Glacier National Park · Montana
The single advance reservation that covers backcountry camping across all of Glacier National Park, from Goat Haunt to Two Medicine and every ranger district in between.
Get an alert when a spot opens in your Glacier Wilderness zone.
70% of the openings our scanner caught on Glacier Wilderness were gone within 10 minutes.
As of September 2026, Glacier Wilderness in Glacier National Park, Montana requires a permit issued via reservation. Glacier Wilderness is a high-demand permit, rating 8/10 on PermitSnag's demand index. Cancelled Glacier Wilderness permits are re-released on the booking system, and PermitSnag alerts you the moment one opens. The Glacier Wilderness route covers 55 miles with 9,000 feet of elevation gain, rated strenuous.
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More on Glacier Wilderness: Live availability activityWhen Glacier Wilderness permits open upDo I need a Glacier National Park Wilderness permit?Glacier backcountry permit guide
Glacier Wilderness permit fee: $10 application fee + $7/person/night.
6,284 ft of descent · 9.5% average grade
Goat Haunt
Remote northern trailhead at the head of Waterton Lake, reached by boat from Canada or a long walk in. Gateway to the Northern Loop.
8.0 mi to Granite Park Chalet
Remote northern trailhead at the head of Waterton Lake, reached by boat from Canada or a long walk in. Gateway to the Northern Loop.
Historic 1914 backcountry chalet along the Highline, a common first or second night on Garden Wall traverses.
6,937-foot pass linking Lake McDonald and St. Mary districts, above turquoise Gunsight Lake.
High point of the Dawson-Pitamakan loop out of Two Medicine, overlooking the Cut Bank valley.
6,913-foot crux of the Many Glacier to Goat Haunt traverse, deep in grizzly country.
One permit opens 700 miles of trail across the Crown of the Continent, where grizzlies roam turquoise lake basins and the Continental Divide splits the sky.
Glacier National Park sells one wilderness permit that covers backcountry camping across the entire park, from the North Fork to Two Medicine. You build an itinerary out of designated campgrounds, one night at each, and the permit ties them into a legal route. About 3,000 standard advance reservations are released each spring through a March request period on Recreation.gov, with roughly 30 percent of all sites held back for walk-up permits issued the day before or day of your trip.
Because the advance reservations for the well-known routes sell out within days, catching a cancellation on permit 4675321 is the practical way to land the dates and campsites you want once the initial release is gone.
Glacier's wilderness permit is a build-your-own-route system. You pick a chain of designated campgrounds, one per night, and the permit ties them together into a legal itinerary. Popular strings include the Highline to Granite Park traverse along the Garden Wall, the Gunsight Pass route past Gunsight and Lake Ellen Wilson, the Dawson-Pitamakan loop out of Two Medicine, and the long walk north from Many Glacier over Stoney Indian Pass to Goat Haunt. The nine booking districts (Goat Haunt, Lake McDonald, Many Glacier, North Fork, St. Mary, Two Medicine, Walton, the Undesignated Zone, and the Continental Divide Trail corridor) each cover a cluster of campgrounds, and a single trip can cross several of them.
Most routes gain and lose thousands of feet crossing named passes above 7,000 feet. Snow lingers on north-facing passes into July, and the high sites often do not open until mid-July. By late September the season closes down as campgrounds shut for winter.
This is the whole-park wilderness permit for Glacier, not a single trail. Every backcountry night in the park runs through Recreation.gov permit 4675321, whether you are stringing together the Northern Loop from Goat Haunt, camping under Grinnell Glacier out of Many Glacier, or walking the Continental Divide Trail through the park. Advance reservations move in a March request period and roughly 3,000 standard reservations sell out fast, so the routes people actually want fill months ahead. Catching a cancellation on this permit is often the only way to get the campsites and dates you planned around.
You wake to a windless morning at a lakeside campsite, the peaks across the water still holding last night's snow. The bear cables sag with your food bag ten feet up. There is no cell signal, no road noise, just the sound of a creek and the knowledge that the nearest trailhead is a full day behind you. Glacier's backcountry does not feel visited. It feels earned.
Best for: Experienced backpackers comfortable in grizzly country, on high passes, and far from a trailhead.
Recommended experience: Prior multi-day backpacking in mountain terrain and bear-country food storage habits are strongly recommended before a Glacier wilderness trip.
Not recommended for: First-time backpackers, anyone uneasy around bears, or hikers who cannot handle sustained elevation gain at altitude.
Trailhead information
6,647 ft elevation
Starting point for Highline Trail, the park's most popular backcountry access
Extremely limited. Fills by 7-8am in summer. Shuttle from Apgar recommended.
Check the park's road status page before planning. NPS publishes Going-to-the-Sun Road status live rather than a typical season.
West Glacier (30 miles) or St. Mary (18 miles)
Trailhead information
5,164 ft elevation
Trailhead for Dawson-Pitamakan Loop, a quieter alternative to Logan Pass
Larger lot, rarely fills except peak weekends
From East Glacier via Two Medicine Road. Open seasonally.
East Glacier (10 miles): limited services
Mid-July through mid-September is the reliable window, when the high passes are clear of snow and campgrounds are open. Late July brings peak wildflowers, and mid-September offers thinner crowds and golden larch on the west side.
Trailhead (3,150 ft)
Backcountry Tips
Today
35°
33°
100%
Wed
39°
33°
98%
Thu
36°
30°
95%
Fri
37°
33°
59%
Sat
36°
30°
82%
Sun
33°
29°
92%
Mon
37°
33°
88%
Sunrise from any camp east of the Continental Divide sets the red argillite peaks on fire. Elizabeth Lake and Cosley Lake glow first.
Morning light works best for the east-side peaks and the distinctive red rock. West-side lake basins hold soft light into the evening.
North Fork, Walton, and the Goat Haunt districts see a fraction of the traffic of the Logan Pass corridor. Midweek starts beat the weekend rush for walk-up sites.
Emergency contacts, ranger station locations, and satellite communicator tips for Glacier Wilderness.
Bear canister requirements, approved container lists, and rental locations for this permit.
Gear Checklist: Required and recommended gear for Glacier Wilderness · Shuttle Services: Trailhead transportation options · Guide Services: Experienced wilderness guides
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PermitSnag alerts you the moment a Glacier Wilderness cancellation opens, so you can book it before anyone else. Glacier Wilderness permits use a reservation system.
Season dates are on the agency's page. Weekdays have better availability than weekends.
This permit has a demand score of 8/10, making it highly competitive. We recommend having backup dates and using PermitSnag's cancellation alerts.
Cancellations happen daily. Set up alerts with PermitSnag to get notified the moment a spot opens up. Pro and $19 single-permit alerts are checked about every minute, 24/7; free accounts are checked hourly.
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Write the First ReportThe same Recreation.gov permit, 4675321, checked as a whole rather than only for the advance-reservation window.
A broader alert covers every district on the permit, so it returns more results than an advance-only alert.
The Many Glacier district on the same permit: Cracker Lake, Poia Lake, and the Belly River camps reached over Ptarmigan Tunnel.
Elizabeth Lake Foot is 9.5 miles with 720 feet of gain from the Belly River Trailhead against 2,600 feet by way of Ptarmigan Tunnel, so the approach you pick changes the day completely.
The southeast corner of the park: Oldman Lake, No Name Lake, Cobalt Lake, and the Dawson and Pitamakan passes.
In 2026 the North Shore Trailhead is not accessible due to construction in the Two Medicine Campground, and the reroute to the North Shore Trail requires an unbridged ford. The South Shore Trail reaches the same places without a ford and adds about a mile each way.
Logan Pass to Granite Park Chalet on the Highline Trail, 7.6 miles one way with 800 feet of gain, on the same permit.
One stretch of trail instead of a multi-night itinerary.
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