Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

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Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by tibber »

https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2022/no ... o-medicin/

oh joy!

AND

Phil Wilson, Glacier’s chief of science and management, said road construction from Apgar to Lake McDonald Lodge will continue through the summer, with one-way traffic and half-hour delays during the day and up to two hour delays at night.

The road is already torn up because of utility work, as the park upgrades sewer lines from the lodge to Apgar as well as phone and other utilities. This summer, the road itself will be rebuilt.

Wilson said the park is hopeful it can get the work done in 2023.
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Re: Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by Ear Mountain »

Now I'm wondering if reservations will be required for the Two Medicine Campground.
Text and photos Copyright 2007-2023.
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Re: Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by tibber »

Ear Mountain wrote: Fri Nov 18, 2022 10:40 am Now I'm wondering if reservations will be required for the Two Medicine Campground.
that will be interesting.

By the way, is your Trail Name from the mountain of the same name? I got a few pictures of it when I took the 89 to Wolf Creek on my way back to Phx. Those are some neat mountains and gulches over there. I spent a lot of time via google satellite trying to figure out the formations I was seeing. The light was not good so it was hard to ID them.

I finally stopped at the Dinosaur Museum. It's really pretty nice!
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Re: Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by Ear Mountain »

tibber wrote: Fri Nov 18, 2022 1:48 pm...By the way, is your Trail Name from the mountain of the same name? I got a few pictures of it when I took the 89 to Wolf Creek on my way back to Phx. Those are some neat mountains and gulches over there. I spent a lot of time via google satellite trying to figure out the formations I was seeing. The light was not good so it was hard to ID them.

I finally stopped at the Dinosaur Museum. It's really pretty nice!
Ear Mountain is my name on this forum. I use it in a view other places. It comes from my somewhat quiet photo business Ear Mountain Photography (www.earmountain.com). I've never used it on the "trail" though. :wink:

I've climbed Ear Mountain several times including intentionally spending one night on the summit. The views from the summit are spectacular. There is lots of great trails to hike on the Front and many good access trailheads for backpacks into the Bob Marshall Wilderness. With the changes in Glacier the last years I've spent way more time in other locations.
Text and photos Copyright 2007-2023.
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Re: Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by paul »

It didn't seem like two medicine wasn't very crowded when I was there in late August. In fact it seemed kind of empty compared to other years. There maybe periods of overcrowding but you may be locking people out of the park because of no shows where the place is virtually empty. Suppose you have sold all reservations for a day and only 30% of those reservations are used. In this situation it seems wrong to keep out people who are there but don't have a reservation.

This year it was extremely annoying to see backcountty camps being unused because people were no-shows for their reservations.
We are in the mountains and the mountains are in us. - John Muir
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Re: Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by orin »

The link above has been updated to say they won’t make a final decision until mid December. So maybe they are having second thoughts at least at Two Medicine. I visited Two Medicine in both early and late June last year. The early trip was not too crowded. But the late trip was a mess. Cars lined both sides of the road from the lake back to the Scenic Point trailhead. As much as I hate to see it, they probably will need to do something. The link says they closed Two Medicine 22 times last summer, so about 1 in every 3 or 4 days during the peak season.
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Re: Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by Ear Mountain »

paul wrote: Sat Nov 19, 2022 10:10 am It didn't seem like two medicine wasn't very crowded when I was there in late August. In fact it seemed kind of empty compared to other years. There maybe periods of overcrowding but you may be locking people out of the park because of no shows where the place is virtually empty. Suppose you have sold all reservations for a day and only 30% of those reservations are used. In this situation it seems wrong to keep out people who are there but don't have a reservation.

This year it was extremely annoying to see backcountty camps being unused because people were no-shows for their reservations.
I went to Two Medicine to pick up a backcountry permit on July 11th around 2 pm. A sign at the entrance station said Road Closed No Entry. But no one was at the entrance station to enforce this so I ignored the sign and drove in. When I got to the ranger station it also had a Closed sign on the door. But when I peaked into the window a ranger was there and told me to come in. Crazy.

A friend and I camped at the Adair site on Logging Lake two nights. The campsite was marked full for both nights. We were the only ones there the first night and the second night a mother/daughter couple was there. But I think they had a permit for Grace Lake and decided not to walk all the way there in one day.
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Re: Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by al_in_al »

orin wrote: Sat Nov 19, 2022 11:23 am The link above has been updated to say they won’t make a final decision until mid December. So maybe they are having second thoughts at least at Two Medicine. I visited Two Medicine in both early and late June last year. The early trip was not too crowded. But the late trip was a mess. Cars lined both sides of the road from the lake back to the Scenic Point trailhead. As much as I hate to see it, they probably will need to do something. The link says they closed Two Medicine 22 times last summer, so about 1 in every 3 or 4 days during the peak season.
Two Medicine had to close mid-day most days in June and early July due to overcrowding before the GTTSR was completely open. After that, I don't think it closed once (MG closed most days even after the GTTSR opened). Access restrictions in TM are needed when other areas aren't accessible, so I can see them not wanting it to be the only area without reservations. However, it might make sense to make the reservation hours shorter than the other areas.

I always entered before traffic control was in place and everything was still quiet in the mornings, but afternoons tended to be PACKED around the camp store/lake shore. The day I hiked Scenic Point (6/24) the trail was absolutely jammed on my way out. The South Shore trail was also really well traveled every time I was out there over the summer (though my last TM visit was early, 8/12).
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Re: Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by paul »

I suppose if you don't have a reservation you can take your chances that the entrance gate isn't manned when you get there. We didn't see anyone at the gates at Two-Med or Many Glacier late August.
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Re: Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by al_in_al »

paul wrote: Sun Nov 20, 2022 3:18 pm I suppose if you don't have a reservation you can take your chances that the entrance gate isn't manned when you get there. We didn't see anyone at the gates at Two-Med or Many Glacier late August.
Both were unmanned all season "on purpose" because of lack of staff - law enforcement rangers were sent out when overcrowded, but daily "information/fee" staff were not placed there at all. If reservations are required next summer, I would expect more of a focus on staffing the east side entrances.
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Re: Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by zozeppelin »

Counterpoint: Yosemite just dropped their entrance ticket requirement for 2023 after adding it in 2020 like Glacier.

I plan on checking the numbers again, but visitation has been down below pre-pandemic levels. And that is ignoring July with the late road opening. Gas prices? International travel now available? Lost interest in nature after the pandemic novelty?
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Re: Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by al_in_al »

Vehicle reservation details for 2023 have been added to the website: https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/ ... dentry.htm

News Release: https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/news/gla ... ations.htm

What a mess for anyone planning a trip.
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Re: Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by paul »

I seems to be pretty complicated with different dates when reservations will be available online and different amount of times the reservations are good for.

I really don't think reservations for Two Medicine are necessary. It is not an area that gets overcrowded. And I wonder if they are really going to put a person at the gate at 6am in Two Medicine when they had no one there this entire season.
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Re: Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by Sue Z »

al_in_al wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 1:15 pm What a mess for anyone planning a trip.
I hate to say it, but I'm skipping Glacier this year. Last summer's visit broke me. There was way too much planning and wrangling required for our two weeks of day-hiking and backpacking in Glacier and Waterton with 6 people. (A surprise visit from Covid didn't help - we fell one-by-one, like dominoes.) If I had any thoughts of going back on my decision, the latest news of needing even more road tickets has banished them. I look forward to a fresh start in 2024 :) .
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Re: Glacier Park will require reservations for Two Medicine, Many Glacier valleys

Post by calicotraveler »

Well I missed the opportunity to make reservations for GTTS road for the time we will be there. Very disappointed! However since we have flight reservations and lodging reservations I guess we will go anyway. Glad we visited Glacier nearly every year since 2000. The crowds had not found the Park then. The last several years it just has been very difficult to get around the park and get rental cars and lodging. Just too many people. :cry:
The mountains are calling and I must go.
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