed action document outlines desired conditions, as well as indicators that will be monitored throughout the life of the plan, to protect and preserve outstandingly remarkable values of the three forks of the Flathead River System. The proposed action document describes user capacity, proposed management actions and monitoring indicators, and identifies upper thresholds of use for the different river segments that would trigger additional management actions needed to protect Wild and Scenic River values into the future.

The draft river management plan is still being developed and will be modified throughout the NEPA analysis process. Public input on the proposed action will be considered and influence the environmental analysis. A draft of the Comprehensive River Management Plan is expected to be released in summer of 2025, accompanied by the environmental analysis document. At that time there will be an additional 30-day public comment period.

Wild and Scenic River management plans protect and enhance the outstandingly remarkable values identified in Wild and Scenic designation. Management of the three forks of the Flathead is currently directed by the 1980 Flathead Wild and Scenic River Management Plan and the 1986 Recreation Management Direction.

The Comprehensive River Management Plan project will revise the 1980 Plan and bring it into compliance with the statutory requirements of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The plan will reflect and account for the changes that have occurred since the Wild and Scenic designation, including visitor use patterns, environmental conditions, Endangered Species Act species listing, and other laws that affect resources within the Wild and Scenic River corridor. The plan will provide direction towards meeting and maintaining desired conditions, as well as monitoring indicators, triggers, and thresholds for adjustment to management of the Flathead Wild and Scenic River into the future.

Two opportunities to join us for an information session on developing the revised Comprehensive River Management Plan:

Tuesday January 21 at 6pm – 8pm
Wednesday January 22 at 6pm – 8pm
Flathead Valley Community College, Arts and Technology building, room 130 (AT-130)

Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park will provide background on river management, information on the development of the Comprehensive River Management Plan, history of the three forks, and Wild and Scenic designation. Both information sessions will be open house format with information stations staffed by members of the planning team available to answer specific questions. The sessions will start with a brief presentation with an option for virtual attendance.

How to submit comments on the project:

This public comment period will be open for 30 days, concluding February 7, 2025. Comments including attachments may be submitted electronically at https://cara.fs2c.usda.gov/Public/CommentInput?project=56536

Written comments may be mailed, or hand delivered Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays, to the Hungry Horse-Glacier View Ranger Station (PO Box 190340, 10 Hungry Horse Drive, Hungry Horse, MT, 59919) or to the Forest Supervisors Office, (650 Wolf Pack Way, Kalispell, MT 59901).

To join the email list and receive notification of future public engagement opportunities, visit the project webpage above and click “Subscribe to Email Updates” on the right sidebar menu under “Get Connected”.

Additional information on the Comprehensive River Management Plan and the development of the plan to date can be found at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/flathead/home/?cid=fseprd573051



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Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Interior Department Announces Permanent Protections for Critical Land and Wildlife Migration Corridor in Grand Teton National Park

The Department of the Interior today announced the purchase from the State of Wyoming and permanent protection of the 640-acre Kelly parcel, a picturesque landscape known for mountain views and world-class wildlife habitat within Grand Teton National Park.

The parcel, which was state school trust land, had been the largest remaining piece of unprotected land within the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park. The permanent conservation of this square mile maintains essential connectivity for wildlife in the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem—one of the last remaining, nearly intact temperate ecosystems on the planet.

“Today marks an incredible milestone, decades in the making, to permanently protect an essential wildlife migration corridor and treasured landscape within Grand Teton National Park,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “This will benefit our public lands and Wyoming’s public school students for generations to come.”

In 2023, more than 10,000 people from across Wyoming and the United States participated in a public comment process related to the potential sale of the Kelly parcel, overwhelmingly supporting its conservation for wildlife, public enjoyment, and strengthening Wyoming’s economy. In 2023, visitors to Grand Teton National Park contributed $936 million and supported 9,370 jobs in gateway economies.

The $100 million sale to preserve the Kelly parcel was made possible through an Interior Department and National Park Service (NPS) public-private partnership with the Grand Teton National Park Foundation and additional support from the National Park Foundation. The Department invested $62.4 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) paired with $37.6 million in private donations raised by Grand Teton National Park Foundation. All $100 million from the sale will directly benefit Wyoming’s public education system.

At no cost to taxpayers, the LWCF, which was created by Congress in 1964 and is administered by the NPS, supports increased public access to and protection for federal public lands and waters, and provides grants to state governments for the acquisition and development of public parks and other outdoor recreation sites. LWCF was fully funded by the Great American Outdoors Act.

Located within a key migration corridor for pronghorn, elk, and mule deer, the Kelly parcel provides critical wildlife habitat and extraordinary open space. Grand Teton National Park anchors this unique landscape, connecting Yellowstone National Park with the Bridger-Teton and Caribou-Targhee national forests, including the Upper Green River Valley and the Wind River, Gros Ventre, and Wyoming Range mountains. The parcel is the starting point for the Path of the Pronghorn—the longest land migration in the lower 48 states—and is a critical link to mule deer migration corridors that stretch to public, private and Tribal lands hundreds of miles away.

Today’s closing on the Kelly parcel completes an effort that spanned decades to exchange, trade or sell the state-owned school trust land within Grand Teton National Park. A Wyoming constitutional mandate requires that school trust lands, created at statehood in 1890, must generate income for the common school trust. Since the late 1990s, Wyoming’s congressional delegation, governor and state legislature have worked to resolve this inholding challenge. The late U.S. Senator Craig Thomas passed legislation in 2003 to authorize exchanges, sales or trades that would compensate the State of Wyoming for the Grand Teton school section inholdings. The second to last school section in the park, known as Antelope Flats, was purchased by the NPS in 2016 for $46 million, which was made possible by $23 million in philanthropic support raised by Grand Teton National Park Foundation and the National Park Foundation that matched $23 million from the LWCF.

Montana First Day Hikes 2025

Kick off the New Year with a First Day Hike at a state park near you. On Jan. 1, Montana State Parks will host First Day Hikes across the state. Being immersed in nature is a great way to improve your mental health and physical wellbeing. These fun and informative hikes are open to all ages and are family friendly.  

Hikers should wear weather-appropriate clothing, bring a water bottle and ice cleats or snowshoes if the trail conditions are snowy or icy. First Day Hike participants are encouraged to share their adventures on social media with #FirstDayHikes. For more information, visit https://fwp.mt.gov/stateparks/first-day-hikes. Out-of-state vehicles are subject to an $8 entrance fee.  

First Day Hikes is an annual, nationwide special event co-sponsored by America's State Parks, which originated more than 26 years ago at the Blue Hills Reservation – a state park in Milton, Mass. All 50 states will be participating in the annual national event that encourages everyone to celebrate the New Year with guided outdoor exploration. 



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Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com