Glacier National Park Announces Fall 2009 Services

Date: August 27, 2009
Contact: Amy Vanderbilt, 406-888-5838
Contact: Wade Muehlhof, 406-888-7895

WEST GLACIER, MONT. – Officials at Glacier National Park remind park visitors that the park is open year-round and that most concessions, lodging and camping facilities will remain open well past Labor Day for the autumn season.

After Labor Day, services and facilities slowly start closing for the winter; however, the following is a list of ongoing park services and projected closing dates.

Concessioner:                Closing/Ending Date:

Belton Chalets, Inc. (1-888-345-2649 or www.sperrychalet.com or www.graniteparkchalet.com)

· Granite Park Chalet                          Sept. 7

· Sperry Chalet                                  Sept. 9

The historic Granite Park Chalet is available for overnight use as a rustic hiker shelter. Services at the historic Sperry Chalet include traditional overnight accommodations and food service for guests and day hikers alike.

Glacier Park Boat Company (406-257-2426 or www.glacierparkboats.com)

Boat tours and rentals:

· Apgar (rentals only)                         Sept. 7

· Lake McDonald                               Sept. 20

· Many Glacier                                Sept. 13

· Rising Sun                                      Sept. 7

· Two Medicine                                Sept. 7

Glacier Park, Inc. (Central reservations 406-892-2525 or www.glacierparkinc.com)

· Glacier Park Lodge                          Sept. 26

· Lake McDonald Lodge                     Sept. 26

· Lake McDonald Camp Store              Sept. 26

· Jammer Joe’s Restaurant                  Sept. 8

· Many Glacier Hotel                         Sept. 20

· Prince of Wales Hotel*                    Sept. 14

· Rising Sun Motor Inn                      Sept. 20

· Rising Sun Camp Store                Sept. 21**

· Swiftcurrent Motor Inn                    Sept. 12

· Swiftcurrent Camp Store                  Sept. 20

· Two Medicine Camp Store                 Sept. 7

· Village Inn                                    Sept. 19

*Glacier Park Lodge and the Prince of Wales Hotel are located outside the park, but are also managed by GPI.

**These properties will close after breakfast on the dates listed.

· Red Bus Tours                            Sept. 26

· Hiker Shuttle                               Sept.  7

(Connects Many Glacier to Going-to-the-Sun Road shuttle which operates July1-Sept. 7, 2009)

· East Side Shuttle                           Sept. 20

(Service to trailheads and hotels between East Glacier and Waterton. Alberta, Canada)

Glacier Guides, Inc. (1-800-521-RAFT or 406-387-5555 or www.glacierguides.com)

· Guided day hikes & backpacking             Oct.

Swan Mountain Outfitters

(1-877-888-5557 or www.swanmountainoutfitters.com/glacier)

Horseback rides

· Apgar Corral                                  Sept. 7

· Lake McDonald Corral                    Sept. 20

· Many Glacier Corral                       Sept. 20

Sun Tours (1-800-786-9220 or 406-226-9220 or www.glaciersuntours.com )

· Interpretive tours                          Oct. 15 (Blackfeet perspective)          

Waterton Inter-Nation Shoreline Cruises, LTD(403-859-2362 or www.watertoncruise.com) Waterton Lake Boat Tours

· Goat Haunt landings                       Sept. 20

· Waterton Lake non-landing Sept. 21–Oct. 4; 
                                               Oct. 10-11

The following is the autumn 2009 schedule for National Park Service facilities.

Note on entrance fees: When entrance stations are not staffed, visitors must pay the entrance fee at the self-registration fee collection box or have a valid, previously purchased park pass.

Campgrounds:           Last Night for Camping / 
                          Change to Primitive Status:

· Apgar                                           Oct. 11*

· Avalanche                                   Sept. 6

· Bowman Lake                           Sept. 13**

· Cut Bank                                Sept. 13***

· Fish Creek                                    Sept. 6

· Kintla Lake                              Sept. 13**

· Logging Creek                              Sept. 29

· Many Glacier                            Sept. 20**

· Quartz Creek                          Nov. 29 ***

· Rising Sun                                   Sept. 13

· Sprague Creek                               Sept. 13

· St. Mary                                   Sept. 20 *

· Two Medicine                           Sept. 20**

* - Primitive camping (no treated, running water and no flush toilets) is available throughout the fall at Apgar and St. Mary beginning on the dates indicated above. Cost for primitive camping at St. Mary and Apgar is $10 a night. Winter camping is also offered at these two sites. There is no charge for winter camping, which begins December 1.

** - Primitive camping (no treated, running water and no flush toilets) will also be available after the listed dates at Bowman Lake, Kintla Lake, Many Glacier, and Two Medicine Campgrounds. Bowman and Kintla Lake will offer primitive camping until December 1, unless closed earlier by weather. At Many Glacier and Two Medicine campgrounds, primitive camping remains available until snow accumulation and/or unsafe road conditions exist. Cost for primitive camping is $10 a night.

*** - No water is available at Cut Bank, Logging Creek and Quartz Creek. Camping at these campgrounds costs $10 per night. Quartz Creek will continue to offer this primitive camping with no water until December 1, unless closed earlier by weather.

Visitor Centers and Ranger Led Interpretive Programs:

Glacier’s Visitor Centers at Apgar, St. Mary and Logan Pass are open daily throughout September.

A variety of ranger-led programs, from easy walks and evening talks, to all-day hikes and boat tours will continue in September. Activities are listed in “The Glacier Visitors Guide” which is available in visitor centers or online at: https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/upload/WGG09-web.pdf

Going-to-the-Sun Road:

To allow for accelerated rehabilitation work, beginning Monday, September 21, 2009, Logan Pass will be closed to through vehicle traffic from the west side between Avalanche and Logan Pass for the remainder of the season.

Logan Pass will remain accessible for vehicles into the fall from the east side, except when closed to motorized vehicles because of weather.

During evening hours and on weekends, when the contractor is not working, non-motorized access (hikers and bicyclists) will be allowed on the alpine segment between Avalanche and Logan Pass.

Information about the Going-to-the-Sun Road rehabilitation and related visitor service improvements are available by calling park headquarters at 406-888-7800, or online at https://www.nps.gov/applications/glac/roadstatus/roadstatus.cfm.

More Information:

For reservations and details on the concession activities, please contact the concession office directly at the number listed.

For general park information, please visit the park’s official website (www.nps.gov/glac) or call park headquarters at 406-888-7800.            

- NPS -