Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Transportation can be a challenge in Glacier. If you have ideas, offer ride shares, or used a commercial service that you were happy with, let everyone know. Also, ask questions about road information, or share road information you may have.

Moderators: teapot57, Tara

PeteE
Posts: 3346
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 12:20 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Winter hHaven Florida
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by PeteE »

I haven't paid much attention to shuttle issues in the past, but I may in the future.

This service may appeal to those who are arriving or staying in Whitefish. You sure can't beat the price.
$10.00 for a round trip ticket from 4 locations in Whitefish to the Apgar Transit Center in the park. :shock:
(It's about 60 miles round trip from my place in WF to Apgar. It cost me about $9.00 in gas to drive Jaybird out there and back)
The bus also accommodates 3 bikes for bikers.
The park will have someone board the bus at the entrance to get your entrance fee or annual pass.

The WF Library pickup location is across the street from the AMTRAK station---and 2 blocks from my apartment 8)
The RT tickets are basically "open ended" You don't have to use the day of purchase. You can buy tickets in advance as well.

Apparently this service was around last year. Anyone here use it? Comments?
http://www.explorewhitefish.com/content ... 09C3566CAD

pete :wink:
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
PeteE
Posts: 3346
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 12:20 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Winter hHaven Florida
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by PeteE »

Here's the page with the departure/pickup times.
Better than I expected. :)

http://bigmtncommercial.org/

pete :wink:
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
teapot57
Moderator & 2.1 Donator
Moderator & 2.1 Donator
Posts: 940
Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 3:59 pm
Gender?: Female
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Calgary, AB
Has thanked: 89 times
Been thanked: 77 times

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by teapot57 »

PeteE wrote:Here's the page with the departure/pickup times.
Better than I expected. :)

http://bigmtncommercial.org/

pete :wink:
This is great to know, Pete. Thanks for posting the info. A couple of summers back when we were staying in Whitefish, I ended up renting a car to go hiking for a day while my husband and son went fishing. This would have been the better way to do it!
teapot57
Moderator & 2.1 Donator
Moderator & 2.1 Donator
Posts: 940
Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 3:59 pm
Gender?: Female
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Calgary, AB
Has thanked: 89 times
Been thanked: 77 times

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by teapot57 »

Well, that would definitely throw a stick in the spokes of our trip plans. :?

There HAS to be an outfit providing an eastside shuttle to Chief Mountain. If it's not going to be Glacier Park, Inc, it's gotta be someone else. I saw a post on the Waterton Facebook page that provided this link:

https://mywaterton.ca/do/hiker-shuttles ... c2fe73c420

It sounds like things are status quo on the Canadian side and a shuttle will be provided from the townsite to the Chief Mountain border.
User avatar
sbosecker
Posts: 202
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 8:23 am
Please add the numbers(11): 0
Location: Peachtree City GA
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 17 times

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by sbosecker »

teapot57 wrote:
Well, that would definitely throw a stick in the spokes of our trip plans. :?

There HAS to be an outfit providing an eastside shuttle to Chief Mountain. If it's not going to be Glacier Park, Inc, it's gotta be someone else. I saw a post on the Waterton Facebook page that provided this link:

https://mywaterton.ca/do/hiker-shuttles ... c2fe73c420

It sounds like things are status quo on the Canadian side and a shuttle will be provided from the townsite to the Chief Mountain border.

teapot57,

As I have used the Tamarack Shuttle from Waterton to Chief Mountain a few times in the past, I checked their site and it basically says, "Standby for 2017 Information".

http://www.hikewaterton.com/shuttles/

On Monday, April 17th, I sent an email asking when I might expect be able to reserve a couple of shuttle seats from Waterton to Chief Mountain. I haven't received a reply.

While the Canadian web sites indicate "status quo", I have to point out the Glacier Park Inc site also currently indicates it operates the "East Side Shuttle" from Glacier Park Lodge to the Prince of Wales Hotel". After my conversation with Charlotte at Glacier Park, Inc. indicating that they won't be going north of St Mary with their shuttle, one has to give some credence to the concept that none of the web sites have been updated for 2017 yet.

http://www.glacierparkinc.com/plan-your ... formation/

There's always the hope that Charlotte misunderstood her employer's plans but forewarned is forearmed.

Best regards,

Scott
teapot57
Moderator & 2.1 Donator
Moderator & 2.1 Donator
Posts: 940
Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 3:59 pm
Gender?: Female
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Calgary, AB
Has thanked: 89 times
Been thanked: 77 times

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by teapot57 »

I've read all the websites and realize that none of them give firm information on 2017 schedules. A better wording of my post would be to say that I'll be really surprised if there is no shuttle transportation on the east side. I guess we all have to be patient and wait for the websites to be updated with concrete info.
Syrio
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 8:59 am
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by Syrio »

Received a response from Xanterra:
Thank you for contacting us. There are no plans to extend the schedule of the Eastside Shuttle.

If you need additional assistance, you may contact Central Reservations within the U.S.A. at 888-29PARKS (888-297-2757) or from outside the U.S.A. at 303-29PARKS (303-297-2757).

The Central Reservations office is open 7 days a week from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm (Mountain/Colorado time).

Thank you,

Joyce

reservations@xanterra.com
So no plans to to extend the shuttle currently. Their schedule for 2017 is up on their site too. Not good news for those of us who were depending on that.
User avatar
sbosecker
Posts: 202
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 8:23 am
Please add the numbers(11): 0
Location: Peachtree City GA
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 17 times

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by sbosecker »

Syrio wrote:Received a response from Xanterra:
Thank you for contacting us. There are no plans to extend the schedule of the Eastside Shuttle.

If you need additional assistance, you may contact Central Reservations within the U.S.A. at 888-29PARKS (888-297-2757) or from outside the U.S.A. at 303-29PARKS (303-297-2757).

The Central Reservations office is open 7 days a week from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm (Mountain/Colorado time).

Thank you,

Joyce

reservations@xanterra.com
So no plans to to extend the shuttle currently. Their schedule for 2017 is up on their site too. Not good news for those of us who were depending on that.

I believe this post was regarding Xanterra and the Many Glacier Shuttle to St Mary.

I just checked the Glacier Park Inc. Shuttle Web Page and it has been updated with their 2017 Shuttle Service Schedule. Unfortunately it does not show any service north of St Mary. In what I believe is a departure from previous practice, if I'm reading this right, one can now reserve seats on the shuttle service. In my experience that is new. When waiting at Chief Mountain I was always twitching a bit wondering if the shuttle would be full when it pulled up. I remember a couple of hikers getting left behind at Many Glacier once because the shuttle was full. The ability to reserve a seat strikes me as an improvement.

http://www.glacierparkinc.com/plan-your ... formation/

Scott
Last edited by sbosecker on Sun May 07, 2017 10:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
PeteE
Posts: 3346
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 12:20 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Winter hHaven Florida
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by PeteE »

Shuttle Information

For visitors travelling to Glacier without a vehicle, Glacier Park, Inc. and Glacier National Park offer limited shuttle systems around the park.

Operated by Glacier Park, Inc., the East Side Shuttle travels the East side of Glacier National Park from Glacier Park Lodge, to the Prince of Wales Hotel. On the East Side Shuttle, guests can connect with the National Park Service Shuttle, which runs the length of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The National Park Service Shuttle is complimentary, while seats on the East Side Shuttle are available for a small fee.
Emphasis in the above quote is mine

Thanks for the update Scott.
However, it still looks like these people haven't got their act together. :twisted:
What's that comment about service to the Prince of Wales Hotel all about?
Last time I looked, Prince of Wales Hotel was well North of St Mary. 8)
Did they explain that?

pete :wink:
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
User avatar
sbosecker
Posts: 202
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 8:23 am
Please add the numbers(11): 0
Location: Peachtree City GA
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 17 times

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by sbosecker »

PeteE wrote:
Shuttle Information

For visitors travelling to Glacier without a vehicle, Glacier Park, Inc. and Glacier National Park offer limited shuttle systems around the park.

Operated by Glacier Park, Inc., the East Side Shuttle travels the East side of Glacier National Park from Glacier Park Lodge, to the Prince of Wales Hotel. On the East Side Shuttle, guests can connect with the National Park Service Shuttle, which runs the length of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The National Park Service Shuttle is complimentary, while seats on the East Side Shuttle are available for a small fee.
Emphasis in the above quote is mine

Thanks for the update Scott.
However, it still looks like these people haven't got their act together. :twisted:
What's that comment about service to the Prince of Wales Hotel all about?
Last time I looked, Prince of Wales Hotel was well North of St Mary. 8)
Did they explain that?

pete :wink:

Good point Pete!

I scanned right past that information (Prince of Wales Service) and scrolled down the page until my eye noticed the posted schedule.

I suspect the information regarding the service to the Prince of Wales is an artifact from last year's information but we'll see.

EDIT: I sent an email to Glacier Park Inc.'s Webmaster on the evening of May 7th (a Sunday evening) mentioning the conflicting info on that web page. I would think I would get a response after one or two business days.

Best regards,

Scott
User avatar
sbosecker
Posts: 202
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 8:23 am
Please add the numbers(11): 0
Location: Peachtree City GA
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 17 times

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by sbosecker »

Today I revisited the website that has information on the Waterton, AB to Chief Mountain Border Crossing.

I found that it has been updated:

http://www.hikewaterton.com/shuttles.html

In my experience the Waterton Shuttle's regular service used to be scheduled to connect with the Glacier Park Inc. East Side Shuttle that departed Chief Mountain for points south around mid-afternoon.

Now it appears that the Waterton Shuttle will operate a regular shuttle service that leaves the Tamerak in Waterton at 10:00 am and arrives at Chief Mt around 10:30 am. They will pick up folks and return to Waterton arriving there around 11:00 am.

This strikes me as an odd schedule. I suspect many people that would use this shuttle are also using the Waterton-to-Goat Haunt boat (M.V. International) to access/depart Glacier NP USA. This doesn't allow folks to catch the first cruise to Goat Haunt (departs at 10:00 am) and it certainly doesn't allow folks departing Goat Haunt to catch the scheduled shuttle as the first return to Waterton from Goat Haunt arrives around 12:30 pm.

If nothing else, this schedule would seem to provide more evidence that there will be no USA-Side Shuttle service to Chief Mountain.

Scott
User avatar
paul
Donator
Donator
Posts: 1696
Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:42 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: MA
Has thanked: 61 times
Been thanked: 38 times

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by paul »

Yes, this doesn't sound like it's going to work for people coming from Goat Haunt on the morning boat. It used to be scheduled for 2:30pm departure from Waterton so you would arrive at Chief Mountain Customs in time to meet the East Side shuttle. I can't understand why they would change the time unless the East side shuttle time has changed to the morning.
We are in the mountains and the mountains are in us. - John Muir
User avatar
sbosecker
Posts: 202
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 8:23 am
Please add the numbers(11): 0
Location: Peachtree City GA
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 17 times

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by sbosecker »

With my logistical plans now pretty much firmed up, I tried to put them into action yesterday by reserving a scheduled shuttle (Tamarack Outfitters) from Waterton to Chief Mountain. I called their number (403-859-2378 9am-6pm) and chatted with the lady that answered the phone. We discussed their shuttle service and how I wanted to use them, via their new morning schedule, to take 2 people from Waterton to Chief Mountain on a morning in August. The lady took my name and indicated they would be taking reservations for the normal seasonal shuttle service starting around the first of June. She told me they are hoping to get a web page up that can take online reservations.

I just sat down to post that information on this forum and paused while typing to check the spelling of "Tamarack" on the shuttle service's web page.

http://www.hikewaterton.com/shuttles.html

Less than 24 hours after my phone call, things have changed!
According to this web page (link above) the Waterton Shuttle is now back to its old scheduled service to connect with folks catching the first tour boat from Goat Haunt. Scheduled Shuttle Service (Waterton to Chief Mountain) is back to a 2:30 pm departure from Waterton.

Obviously the situation is dynamic. Ha! So keep checking with the web page and/or make a phone call to see what's going on.

One last piece of information: Yesterday the lady on the phone indicated that Tamarack had researched doing a cross-border shuttle service (Waterton-Chief Mountain-St Mary) to take up the slack produced by the now missing old Glacier Park Inc. service. Apparently the numerous regulations that they would have had to hurdle were too great and they decided to stay Canadian side only.

May you live in interesting times!

Scott
User avatar
paul
Donator
Donator
Posts: 1696
Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:42 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: MA
Has thanked: 61 times
Been thanked: 38 times

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by paul »

Thanks Scott, that's good news that they are going to support the old shuttle times. I emailed them a couple of weeks ago about this problem but I never heard back. Maybe enough people complained and they changed their times.

Paul
We are in the mountains and the mountains are in us. - John Muir
Gen
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2016 3:26 pm
Gender?: Female
Please add the numbers(11): 11

Re: Transportation Within and Outside of the Park

Post by Gen »

Just wondering if anyone has any information about getting from Many Glacier to Waterton via shuttle or taxi?

Thanks! Gen
Post Reply

Return to “Road Information and Transportation”