Glacier ticketed entry unfair and bad for business

As a seasonal small business owner in East Glacier, I’m greatly concerned with the overreach of the Glacier National Park pilot program for ticketed entry.

Apparently, by naming it a pilot program, Glacier gets to skirt normal processes, such as a public commentary period, prior to putting any measures in place. The park did have a Zoom meeting with east side business owners, describing what they were “considering” implementing for Many Glacier and Two Medicine, while stating they were looking at several options.

But within two weeks, without any media announcing a public commentary period, Glacier announced they were now adding these two areas to the broken ticketed entry program. So now guests need to spin a roulette wheel — sorry — sign on to recreation.gov and hope for a win, in order to visit most key spots in our national park.

In my place of business, I get daily earfuls from guests and locals attempting to navigate the online reservation system – in an area that has spotty wifi and substandard cell service. Babb and St. Mary can report the same issues. But Glacier keeps saying that it’s an easy system, state of the art, blah, blah – but the reality is a harsh experience, unless you’re in an urban setting.

And in requiring an online-only system to enter the park, Glacier officials are now disallowing those folks who don’t have a computer/cellphone. So here are maybe 10% of potential visitors not allowed in their national park, simply because they are tech-challenged. I know of one longtime fan of Glacier, who visited yearly from North Dakota. Since the first year of implementing ticketed entry, he hasn’t been here, since he doesn’t have a computer — and the website won’t let a person reserve tickets for someone else. Bye-bye to his consistent tourist dollars.

Another issue with this system is the convoluted series of (changing) rules. Year one, Going-to-the-Sun Road was open to anyone at 5 p.m. Now it’s 4 p.m. – or is it 3 p.m.? Wait, I think Two Medicine is 3 p.m., and maybe Sun Road 4 p.m.? See? Hard for a visitor to keep it straight – and now Glcier is requiring them to be extremely bonded to a clock, when people might want to get away and relax. And try to keep straight the rule about when “phased release” of more tickets are available on “roulettewheel.gov.”

I’ve heard several stories of families opting to eat the price of boat excursion tickets, since that reservation gave them Sun Road access. This puts Glacier Park Boat Co. in chaos, wondering who will actually show up for tours, and costs guests far more than $2 for the road reservation.

In the daily remarks from my customers, on busier days Two Medicine would start turning people away due to no parking – typically around noon. By 3 p.m., it was usually open again. So if the parking clog is from 12-3 p.m., why is the solution to limit people from 6 a.m. onward for a period of 70 days? It’s a complete overreaction to a more minimal event. If Glacier would simply run a shuttle in from Montana 49 on a regular basis, there would be no need for ticketed entry.

Last, Glacier keeps saying ticketed entry gives visitors “a more enjoyable park experience.” Let’s look at that a moment: if someone books a golden ticket from their home, where the wifi works, and is actually able to drive over the amazing Sun Road, won’t their exit interview be somewhat glowing? I wonder what sort of review we’d hear if they instead chose someone in the half-mile bumper-to-bumper line of traffic waiting on the St. Mary side for the 4 p.m. opening bell? A someone who tried several times in vain to get a ticket? In one recap, dad gave up going out for breakfast to stay in the motel room, trying multiple times for a ticket. They had to opt for the crowded lift line of traffic, returning very late to their lodging with cranky, hungry little ones. What fun Glacier has made it to visit what used to be our national park.

The Emperor of the Park is wearing few clothes, and it’s time more people pointed it out.

Dana Turvey lives in East Glacier and Kalispell.