Study warns of possible impacts of Sun Road reservation system, but more data needed

A new study by the Institute of Tourism and Research from the University of Montana tries to look at the projected economic impact of crowd control at Glacier National Park, but ultimately notes it will probably take more data to get a firm grasp on the issue.

The recently released study, titled, “Projected Impact of Visitor Limitations in Glacier National Park” by authors Glenna Hartman, Elena Bigart and Jeremy Sage does note, however, that Glacier is not alone in its attempt to curb crowds a bit during the busy summer months.

For the first time ever Glacier implemented a ticketed entry reservation system this summer to enter the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.

The idea was to keep traffic from backing up to Highway 2 at the west entrance because of construction on the highway. It also was meant to reduce overcrowding in the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor, with a goal of about 4,600 vehicles in the corridor during peak times.

The system worked, to a point. But outgoing Superintendent Jeff Mow said the park also turned away more than 300,000 cars over the course of the summer. Those folks, however, were given advice on where they could go until the road opened to people without tickets later in the day.

Most presumably went somewhere else — tickets weren’t required for places like Two Medicine, or Polebridge, for example and people could get on the Sun Road if they arrived before 6 a.m. or later than 5 p.m.

Glacier is far from alone in trying to curb crowds. Rocky Mountain, Acadia, Zion, John Muir National Monument, Yosemite and others all required some sort of reservation, particularly the most popular areas.

The tickets across the board were inexpensive, ranging from $8.50 for a parking reservation at John Muir, to $1 or $2 at other parks. Curbing visitation, however, also curbs spending. “Glacier, visitors spent $356 million, supporting 5,400 jobs. Glacier is clearly an important aspect of the local and state economy, and 23% of visitors who are on vacation in Montana indicate that Glacier is their primary reason for visiting the state, the study notes. “Therefore, concern by local communities over potential visitation caps is logical.” For example, people might not come at all to Montana if they can’t get a Sun Road ticket.

Glacier’s system did have some faults, the study notes. Tickets were available only through the recreation.gov website and there was only a 60 or two-day window to buy a ticket.

“(The) reservation system affects destination visitors who need predictability and large planning windows. It should be noted that for such visitors who do plan ahead and book their flights and accommodations six months or more (even years) in advance, a Going-to-the Sun road or similar reservation system in which the max period is 60 days in advance creates significant challenges and disincentive,” the study noted. “With Glacier National Park typically serving as the primary stated reason for visiting the region, an inability to reserve tickets and thus ensure the ability to participate in their desired activity might force them to completely change or cancel their destination travel plans.”

It could also turn away folks with poor or no Internet access, since the tickets often sold out quickly, particularly those that were available just two days in advance.

“The system affects those people who are not tech savvy or do not have internet access: all reservations need to be made online via reservation. gov. Not only online access is required, the website/app is also often overloaded and tickets are sold out almost immediately,” it noted.

There is also impact on other public lands, the study noted. While more study is needed, there was plenty of evidence locally that people recreated in the Flathead National Forest. Campers were setting up at turnouts along the Hungry Horse Reservoir and at Blankenship, a once sleepy sandbar that a few locals camped at resembled a small village at times last summer.

The study, however, says more research needs to be done to fully understand the social and economic impacts.

“Capping visitation in

national parks, and Glacier in particular, is a relatively new initiative; there is not enough research data to see how the system is accepted by the public and which positive and negative impacts it may create. It is crucial to carefully examine the consequences, ensure a fair and equitable process, and regularly monitor its implementation,” the authors found. But other parks, like Arches, have studied impacts of reservations.

“In Arches National Park, using the interview data and statistical analysis, it was estimated that visitation to the park may be reduced by 5% to 10% percent during the first year if the reservation system would be implemented, and could result in a reduction in spending of $11 to $22 million. This, in turn, could reduce overall output, employment, wages, and tax receipts through associated multipliers. Although the proposed reservation system in Arches has not been implemented yet, these estimations provided the park with the necessary data and helped to plan accordingly,” the study found.

At Glacier at least, it seemed people simply waited. The park didn’t require tickets to drive the Sun Road in September, and the park saw about 710,661 visitors, shattering previous visitation records. The next busiest September in its history was in 2016, when the Park recorded about 482,000 visitors.

Glacier has yet to release whether it will even have a reservation system in 2022.