Camping in Glacier National Park: Campgrounds, Reservations and Tips

How camping in Glacier works

Glacier has 13 front-country campgrounds and no hookups at any of them. Most sites cost $30 a night in peak season, and the park entrance fee ($35 per vehicle in summer) is separate. Interagency Senior and Access pass holders get 50 percent off camping.

Eight campgrounds take reservations only, through Recreation.gov. NPS strongly recommends booking before you arrive because cell service in the park is unreliable. The other five are small, rustic first-come, first-served campgrounds in the North Fork and Cut Bank valleys.

Overnight parking outside a campground is not allowed anywhere in the park, and every camper must be in a designated site. Most campgrounds allow 14 nights in summer and two tents per site.

Reservation campgrounds

These eight campgrounds sit along Going-to-the-Sun Road and on the east side. Fees and seasons below are what Recreation.gov and NPS listed for 2026; exact opening dates shift with snow, so confirm on the booking page.

Booking on Recreation.gov

Most reservable sites open six months ahead on a rolling basis, so a site for July 15, 2027 becomes bookable on January 15, 2027. Popular dates at Many Glacier, Apgar and Fish Creek go within minutes, so be logged in and ready at 8 a.m. Mountain time.

A handful of sites at Apgar, Fish Creek, Sprague Creek, Avalanche, Many Glacier and Two Medicine are held for a four-day window, which helps if your plans firm up late. In 2026, Rising Sun was listed as same-day booking only, and St. Mary switched to day-of booking from August 17 to September 11. Do these bookings before you lose cell service, or use the wifi at a visitor center.

• Apgar (near West Glacier): largest campground, shaded, near Lake McDonald; ranger programs nightly in summer
• Fish Creek: on the north shore of Lake McDonald, quieter loops, amphitheater
• Sprague Creek: small lakeside campground near Lake McDonald Lodge; generators prohibited
• Avalanche: deep cedar forest at the Avalanche Lake trailhead; opens only once the upper road is clear
• Rising Sun and St. Mary: east side on St. Mary Lake, closest to Logan Pass from the east
• Many Glacier: best base for Grinnell Glacier and Iceberg Lake; heavy bear activity

First-come, first-served campgrounds

The five first-come campgrounds are small and primitive or semi-primitive. Most fill early in summer, so plan to arrive in the morning. You pick a site, then pay by fee envelope within half an hour (credit cards are accepted); Cut Bank uses the Recreation.gov Scan & Pay app instead. Checkout is noon, and you must re-register by 11 a.m. to stay another night.

Bowman Lake and Kintla Lake are reached on rough dirt roads from Polebridge in the North Fork. Logging Creek and Quartz Creek are tiny, primitive sites on the Inside North Fork Road with no potable water. Cut Bank is a quiet east-side valley at the end of a gravel road off U.S. 89.

2026 closures and construction

Two Medicine Campground was closed for all of 2026 for construction, and the North Shore Trailhead there was not accessible. The Two Medicine Road closed at the Running Eagle Falls Trailhead on September 8, 2026, with the closure moving to the Highway 49 junction later in September. NPS expects road work to be finished in late 2027 but says it may continue into 2028.

St. Mary Campground has partial closures anticipated from fall 2026 through spring 2027 while its water system is replaced. In the North Fork, the Inside North Fork Road toward Logging Creek was scheduled to close fully from the Polebridge Ranger Station starting about October 4, 2026, with major work expected to finish in November. Quartz Creek is on the same road, so check access before you go; Bowman Lake and Kintla Lake access are not affected. Check the park's construction page before you go, since 2027 status has not been announced.

RVs, dump stations, showers and group sites

Vehicles longer than 21 feet or wider than 8 feet are banned on Going-to-the-Sun Road between Avalanche Creek and Rising Sun, which limits RV access to Avalanche, Sprague Creek and Rising Sun from the far side. For larger rigs, Apgar (up to 40 feet on 25 sites), Fish Creek (35 feet) and St. Mary (up to 40 feet on three sites) are the best fits. RVs and trailers are not allowed at Bowman Lake, Kintla Lake, Logging Creek or Quartz Creek.

No site has electric, water or sewer hookups. Dump stations are at Apgar, Fish Creek, Many Glacier, Rising Sun and St. Mary, but they close when a campground goes to primitive status in fall. Campgrounds do not have showers; the concessioner motor inns at Swiftcurrent (Many Glacier) and Rising Sun have pay showers in season.

Group sites can be reserved at Apgar and St. Mary on Recreation.gov. Several campgrounds, including Apgar, Sprague Creek and Rising Sun, also have shared hiker and biker sites for people arriving without a vehicle; at Apgar these are paid with Scan & Pay.

Food storage and bear rules

Glacier's food storage rules are strictly enforced. Whenever you are not using them, store food, coolers, cookware, toiletries and trash in a closed, hard-sided vehicle or in the campground's bear-proof lockers. Never leave anything with a scent on a picnic table or in a tent, and never put food in a pit toilet.

Keep bear spray handy in camp and on trails, and stay at least 100 yards from bears and wolves. Fire rings are provided, but there are no cooking grates, firewood collecting is prohibited in campgrounds, and you should buy firewood near where you camp.

Backcountry camping and wilderness permits

A wilderness permit is required for any overnight stay in Glacier's backcountry, year-round. From May 1 to October 31 it costs a $10 permit fee plus $7 per person per night; winter permits (November 1 to April 30) are free.

For trips from June 15 to September 30, about 70 percent of campsites can be reserved in advance on Recreation.gov. Glacier runs early-access lotteries first, with applications on March 1 for large groups (9 to 12 people) and March 15 for standard groups (1 to 8). Remaining advance sites then go on sale first-come online. The other 30 percent or so are walk-up permits, issued no more than one day before your trip at a permit office: Apgar Wilderness Permit Center, Many Glacier Ranger Station, Polebridge Ranger Station, St. Mary Visitor Center or Two Medicine Ranger Station. NPS has not posted the 2027 lottery dates yet; they have followed this March pattern in recent years.

Camping near Glacier

When park campgrounds are full, NPS points to public land around the park. Flathead National Forest, west and south of the park, has campgrounds along the North Fork and Middle Fork of the Flathead River and around Hungry Horse Reservoir. Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest lies southeast, and Montana state parks near Whitefish and Flathead Lake take tents and RVs.

On the east side, the Blackfeet Nation runs campgrounds on the reservation just outside the park, a few miles from the St. Mary, Many Glacier and Two Medicine entrances.

More Glacier guides

• Best Time to Visit Glacier National ParkWhen to visit Glacier National Park, month by month: Going-to-the-Sun Road opening dates, snow, wildfire smoke, crowds, fall color and what is open in winter.
• Going-to-the-Sun Road Guide: Reservations, Shuttle and Best StopsPlan your Going-to-the-Sun Road drive in Glacier: 2026 access rules, Logan Pass parking limit, shuttle tickets, size limits, opening dates and top stops.
• Best Hikes in Glacier National ParkThe best day hikes in Glacier National Park, from Trail of the Cedars to the Highline and Grinnell Glacier, with NPS distances, Logan Pass rules, bear safety.