Over the past few years summer backcountry permits in Glacier National Park have been increasingly problematic. An antiquated mail-in reservation system has combined with a sharp increase in applications to create a situation which was no good for anyone. Prospective backpackers were stuck waiting until well into May or even early June to receive confirmation or denial of their permit, and permit rangers had to deal with 1500+ paper applications. On April 16th all those sheets of paper were mixed, put into a random stack, and processed by hand beginning at the top. Thankfully that system will be no more.
Instead, this year applications will be online. Reservations will be accepted starting March 15th, and processed beginning that date on a rolling basis (something I confirmed this morning in a chat with the chief permit officer). Fees will also increase; there will be a 10 dollar non-refundable processing fee, a 30 dollar application fee which will only be charged if you are granted your request, and a 7 dollar per person/night fee (up from 5 dollars in years past).
Brief lesson: if you want a prime trip in the busy season (early Jule through mid Sept) submit your application on March 15! I’m assuming plenty of folks will get caught out by this change, and that reservations for the best sites at the best times will fill up very quickly indeed. Some slots are retained for walk-in, but that can be a dicey prospect.
