Glacier National Park · Montana
Permits for Many Glacier area.
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70% of the openings our scanner caught on Many Glacier were gone within 10 minutes.
As of September 2026, Many Glacier in Glacier National Park, Montana requires a permit issued via reservation. Many Glacier is a high-demand permit, rating 8/10 on PermitSnag's demand index. Cancelled Many Glacier permits are re-released on the booking system, and PermitSnag alerts you the moment one opens. The Many Glacier lottery opens March 15, 2026 for standard groups of 1-8; March 1, 2026 for large groups of 9-12 and closes 11:59 pm MT on the same day: each Glacier lottery is a single-day window, with results announced March 17, 2026 for standard groups; winners book March 21 to April 30.
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More on Many Glacier: Live availability activityWhen Many Glacier permits open upDo I need a Many Glacier Backcountry permit?
Many Glacier permit fee: $10 permit fee plus $7 per person per night, May 1 to October 31. Winter permits (November 1 to April 30) are free. The lottery application fee is $10 and is non-refundable.
Rec.gov lists 3 sites at 5,950 feet, 6.1 miles from the Many Glacier trailhead. No campfires.
4 sites at 5,600 feet. NPS gives 6.4 miles and 2,400 feet of gain from the Apikuni parking area.
The gate between Many Glacier and the Belly River. Doors generally open mid-July and close by late September.
5 sites at 4,900 feet: 10 miles via Ptarmigan Tunnel or 9.5 miles from Belly River. One-night limit.
4 sites at 4,850 feet, 9 miles from the Belly River trailhead.
3 sites at 4,870 feet, 12.6 miles from Belly River or 13.6 from Goat Haunt.
3 sites at 6,050 feet. Reaching it from Highway 17 needs a separate Blackfeet Conservation/Recreation Use Permit.
Thirteen wilderness campgrounds behind the Many Glacier valley (Cracker, Elizabeth, Glenns, Poia, Helen), four people to a site, no campfires at almost any of them, and grizzlies in every direction.
Many Glacier's backcountry is sold through Glacier National Park's single wilderness permit on Recreation.gov, which covers 65 designated campgrounds parkwide. The district holds thirteen of them: Cosley Lake, Cracker Lake, Elizabeth Lake Foot, Elizabeth Lake Head, Gable Creek, Glenns Lake Foot, Glenns Lake Head, Helen Lake, Many Glacier, Mokowanis Junction, Mokowanis Lake, Poia Lake and Slide Lake.
The capacity rules are unusual and worth reading twice. The park says the maximum party size allowed is 12, each wilderness campground has 2 to 7 campsites, and each campsite is limited to four people. Glacier has no group campsites. What it has instead is five large-group advance reservations issued per year for parties of 9 to 12, awarded by their own single-day lottery, after which large groups can only get permits on a walk-up basis the day before or the day of. At-large camping in the Nyack/Coal Creek zone is capped at six campers from May 1 to October 31.
Costs are $10 for the permit plus $7 per person per night from May 1 to October 31; winter permits from November 1 to April 30 are free. The lottery application fee is a separate, non-refundable $10.
The 2026 calendar ran in two single-day windows: the large group lottery on March 1 (winners notified March 3, application due March 10) and the standard group lottery for parties of 1 to 8 on March 15, for one of 3,000 advance reservations, with notification March 17 and a booking window from March 21 to April 30. Everything unclaimed went on general sale May 1 at 8:00 am MT and stayed available through September 30. From October 1 to October 31 permits are in-person, first-come, first-served only. Advance reservations are capped at 16 miles per day.
Walk-ups are a real strategy here, not a fallback: the park says about 30% of all sites parkwide are set aside for walk-up campers, with about 70% of wilderness campsites parkwide available for advance reservations. That is a share of SITES, not of permits.
One piece of 2026 context worth checking before you go. The Swiftcurrent water-system construction that closed the area was a 2025 project and the park states construction is completed and not anticipated in the Many Glacier area in 2026. But a June 2026 flood closed all trails in the Many Glacier Valley until further notice, so call the Many Glacier Ranger Station before you rely on any specific trail.
The park publishes one-way distances and gains from the Many Glacier trailheads: Cracker Lake 6.4 miles and 1,400 feet; Poia Lake 6.4 miles and 2,400 feet; Iceberg Lake 4.8 and 1,200; Ptarmigan Lake 4.3 and 1,700; Ptarmigan Tunnel 5.3 and 2,300, with the tunnel doors generally open mid-July to late September; Grinnell Glacier Viewpoint 5.3 and 1,600; Swiftcurrent Pass 6.8 and 2,300.
The thirteen wilderness campgrounds in the district are Cosley Lake, Cracker Lake, Elizabeth Lake Foot, Elizabeth Lake Head, Gable Creek, Glenns Lake Foot, Glenns Lake Head, Helen Lake, Many Glacier, Mokowanis Junction, Mokowanis Lake, Poia Lake and Slide Lake. All but Many Glacier itself are flagged no campfires.
Many Glacier is the densest concentration of good backcountry camping in Glacier National Park. From one trailhead you can reach Cracker Lake under Mount Siyeh, walk Ptarmigan Tunnel into the Belly River, or link Elizabeth and Glenns Lakes on the way to the Canadian border.
Turquoise water under vertical red-and-grey argillite, moose in the willows, and the sound of rockfall off the cirques. Camps are small (two to seven sites) with a cooking area, a pit toilet and a food hang, and the sites hold four people each.
Best for: Backpackers ready for grizzly country and 2,000-foot climbs out of a valley floor, on well-built but exposed trail.
Recommended experience: Multi-day backpacking plus bear-country discipline. The exposure rating comes from the ledge sections on the Ptarmigan and Grinnell trails and the long above-treeline stretches, not from technical ground.
Not recommended for: First-time backpackers, and anyone who will not carry and practise with bear spray.
Trailhead information
Recreation.gov entry point MGE. NPS puts the Cracker Lake trailhead at the south end of the Many Glacier Hotel parking lot, 6.4 miles one way with 1,400 feet of gain.
Many Glacier Hotel in season. There are no fueling stations inside the park.
Trailhead information
Recreation.gov entry point SCE, by the motor inn parking lot. NPS gives Swiftcurrent Pass as 6.8 miles one way with 2,300 feet of gain.
NPS says the Swiftcurrent area now has 339 parking spaces, an increase of 171 spaces.
Swiftcurrent Motor Inn in season.
Trailhead information
Recreation.gov entry point IPE. NPS gives Ptarmigan Tunnel as 5.3 miles with 2,300 feet of gain and Iceberg Lake as 4.8 miles with 1,200 feet, both one way.
Many Glacier developed area.
Trailhead information
Recreation.gov entry point AFE. NPS puts the Apikuni parking area 1.1 miles east of Many Glacier Hotel and gives Poia Lake as 6.4 miles one way with 2,400 feet of gain; Recreation.gov gives 6.5 miles and 1,700 feet from the same trailhead, which it spells Appekuny.
Many Glacier developed area.
Trailhead information
Recreation.gov entry point BRE, off Chief Mountain Highway. The flat way into the same lakes: Elizabeth Lake Foot is 9.5 miles with 720 feet of gain from here, against 2,600 feet by way of Ptarmigan Tunnel.
Babb and St. Mary.
Mid-July through mid-September. Ptarmigan Tunnel's doors are generally open mid-July to late September, high passes hold snow before that, and the wilderness campgrounds start opening on staggered dates through June and July. Advance reservations cover June 15 to September 30; October is walk-up only and the ranger station has already closed by then.
Trailhead (5,000 ft)
Backcountry Tips
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First light on Mount Gould and the Garden Wall from the valley floor; late light on Mount Siyeh above Cracker Lake.
Mid-morning at Cracker Lake, when the sun reaches the water and the glacial flour turns it that improbable blue.
Day traffic goes to Grinnell Glacier and Iceberg Lake and is gone by evening. The Belly River side beyond Ptarmigan Tunnel sees a fraction of it.
Emergency contacts, ranger station locations, and satellite communicator tips for Many Glacier.
Bear canister requirements, approved container lists, and rental locations for this permit.
Gear Checklist: Required and recommended gear for Many Glacier · Shuttle Services: Trailhead transportation options · Guide Services: Experienced wilderness guides
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Yes. Every backcountry camping night in Glacier National Park needs a wilderness permit naming your campgrounds and dates. It costs $10 plus $7 per person per night from May 1 to October 31; winter permits from November 1 to April 30 are free.
Four. The park's wording is that the maximum party size allowed is 12, each wilderness campground has 2 to 7 campsites, and each campsite is limited to four people. So a party of eight occupies two sites.
Only through the large group lottery or on a walk-up. Glacier issues five large group advance reservations per year for parties of 9 to 12, drawn in a single-day lottery on March 1 in 2026. After that lottery, wilderness permits are available to large groups only on a walk-up basis, the day before or the day of the trip start.
Glacier runs two single-day lotteries. In 2026 the large group lottery for parties of 9 to 12 was March 1, and the standard group lottery for parties of 1 to 8 was March 15, both from 12:00 am to 11:59 pm MT. Standard winners were notified March 17 and could book from March 21 to April 30. Anything left went on general sale May 1 at 8:00 am MT.
Yes, and it is a real option rather than a long shot. The park sets aside about 30% of all sites parkwide for walk-up campers. Permits are issued at the Many Glacier Ranger Station, which is open May 25 to September 27 from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm, and none are issued after 4:30 pm at any location.
Thirteen: Cosley Lake, Cracker Lake, Elizabeth Lake Foot, Elizabeth Lake Head, Gable Creek, Glenns Lake Foot, Glenns Lake Head, Helen Lake, Many Glacier, Mokowanis Junction, Mokowanis Lake, Poia Lake and Slide Lake. Every one except Many Glacier itself is a no-campfire camp.
Check before you go. The Swiftcurrent construction that closed the area was a 2025 project and the park says construction is completed and not anticipated in Many Glacier in 2026. But a June 2026 flood closed all trails in the Many Glacier Valley until further notice. Call the Many Glacier Ranger Station for the current trail status.
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Glacier's quieter southeast corner, with five wilderness campgrounds under Dawson and Pitamakan Passes.
Far less contested, but 2026 is a bad year there: the campground is closed, the North Shore Trailhead is unreachable, and the road closes at Running Eagle Falls from September 8.
The park-wide backcountry permit covering all 65 designated wilderness campgrounds.
Same lottery, same fees, same four-people-per-site rule, just a wider choice of country if Many Glacier will not come up.
The Garden Wall traverse from Logan Pass, with camps at Granite Park and Fifty Mountain.
The most famous walking in the park and correspondingly hard to book, with the same per-site cap of four.
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