Glacier East Side Entrances: Your Ultimate Guide from Great Falls
Once again, the east side is the best side – so congratulations to you for picking Great Falls as your basecamp for Glacier National Park adventures! Why? Because you don’t need a vehicle reservation to get into Glacier through any of the east side entrances.
What You Need To Know
- All visitors to Glacier need a PARK PASS, regardless of where they’re headed in the park
- Timed Entry Vehicle Reservations are required for visitors entering the park June 13th – September 28th 2025 through:
- West Entrance of Going-to-the-Sun Road
- North Fork
Timed Entry Vehicle Reservations
- A portion of vehicle reservations will be available 120 days or approximately four months in advance, starting on February 13, 2025, at 8 am MST on a daily rolling basis.
- Next-day vehicle reservations will be available at 7 pm MDT for next-day entry on a daily rolling basis starting on June 12, 2025.
Visitors can choose from timed entry blocks in two-hour increments:
- 7 am -9 am
- 9 am – 11 am
- 11 am – 1 pm
- 1 pm – 3 pm
Anyone can enter the park through any entrance before 7 am and after 3 pm without a vehicle reservation.
Know Before You Go
- You can purchase park passes and entrance passes at park entrances or online at Recreation.gov.
- You can only purchase vehicle reservations on Recreation.gov.
- Visitors with reservations for lodging, camping, or activities like boat tours or horseback rides inside a vehicle reservation area can use that proof of reservation to enter that part of the park — no separate vehicle reservation needed.
- Visitors entering Going-to-the-Sun Road from the east can exit on the west side, but can’t re-enter through the Apgar Check Point between 7 am and 3 pm without a vehicle reservation — plan your turnaround spot accordingly.
Tribal members don’t need vehicle reservations throughout the park, in accordance with the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978.
Park & Road Conditions
Keep an eye on current conditions, including the seasonal opening and closing of the iconic Going-to-the-Sun Road here.
Podcast
Tired of reading? Listen to our podcast episode all about visit Glacier National Park in 2025 on your favorite podcast platform or on our YouTube channel.
