Traffic returns to U.S. 2 after Glacier ends reservation system

With a frustrating reservation system no longer in effect, motorists have flocked to the west entrance of Glacier National Park this week, causing long lines of slow-moving traffic to spill onto U.S. 2 and forcing park officials to close the gates and turn many visitors away.

It's a partial return to the way things were in 2019 and a couple of years before that — and a vindication of sorts for the Going-to-the-Sun Road reservation system, which frustrated many visitors who struggled to find tickets, but achieved its goal of alleviating traffic congestion both inside and outside the park. The $2 tickets were required to access the scenic thoroughfare between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. every day for more than three months.

Glacier spokeswoman Gina Kerzman said officials had to close the west entrance on Tuesday and Wednesday after the park reached capacity. Unlike in previous years, when motorists had to turn around and leave as far north as the Lake McDonald Lodge, officials this week directed traffic around the park's headquarters near West Glacier.

The Montana Department of Transportation said the traffic has not affected ongoing construction work on U.S. 2 between Hungry Horse and Stanton Creek.

"The car lineup on U.S. 2 leading to Glacier National Park is roughly a half-mile long, but this does not impact our work at this time," a spokeswoman for the state agency said in an email Wednesday. "We are currently working on guardrails, barrier rails and the bridge at Moccasin Creek east of West Glacier."

After this year's test run, park officials say the Sun Road reservation system was generally a success, though they haven't committed to implementing the system again next year.

The Sun Road is scheduled to remain open from Avalanche Creek to the Jackson Glacier Overlook until midnight on Oct. 17, pending closures due to winter weather. Officials previously said they would close the Sun Road on the west side of the park for utility work on Oct. 1, but that work has been postponed until 2022.

The park's shuttle service also ended Monday.

Assistant editor Chad Sokol may be reached at 406-758-4439 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com.