Glacier National Park Tours and Tickets

Considering the main road through the park, Going-to-the-Sun Road, is usually closed from September into June, you’ll likely want to come in summer, when the entire road is open and you can see all the park’s best areas. If you can time it correctly, try to come right when the road opens or right before it closes to avoid the biggest crowds.

How many days you need at Glacier National Park depends on what you want to do. If you simply want to drive Going-to-the-Sun Road and hit the most scenic spots, 1–2 days will suffice. But if you want to trek a few trails, take in the classic park architecture, and experience Glacier’s varied landscapes across its distinct sections, aim for 3+ days.

There are loads of guided tour options for Glacier National Park visitors: A fleet of historic red buses (aka jammers) run between several park lodges; Sun Tours, a Blackfeet-owned company, runs bus tours with an Indigenous perspective. Then there are boat tours, hiking tours, horseback tours, rafting tours, and ranger-led tours as well.

Many visitors will make sure they drive all of Going-to-the-Sun Road, the ridiculously scenic drag that crosses the park—from here, make stops at Lake McDonald, the Logan Pass Visitor Center, Jackson Glacier, and anywhere else that strikes you. You might also want to see (or dine at) Glacier Park Lodge, an absolute icon built by the Great Northern Railway.

While you don’t need reservations to get into Glacier National Park, you do need vehicle reservations to access the most popular areas: Going-to-the-Sun Road, North Fork, Two Medicine, and Many Glacier. Considering Going-to-the-Sun Road is the main drag across the park, a vehicle reservation is essential for most visitors. Reservations can be made online at recreation.gov.

To enter Glacier National Park in your own private vehicle, you can purchase a 7-day pass for $35 at the park entrance ($25 from November 1 to April 30). Individuals are $20; motorcycles are $30. Certain popular areas of the park require additional reservations to access; those can be made online for “free,” though there’s a $2 processing fee.