Glacier National Park entrance fee and passes.

Buying and using the pass.

Summer or winter rate. Glacier's winter rates apply from November 1 to April 30: $25 per vehicle, $20 per motorcycle, and $15 per person, against $35, $30, and $20 the rest of the year. Standard passes are good for seven days and are non-transferable.

Pay by card, at any hour. The park does not accept cash. You can enter at any time, and if the entrance station isn't staffed, a self-registration area sells the 7-day pass.

Or buy ahead. A digital America the Beautiful pass from Recreation.gov saves to your phone and works right away. A physical pass ordered online from the USGS store can take up to three weeks, and NPS won't accept the order receipt in place of the pass.

One name per pass. Since 2024, each pass has one signature line for a single passholder. The Glacier Annual Pass is non-transferable, non-refundable, and doesn't cover camping. America the Beautiful passes are non-refundable, non-transferable, and can't be replaced if lost or stolen, and passholders must show valid photo ID with the pass.

Groups and tours. A non-commercial organized group traveling together pays the per-person rate, $20 each in summer or $15 in winter. Commercial tours pay by seating capacity, driver not counted: a sedan seating 1 to 6 pays $25 plus $20 per person 16 or older, and a van seating 7 to 15 pays $75, a mini-bus seating 16 to 25 pays $100, and a motor coach seating 26 or more pays $200, whatever the occupancy. Tour passes last seven days and are non-transferable. Non-U.S. residents on commercial, CUA, or concessioner tours still owe the $100 fee.

Fee waivers. Schools and bona fide academic institutions on non-commercial educational outings can apply for an academic fee waiver. Entrance fee waivers are also available for groups of children under 16 with a reasonable number of chaperones, drivers, and teachers, and for hospital in-patients in medical treatment or therapy. Applications must arrive at least three weeks before the visit, and entrance station staff can't grant a waiver on arrival. Academic waivers cover entrance fees only, not camping. Service and civic groups such as Scouts or Rotary don't qualify unless they meet the academic standards.

The $100 nonresident fee.

Each non-U.S. resident 16 and older pays a $100 nonresident fee at Glacier on top of the standard entrance fee, unless they come in on an annual or America the Beautiful pass. For two non-U.S. adults in a rental car in summer, that's $35 plus $200, or $235. For four, it's $435. The $250 non-resident America the Beautiful pass covers the entire vehicle, or two motorcycles, or the holder plus three more adults where fees are charged per person. Three adults in one car already pay $335 at the gate in summer, so the pass wins at Glacier alone.

If anyone in the car is a U.S. citizen or resident, their pass can do the same job for everyone. Per the NPS nonresident fee page, every valid America the Beautiful pass and park-specific annual pass covers entrance and nonresident fees for the holder and passengers in a private vehicle or on two motorcycles. That includes the $70 Glacier Annual Pass, a $20 senior pass, and the free Access, military, and 4th grade passes. The pass holder has to be with the group.

Photo ID decides the price. Resident pricing is checked when you use a pass, not only when you buy it. NPS says purchasers show photo ID at the time of use, and someone who isn't eligible for the resident pass is asked to upgrade to the $250 non-resident pass. Acceptable proof of U.S. citizenship or residency includes a U.S. passport, a state or territory driver's license or state ID, or a green card.

Glacier is one of eleven parks that charge this fee, per the NPS entrance fee prices page. Yellowstone and Grand Teton are on the list too, so a solo traveler adding either one pays $200 in nonresident fees plus Glacier's $35, or $235, before the second park's own vehicle fee. Fee-free days don't help: from 2026 they're for U.S. citizens and residents only, and nonresidents pay the regular entrance fee and the nonresident fee.

Free entrance days in 2026.

NPS lists eight fee-free dates for 2026, ten days in all: February 16, May 25, June 14, July 3 to 5, August 25, September 17, October 27, and November 11. Seven of those days have passed, so September 17, October 27, and November 11 are the ones left. Entrance is free for U.S. citizens and residents only. NPS notes that other fees, including reservation fees, may still apply, and the Logan Pass shuttle ticket is a separate purchase.

July is Glacier's busiest month, with about 24,600 recreation visits a day on average over the past five years. August runs about 22,400 a day, so July 3 to 5 and August 25 are the crowded free days. June 14 and September 17 fall in months that average about 18,400 and 18,600. February 16 and November 11 are in the winter-rate season, so a free day saves $25 rather than $35, and they're quiet, at about 600 and 800 a day. For what's open then, see Glacier in winter.

Reservations, permits, and the shuttle.

No vehicle reservation in 2026. NPS says no vehicle reservations are required in any area of the park this year. In 2026 the Logan Pass shuttle needed a $1 ticket for each rider over age 2, valid one day and sold only on Recreation.gov, and its season ended September 7; how tickets and Logan Pass parking worked is on our Glacier reservations page.

Big vehicles. Vehicles or combinations longer than 21 feet or wider than 8 feet can't drive Going-to-the-Sun Road between Avalanche Campground and Sun Point, whatever pass you hold, per the fees page. The NPS road information page puts the east end at Rising Sun instead, so plan on the longer stretch, and it says vehicles over 10 feet tall may have trouble driving west from Logan Pass because of rock overhangs. Road detail is on our Going-to-the-Sun Road page.

Wilderness camping. From May 1 to October 31, a wilderness camping permit costs $10 plus $7 per person per night, paid online at Recreation.gov or at a wilderness permit office. The advance lottery adds a $10 application fee that isn't refunded; the nightly fees are refunded if you cancel on Recreation.gov more than seven days before the trip. From November 1 to April 30, winter permits are issued only electronically, by advance reservation at least seven days ahead. Three people on a three-night summer trip pay $10 plus $63, or $73, on top of the entrance fee. Details are on the NPS wilderness permit page.

Boats. Every watercraft needs a launch permit, and it's free: the boat must be inspected for aquatic invasive species at Glacier and found clean, drained, and dry. See the NPS boating page.

Fishing. No fishing license is needed inside the park. The exception is the Middle Fork of the Flathead River: fishing it from park lands or bridges needs a Montana fishing license, per the NPS fishing page.

Camping and programs. Campground fees run $15 to $30 a night in summer and vary by season and campground; see Glacier camping. Ranger-guided activities are free, except ranger-guided hikes that include a boat trip and some Native America Speaks programs.

Is the annual pass worth it?

Two summer vehicle passes cost $70, the same as the Glacier Annual Pass, so it breaks even on a second summer trip within its year and saves money from the third. In winter it takes three $25 passes, $75, to pass it. The $80 America the Beautiful pass covers Glacier and every other national park, so it wins once your trip adds another park with an entrance fee. Glacier's price does change with the season, so pick your dates on the best time to visit Glacier page first, then price the pass.

For non-U.S. residents, the math tips toward the $250 pass fast. Three adults in one car cross it at Glacier alone, in summer ($335) or winter ($325). A solo traveler crosses it on a second park that charges the nonresident fee. The calculator above runs your own numbers at summer rates.

Common questions.

How much does it cost to go through Glacier National Park?

$35 per private vehicle for seven days in summer, or $25 from November 1 to April 30. A motorcycle is $30 ($20 in winter), and visitors 16 and older on foot or bike pay $20 ($15 in winter). Kids under 16 are free, and the park does not accept cash. Non-U.S. residents 16 and older add $100 each unless a valid annual or America the Beautiful pass admits them.

Can you visit Glacier National Park without a pass?

No. You enter with a standard, annual, or America the Beautiful pass, and if the entrance station isn't staffed, a self-registration area sells the 7-day pass. The exceptions are the ten fee-free days in 2026, which are for U.S. citizens and residents only, and fee waivers approved in advance.

Are National Park passes per car or per person?

It depends how you arrive. Glacier's $35 vehicle pass covers everyone in one private car, truck, or van, and passengers don't need their own pass. Visitors on foot or bike, and people in a non-commercial organized group, pay $20 each (16 and older). An America the Beautiful pass covers one vehicle fee or four per-person fees.

Do I need a timed entry pass for Glacier in 2026?

No. NPS says vehicle reservations are not required in 2026. The Logan Pass shuttle was ticketed, $1 per rider over age 2 on Recreation.gov, and its 2026 season ended September 7, along with the three-hour Logan Pass parking limit. See our Glacier reservations page for how they worked.

Is Glacier National Park in Canada the same park?

No. Parks Canada runs a separate Glacier National Park in British Columbia, and Waterton Lakes National Park is a Canadian park run by Parks Canada too. They charge Parks Canada admission, free for youth 17 and under. The fees on this page are for the U.S. Glacier National Park in Montana.

Where these facts come from

Summer and winter rates, pass rules, self-registration, the no-cash rule, annual and America the Beautiful passes, group and commercial prices, fee waivers, the 2026 fee-free dates, the Going-to-the-Sun Road vehicle size limit, camping fee rules, and free ranger programs come from the NPS Glacier fees page; the 2026 no-reservation rule also from the NPS vehicle reservations page. The Rising Sun end of the size limit and the 10-foot height note come from the NPS Going-to-the-Sun Road information page (last updated April 19, 2024). That fees page still calls the shuttle free; the 2026 $1 Logan Pass ticket comes from the NPS 2026 shuttle page instead. Wilderness permit fees come from the NPS wilderness permit page and the NPS advance reservations page; winter permits from the NPS winter camping page; the free launch permit from the NPS boating page; fishing license rules from the NPS fishing page; the $15 to $30 campground range from the NPS camping information page. Waterton Lakes and Glacier (BC) come from Parks Canada. Nonresident fee rules, pass coverage for passengers, residency documents, and photo ID at time of use come from the NPS nonresident fee page; the eleven-park list from the NPS entrance fee prices page; the U.S.-residents-only rule for fee-free days from the NPS fee-free days page. Daily visit figures are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from NPS Visitor Use Statistics, divided by the days in the month. Calculator results are our arithmetic on the summer fee table. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.