Camping in Glacier National Park


Mountain Peak Finding A Site
While in Camp
Reducing Your Impact
Food Storage Regulations
Camping in Bear Country
Mountain Lions


Finding A Site
Instructions for registering for your campsite are found at the entrance of each campground or each campground loop.

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While In Camp

Campsite Capacity
There is a limit of 8 people per site. Campsite use is limited to a maximum of 2 vehicles per site where space is available.

Parties larger than 8 people need to use multiple sites or a group site. Group sites accommodate between 9 and 24 people. Contact a ranger or campground host for more information.

Quiet Hours
Quiet hours are from 8:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M. All noise must be kept to a level that does not unreasonably disturb others. Please be considerate of your neighbor. Generators may not be operated during quiet hours.

Saving Your Site
A paper plate strung across the entrance to your site with your name and date will show the site is taken. Do not place bags over the numbered site posts, and remove all markings when vacating the site. Sites are not to be left unattended for over 24 hours.

Sanitation and Showers
All waste water from showers and sinks, especially dishwater, must be caught and contained, and disposed of in utility sinks or RV dump stations. Human waste must be disposed of in toilets or RV dump stations. RVs must use drain hoses at dump stations.

No utility hook-ups are provided in any park campgrounds. Individual hookups to water, sewage, or electrical outlets is prohibited. Washing dishes, clothing, people, or cleaning fish at water faucets is prohibited.

Showers are available for a fee at Rising Sun and Swiftcurrent Motor Inns on the east side of the park and at privately owned campgrounds outside the park.

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Reducing Your Impact

Fires and Firewood
Gathering firewood from along roads or near developed campgrounds is prohibited, except along the inside North Fork Road from one mile north of Fish Creek Campground to Kintla Lake, and along the Bowman Lake Road. Cutting live or dead standing trees is prohibited. Chainsaws are not permitted. Firewood is available for sale at most campstores.

Fires must be kept inside the grate and attended at all times. Be sure your fire is dead out when leaving your site for any reason.

Preserving the Natural Scene
Human food is harmful to all animals, including deer, birds, and chipmunks! Do not feed any wildlife. Violations can result in a minimum $75 fine.

Leave all natural items for others to enjoy. Do not dig, trench, or level the ground. Do not drive nails into, or strip bark from, trees.

Fireworks are prohibited at all times.

Pets
Pets must be on a leash of 6 feet or less, caged, or in vehicles at all times. Pets are not to be left unattended at any time, and are not permitted on trails or in the backcountry. Please pick up after your pets.

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Food Storage Regulations

When it is not being consumed, all food, coolers, cooking utensils, food containers, and pet food must be kept in a closed vehicle that is constructed of solid, non-pliable material, day or night.

Several campgrounds have food lockers or bear poles for those camping without a suitable vehicle. Ask a ranger or campground host for their location. Otherwise, food must be suspended at least 10 feet above the ground and 4 feet from any post, tree trunk, or limb.

Garbage must be properly stored at all times. Use the bearproof cans in your campground.

Any violation of these regulations may result in confiscation of the items and a fine imposed.

If you see a bear in the campground, you are injured, have property damage, or observe a bear damaging the property of others please contact a ranger as soon as possible.

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Camping in Bear Country

Food, drinks, and pet food left in the open, on tables, or stored in tents are an invitation to bears. Bears enter park campgrounds on occasion and whether they stay may be up to you!

Both black and grizzly bears are common in Glacier National Park, and their pursuit of food causes them to seek out food stored by visitors. To help reduce the instances of human/bear conflicts, the National Park Service has developed safety guidelines. These are the safest alternatives for food storage in that they decrease the likelihood that personal injury or property damage will occur.

If possible, do not sleep in clothes you wore when cooking. Packs and sleeping bags should be kept free of food odors. As a precaution against the presence of food odors, wash your hands and face before retiring. Keep a clean camp. Put garbage and waste in bearproof trash cans. Do not leave food or scraps in or around your camp. Dump dishwater in receptacles in comfort station, not on the ground near your camp. Wash the picnic table after use and clean your cook stove and fire grill.

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Mountain Lions

Mountain Lion sightings have increased in the last few years, occasionally near campgrounds. Closely supervise children whenever they are outdoors, even in developed areas. Be especially careful around areas of dense undergrowth. Keep pets leashed and under control. Do not leave pets tied up at your campsite. Unattended pets may attract a lion and result in the loss of your pet.

Please report mountain lion sightings or interactions to the nearest ranger, visitor center, or park headquarters at (406) 888-7800.

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