Park entrance fee hike delayed, snowpack is average

The cost of an annual entrance pass to Glacier National Park likely will increase, but it won’t be $60, Park spokeswoman Denise Germann told the Columbia Falls Area Chamber of Commerce on May 12.

Germann said the winter entrance fee will increase in October, and the cost of the annual pass will likely increase Jan. 1, although by how much she wasn’t certain.

Park officials proposed increasing entrance and other visitor fees last November and put the proposal out for public comment. Germann noted that to mark the centennial celebration of the National Park Service next year, entrance fees will be reduced for juveniles.

Germann also spoke about the continuing reconstruction work on the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

She advised tourist business owners at the meeting that the locations of trailheads and shuttle stops on the east side of the Divide will change because of the road work.

“So tell your clients to check ahead of time,” she said.

An event to celebrate the Many Glacier Hotel’s centennial will take place in August, Germann said.

She also commented on the amount of snowpack seen at Logan Pass during the May 11 media tour.

“Last year, we held the media tour on June 5, so we’re ahead of schedule,” she said.

The snowpack level was about average at Logan Pass, but snowpack was well below average or completely gone below 6,000 feet, she said.

Randy Gayner, a co-owner of Montana Raft Co., said he’s been receiving a lot of questions about how much water to expect on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River this summer.

“There’s a lot of snow up high,” he said. “Most of the streamflow in the Middle Fork comes from high elevation snow, which is about average right now.”