It is a sad day when Montanans have essentially been locked out of Glacier National Park.
The new entry system that went live April 29 makes Montanans compete worldwide for entry tickets to Glacier National Park. At precisely 8 a.m. that morning, when the tickets went live on the internet, I tried to purchase an entry ticket for July 1, but within one minute (one screen refresh as directed) the entry tickets were sold out for that day. I must do the same thing for July 2 at 8 a.m. and so on.
What this means to me is that locals can no longer pack up their bikes and ride the Going-to-the-Sun Road before the snow is cleared. We can no longer bring our visitors up to the park for a day hike up to Avalanche, or a drive up over Logan Pass. We can no longer take a ride up to Apgar to hike out to the Ox Bow or stop to eat an ice cream on the picnic tables overlooking Lake MacDonald.
No matter that you have a park pass or a senior pass or any pass at all, you will no longer be able to use your pass unless you have an entry ticket. It is an impossible situation. This is a very sad day for me.
Cynthia Winters
Whitefish