Ranked by reservations per reservable site per year (FY2023–2025), so a small campground that fills up counts as much as a big one. "Typical booking" is when half of campers had already reserved; summer occupancy is our estimate (see how we measured).
01 · Lake McDonald · west side
Apgar Campground
The park's largest campground, steps from Lake McDonald
Lake McDonald with mountains in the background and pebble shore in the foreground.Photo: NPS Photo / Recreation.gov
194 sites, heavily forested with partial shade; some have views of Lake McDonald, and sunset on the lake is a short stroll away.
Half of August Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 22 days ahead, and a quarter at least 170 days ahead.
Two-speed bookings: half of August weekend arrivals were reserved at least 22 days ahead, but a quarter at least 170 days ahead.
~3 weeks out typical booking95.6 reservations per site / yrRanked 1st of 8 · 184 reservable sites · 45,777 reservations FY2023–2025
100 sites in the Two Medicine Valley, with a ranger station and camp store nearby but no other services, cell service or wifi.
Half of August Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 6 days ahead, and a quarter at least 156 days ahead.
Half of August weekend arrivals were reserved 6 or fewer days ahead, yet a quarter were booked at least 156 days out.
7 days out typical booking~92% full in summer (est.)78 reservations per site / yrRanked 2nd of 8 · 93 reservable sites · 19,055 reservations FY2023–2025
Bridge to Fish Creek Amphitheater within the campground.Photo: Mark Norbey-NPS / Recreation.gov
178 well-spaced sites in heavy forest with plenty of shade; some have views of Lake McDonald.
Half of August Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 26 days ahead, and a quarter at least 172 days ahead.
~5 weeks out typical booking~99% full in summer (est.)71.6 reservations per site / yrRanked 3rd of 8 · 170 reservable sites · 30,535 reservations FY2023–2025
A man views rock cliffs above an alpine lake near Many Glacier.Photo: NPS Photo / Recreation.gov
Inside the park · near St. Mary
6 days out typical booking~59% full in summer (est.)68 reservations per site / yrRanked 4th of 8 · 102 reservable sites · 11,940 reservations FY2023–2025
A scenic view of a lake surrounded by rocky peaks.Photo: NPS Photo / Recreation.gov
The largest campground on the east side, about half a mile from the St. Mary Visitor Center. Shade is sparse, but Singleshot, East Flattop and Red Eagle mountains frame the views.
Half of July Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 12 days ahead, and a quarter at least 158 days ahead.
FY2025 was its busiest year on record, with 9,554 reservations, up from 6,933 in FY2024.
9 days out typical booking~84% full in summer (est.)64.1 reservations per site / yrRanked 5th of 8 · 138 reservable sites · 23,202 reservations FY2023–2025
All 8 campgrounds, ranked by reservations per site
Typical booking: median days between booking and arrival, FY2023–2025. Peak season, est. full: reserved site-nights ÷ (reservable sites × nights) in summer (June–August), 2023–2025; blank where we couldn't estimate it reliably. Ranking is reservations per reservable site per year, averaged over the FY2023–2025 years each campground took reservations (campgrounds that joined Recreation.gov recently are marked "Partial history"). Details in About this data.
Not ranked, because Recreation.gov doesn't list a reliable count of individual reservable sites (group, cabin or shared sites, fewer than 10 sites, or site records that don't match the bookings): Sprague Creek Campground (5,969 reservations), Apgar Group Sites (1,100 reservations), Ben Rover Cabin (647 reservations), Wurtz Cabin (581 reservations), Schnaus Cabin (576 reservations).
How Glacier bookings have changed
Reservations peaked at about 65,000 in FY2024 and were about 59,000 in FY2025, still above the pre-2020 average of about 19,000 a year.
19,110 a year on average in FY2015–2019, 59,372 in FY2025, across all 13 campgrounds we studied. FY2020–21 were shaped by COVID closures and the camping surge.
FY15
FY16
FY17
FY18
FY19
24,206FY20COVID
21,615FY21COVID
FY22
FY23
FY24
59,372FY25
The set of campgrounds on Recreation.gov changed over these years (some, like Apgar and Two Medicine, joined recently), so part of the change reflects which campgrounds were bookable there, not only how many people camped.
All values
FY2015: 16,948
FY2016: 18,786
FY2017: 20,004
FY2018: 19,817
FY2019: 19,997
FY2020: 24,206 (COVID year)
FY2021: 21,615 (COVID year)
FY2022: 41,946
FY2023: 61,529
FY2024: 64,722
FY2025: 59,372
Find a Glacier campsite for your dates
Compare current openings and prices around Glacier National Park.
Data: Recreation.gov reservations FY2015–2025. These are Recreation.gov's public reservation records (the RIDB historical reservation files), covering every federal campground in the area that took at least 300 reservations in FY2023–2025. Federal fiscal years run October to September, so FY2025 is October 2024 through September 2025.
Which campgrounds are included. Every federal campground inside Glacier National Park or within 30 miles of its center point (straight-line distance) that takes reservations on Recreation.gov. Area / setting comes from each campground's Recreation.gov coordinates and managing agency; nearby towns are straight-line.
How we ranked. By reservations per reservable site per year: a campground's FY2023–2025 reservations divided by its number of reservable sites, averaged over the years in that span when it took reservations (at least one full fiscal year), so a campground that joined Recreation.gov recently isn't undercounted. This lets a small campground that books up compare fairly with a big one. Reservable sites are the individual overnight sites Recreation.gov lists for the campground; group sites, cabins, lookouts, yurts, shelters, boat-in and day-use sites are left out, and so are their reservations. Campgrounds with fewer than 10 such sites, or whose site records don't match the bookings (for example shared walk-in sites), aren't ranked and are listed under the table.
Typical booking time. The median number of days between the day a reservation was made and the arrival date, across all FY2023–2025 reservations at that campground: half of campers booked at least that far ahead. Profiles turn the busiest month's weekend figure into calendar dates for the next season, worked out from today's date.
Estimated summer occupancy. The share of possible site-nights in summer (June–August) of 2023, 2024 and 2025 that had a reservation: reserved site-nights ÷ (reservable sites × nights in the season). It's an estimate. Cancellations aren't in the data, so it can run high; sites closed for repairs or late openings make it run low. Each site-night counts once. We leave it blank where the site count is unreliable or the result came out over 100%.
No "% available". These records show what was booked, not what was open on a given day, so we don't estimate availability from them. The "Sites open" tags come from our live availability check and only appear when it confirms open sites.
Bookings, not occupancy. Each count is a reservation made. Cancellations aren't in the data, so a booked site may later have opened up, and nights a campground was closed simply show no bookings.
COVID years are flagged. FY2020 and FY2021 were shaped by closures, capacity limits and a camping surge, so we mark them and don't use them for "then vs now" comparisons.
Lead time is the days between the booking date and the arrival date. Weekend means a Friday or Saturday arrival. First-come, pay-on-arrival sites are left out of lead times.
Only campgrounds that take reservations on Recreation.gov are included. State parks, private campgrounds and first-come campgrounds aren't in these numbers.
