WEST GLACIER, Mont. [March 6, 2024] – Glacier National Park was in the top 15 most visited national parks in 2023, hosting 2,933,616 recreation visits for the year.
Recreational visits were up 0.9% from 2022 representing the 6th busiest year in Glacier’s history. Monthly records were set for May and September. Glacier has consistently hosted around 3 million visitors each year for the last 5 years, aside from 2020 due to pandemic related closures.
The list below shows the annual trend for recreation visits over the last several years.
2023- 2,933,616
2022- 2,908,458
2021- 3,081,656
2020- 1,698,864 (Park closed March 24 to June 8, east side of the park remained closed)
2019- 3,049,839
While Glacier remains one of the most visited parks in the nation, park officials confirm the past three years of the vehicle reservation pilot program have successfully spread visitation throughout the day during peak hours on Going-to-the-Sun Road resulting in fewer closures, better traffic management, and a more enjoyable park experience during peak season.
The table below shows recreation visits by park entrance for peak season, June through August, over the last several years.
|
Location
|
2023
|
2022
|
2021
|
2020
|
2019
|
|
|
|
West Entrance
|
869,026
|
821,332
|
916,491
|
876,320
|
1,011,136
|
|
|
|
Saint Mary
|
435,710
|
388,686
|
349,071
|
Closed
|
481,298
|
|
|
|
Many Glacier
|
223,275
|
262,469
|
261,284
|
Closed
|
256,191
|
|
|
|
Two Medicine
|
141,570
|
179,716
|
193,288
|
Closed
|
145,885
|
|
|
|
Camas
|
65,347
|
70,326
|
87,120
|
110,627
|
89,205
|
|
|
|
Polebridge
|
42,918
|
53,607
|
70,765
|
72,569
|
59,030
|
|
|
|
Goat Lick/ Walton
|
60,856
|
119,837
|
137,702
|
56,277
|
113,916
|
|
|
*2023 was the first time there were vehicle reservations for Many Glacier and Two Medicine.
While a visit to Glacier can be a lifetime experience, there are many other places nearby that offer a host of interesting recreational experiences. Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, the other part of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, is a popular side trip. It can be very busy in the summer and campgrounds are often fully booked. Visit their website for trip planning information and consider visiting outside of July and August for a quieter experience. Visit Glacier’s nearby attractions webpage for information about other vacation highlights, such as Big Hole National Battlefield, Bear Paw Battlefield, and Nez Perce National Historical Park, to name a few.
Visitor use statistics are collected in all but a handful of parks and rolled up to a national database used to create a series of reports available to park managers, employees, and the public. NPS social scientists coordinate visitor use statistics and these reports. They work with parks to develop data collection procedures and provide quality control for visitor use data. More information about park visitation, visitor statistics and detailed information about reporting, history and policy is available on the NPS Stats website.
