First Glacier Shuttle up is at 7:00 AM
Last Glacier Shuttle down from Logan Pass
is at 7:00 p.m.
Shuttle Service starts July 1st, 2011.
Shuttle Service last day is September 2, 2011.
Bears are a fact of life in Montana, especially so in Glacier Park. The book 'Bear Aware' covers bear safety while Hiking and Camping in Bear Country by Bill Schneider.
A bench has been added to the west side of the road at The Loop to allow riders to wait outside of traffic for the Shuttle returning to Apgar. If your planning on taking a long hike DON'T use the shuttle. If your planning on hiking on the east side and are starting from Apgar DON'T take the shuttle. The BEST times to catch the shuttle are 7 am to 9 am from the West side, after that the transfer point in Avalanche has the potential to become a MAJOR bottleneck. I did get to Apgar at 10 am and was able to make perfect connections to Siyeh Bend, but had to shorten the hike since even hitchhiking back to Apgar was risky since it was a Logan Pass work day and the Pass closed at 9 PM..
"Ridership was up more by more than 50,000 compared to 2008, with 156,726 people utilizing the free shuttle to travel the Sun Road. The increase is partly attributed to an extra week of operation compared to 2008, and an 11 percent increase in visitation to the park, year-to-date. The transit system received a total of 105,639 riders in 2008, compared to 132,093 riders in 2007. In 2008, ridership counts were down from 2007 partly because of gas prices near four dollars a gallon, a week less of shuttle operations, and three east side shuttle buses being out of service for several weeks in August 2008 for necessary warranty service." from NPS News Release
Only the government would have the nerve to give this as an excuse for three shuttles being out of service during a season that only last 9 weeks. The lack of shuttles on the east side in 2008 was very noticeable.
The Apgar Transit Center is located at the end of the West Glacier Entrance Road near Apgar. The earlier you get a shuttle the less hassle. The published schedules should be reliable up to The Loop after that traffic delays caused by road construction will play havoc with schedules. The Apgar Transit System does a good job of monitoring these delays and has become much more pro active to the need to cluster busses at Logan Pass. It will be a real dance this summer with the construction near the top of the pass on both sides of Going To The Sun Road.
This sign is at the start of the Highline Trail at Logan Pass. There is now a sign on shuttle times at the Granite Park Chalet Trail junction. I have seen people running down from Granite Park Chalet in a panic to catch the last shuttle. Not a good idea!
Due to budget cuts the Glacier Shuttle for 2010 operates from 7 am to 7 PM.. In 2007 the shuttle operated from 7 am to 9:30 PM..
I can't call it a hikers shuttle anymore due to the shorter hours.
As a result the Glacier Shuttle is not an option for long hikes.
2011 Schedule for GPI EastSide
Shuttle from Many Glacier, East Glacier and Two Medicine
East Side Shuttle departs from Many Glacier at 4:40PM connects to NPS Shuttle in St Mary $10.00 cash only. On a space available basis. Pick it up at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn and 4:50 PM from the Many Glacier Hotel. East side Glacier Shuttle same route different busses then the first year but running same route with shorter hours of operation.
Glacier National Park Free Glacier Shuttle Routes. With the price of gas matching the mountain peaks, Glacier National Parks Free Glacier Shuttle, now in its forth year of operation, is a great way to get to short hikes with trailhead's that intersect Going To The Sun Road. The Going-to-the-Sun Road Shuttle System now services most of the campgrounds that are near Going To The Sun Road. The NPS Glacier Shuttle on the east side is on a half-hour schedule. The last time I waited forty minutes and finally gave up. It would be nice if this shuttle was on at least a twenty minute schedule. West side shuttle has been completely reconfigured.
If you are planning on doing ANY hiking do yourself a favor and go to one of the Visitor Centers or entrance stations and get a copy of Day Hikes in Glacier. Day Hikes in Glacier has shuttle stops marked on the trail map and a comprehensive list of most of the day hikes. Glacier National Park Visitor Centers are located in West Glacier, Logan Pass and Saint Mary. Saint Mary Visitor Center is open till 8 p.m..
Avalanche Creek is the transfer point on the west side. Logan Pass is the only point to change between the west side shuttle and the east side shuttle. Logan Pass now has benches and parking areas out of the traffic lane for the shuttles. The free shuttle started July 1, 2007. The west side shuttle bus that goes to Logan Pass is smaller then Saint Mary shuttle bus. The longer shuttle bus are restricted from the west side of Going to the Sun Road.
On the Lake McDonald Route (the larger busses) the shuttle stops at the Apgar Transit Center, Apgar Village, Apgar Campground, Sprague Creek Campground, Lake McDonald Lodge, and ends at Avalanche Campground. On the Orange Route (the smaller busses) the shuttle stops at the Apgar Transit Center , Apgar Village, Apgar Campground, Sprague Creek Campground, Lake McDonald Lodge, Avalanche Campground, The Loop, and ends at Logan Pass. The Green Route (the smaller busses) starts at Avalanche Campground, The Loop, and ends at Logan Pass. Avalanche is now the primary transfer point to Logan Pass. The smaller busses will depart Apgar Transit Center in the mornings and from then on will loop between Avalanche and Logan Pass. The dispatcher at Logan Pass has a thankless job (especially for a volunteer) but the ones I have dealt with are doing a great job! I'm not seeing large numbers of riders waiting for the shuttle, so either the change in schedule is working or fewer tourists are taking the shuttle.
On the Saint Mary route the shuttle bus starts at the Saint Mary Visitor Center, stops at Rising Sun Campground, the Rising Sun Boat Dock has also been added to the east side route this year, next it takes a left down to Sun Point then returns to the Going to the Sun Road and proceeds to Sunrift Gorge, then onto Saint Mary Falls, Gunsight Pass Trailhead, Siyeh Bend and then ends at Logan Pass were it meets the Lake McDonald shuttle. When I took the shuttles in 2010 on July 4th there was a good dispatcher at Logan Pass, peace and tranquility are dependent on the skills of the dispatcher at Logan Pass.
NOTE: Due to construction on the Going to the Sun Road you can expect delays when transferring between shuttle routes at Logan Pass. Bus routes and schedules are posted at all of the shuttle stops.
NOTE Three different hikers have told me that GPI is only letting hikers who are staying with GPI to use the shuttle. Before the hikers shuttle I would hitchhike back to my car, something you still might have to do if your hike ends in Many Glacier.
The photo above was taken 7-8-10 at Granite Park Chalet. For some hikers this sign is merely a reminder, for other hikers panic sets in, stomachs tighten and tears flow. The parking area at the Loop is open 24 hours a day seven days a week, unlike the severely restricted hours at Logan Pass.
The photo below was taken on my return trip from Polebridge, after a day of XC skiing on the Kintla Lake Road northeast of Polebridge. There are many hidden jewels within the crown of the continent. I returned to the North Fork Road the next day to shoot the last total lunar eclipse of this decade.
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