Overall, Glacier visitation down; but Polebridge way up

With half of Glacier National Park closed due to coronavirus, visitation was down sharply over last year, with one exception: Polebridge.

The entrance at the north end of the park was way up over last year — by a whopping 46 percent, according to preliminary figures.

In July, the Polebridge entrance saw 35,652 visitors. Last year year it saw 24,435. Year-to-date, even with Glacier being closed for more than two months, Polebridge is up 5.1 percent, with 49,401 visitors.

The east side of Glacier is closed as the Blackfeet Tribe have restricted all non-essential travel on the reservation.

Overall, park visitation is down 48.4 percent over last July, with 453,977 visitors. Last year there were just under 880,000 visitors.

The West Entrance was down in July, but not as much as one might expect, with 339,454 visitors. Last year was 410,135 in July, a 17 percent drop.

Year-to-date Glacier has seen 712,727 visitors, which is a drop of 57.5 percent.

With all but one auto campground closed, most backcountry campgrounds closed and the Many Glacier Hotel closed, overnight stays were also down sharply.

All told, overnight stays are down 77 percent in July and 83.5 percent for the year.

The park saw about 29,080 overnight stays in July; last year it saw 127,631 stays.

Glacier was closed completely in April and May due to coronavirus concerns.