Glacier East or West side

[Rolltide1]

Will be heading to Glacier this July . Have reservations on east and west side .. Will be there 4 days.. Which side is the best to reside at for the duration..

[traveldawg]

You'll get both options - east and west. Probably can't go wrong either way. We prefer the east. It seems you get to the fun scenery quicker from there (and you'll get different options on that too). And it isn't so crowded outside the park - the corollary to that is: there isn't as much there to do outside the park as on the west side

I suppose it depends a lot on where you are coming from and where you are going to as to whether one side or the other is out of the way.

[CoChris]

Will be heading to Glacier this July . Have reservations on east and west side .. Will be there 4 days.. Which side is the best to reside at for the duration..

One thing to be aware of is the East entrance goes through an Indian reservation and it was closed for 2020 due to the pandemic. I believe it is still closed. Who knows what 2021 will bring, I have not heard any definite plans. Just be aware of the possibility of it being closed still/again.

Chris

[Rolltide1]

Thanks for the info.. Sont have to make decision for awhile so will see what happens..

[traveldawg]

One thing to be aware of is the East entrance goes through an Indian reservation and it was closed for 2020 due to the pandemic. I believe it is still closed. Who knows what 2021 will bring, I have not heard any definite plans. Just be aware of the possibility of it being closed still/again.

Chris

Thanks, Chris. I have reservations at the KOA on the east side for the end of August. I forgot about that closing. I saw it some time ago. I hope it is OK by the end of summer. I'm also hoping to get up to the Waterton side of Glacier - we'll see how that goes.....

[Airrace]

Have not stayed in the KOA on the east side, but have stayed in the KOA on the west side. Large park with room to back and park the truck. As off a few minutes ago the MT DOT is not saying the road is closed( US 2) as is US 212 though the Crow reservation. But that could chnge.

[CoChris]

One thing to be aware of is the East entrance goes through an Indian reservation and it was closed for 2020 due to the pandemic. I believe it is still closed. Who knows what 2021 will bring, I have not heard any definite plans. Just be aware of the possibility of it being closed still/again.

Chris

I hate quoting myself, but wanted to update/correct my information. Hwy 2 was open last year, we pulled the Solitude through there. Absolutely beautiful area! It was the entrance at St. Mary (Driving to the sun road) that was (and is?) closed.

Chris

[MikeInSeattle]

Will be heading to Glacier this July . Have reservations on east and west side .. Will be there 4 days.. Which side is the best to reside at for the duration..

I liked the east side more in terms of scenery and proximity to things. Getting to Many Glacier is much quicker. We saw a grizzly last time in the meadows right inside the park entrance. As others said, it is quieter so you definitely want to provision before you get there. Groceries were unbelievably expensive in East Glacier. The KOA there is nice. The West Glacier KOA is amazing and West Glacier has lots going on. I tried looking to see if the Blackfeet Reservation is open and couldn't really figure out their plan. To me I would go whatever side is easiest for you to access and then continue on. Have fun, love Glacier!

[Rolltide1]

Thanks for the info I think we’ve settled for the east side due to the hikes we want to do..Thanks all for your responses..

[Sportsdad60]

We live 1.5 hours from the West entrance on Flathead lake. The traffic going into the west side in 2020 was crazy due to East being closed. We did not do any of our fav day hikes due to the park being full by 7am most days.

If they don't open up the east side, personally I'd skip visiting the west side.

The governor lifted the mask mandate and the state is completely open now, however the Res does their own thing.