Avalanche Campground
★4.6(111 reviews)
High DemandGlacier National Park · West Glacier, Montana🚛Big Rig FriendlyHiking
Best For
Hikers who want direct trailhead access to Avalanche Lake and Trail of the Cedars, and RV campers up to 26 feet who want a wooded west-side base. Not for those wanting solitude in shoulder season — it opens late and fills instantly.
90
Sites
No
Hookups
Avalanche Campground sits in one of the most popular hiking corridors on Glacier's west side, with 86 standard and 4 walk-to sites tucked into dense forest. The max vehicle length is listed at 63 feet, but a critical caveat: only 50 of the 90 sites can accommodate vehicles up to 26 feet — the rest are effectively tent and small vehicle territory. The booking data here has a notable quirk: June shows 100% last-minute bookings across 54 reservations, indicating the campground opens very late in June and all early reservations are walk-ups. By July, 54.2% of 1,920 reservations are still last-minute, making it one of the more accessible campgrounds for spontaneous planners. August tightens hard with 20.2% booked 6+ months out across 2,070 reservations.
Content from Glacier National Park park guide
July and August deliver the full Glacier experience — wildflowers, open alpine roads, and all campgrounds operating — but they're also when 19.7% of August reservations are locked in 6+ months in advance. June is statistically the hardest month to book despite not being peak summer, with only 37.5% last-minute availability across 14,069 reservations. September is the sweet spot: 42.9% of reservations are still last-minute, temperatures are cooler, crowds thin, and the fall color in the eastern valleys is exceptional. April and October are genuinely last-minute-friendly with 76.9% and 71.9% last-minute rates respectively, but services and road access are limited.
A vehicle reservation is required to drive the west side of Going-to-the-Sun Road and access the Many Glacier and North Fork areas during the peak season — this is separate from your campground reservation and must be booked independently on Recreation.gov. Campground reservations at Apgar, Fish Creek, and St. Mary do not include road access. The free park shuttle system runs seasonally and connects most major campgrounds and trailheads, reducing the need to drive once you're parked. Many Glacier and Two Medicine are accessed via separate entrance roads on the east side and are not served by the Going-to-the-Sun shuttle.
Total reservations in June 2024: 54
Address
West Glacier, Montana
Coordinates
48.6765, -113.8185
Very high demand - sites typically fill up immediately when the booking window opens. Plan to book the moment reservations open.
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
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Flathead National Forest
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The park entrance fee is $35 per vehicle, valid for 7 days. Nightly camping fees vary by campground but all sites in this system are nonelectric standard or tent-only sites — expect rates in the $20–$23 per night range typical of NPS nonelectric sites. The America the Beautiful Annual Pass ($80) covers the entrance fee for the pass holder's vehicle at all federal lands, making it cost-effective for a multi-night Glacier trip or anyone visiting more than one national park in a year. No campground in Glacier has hookups, so there are no additional electric fees.
All 8 campgrounds enforce a 14-day maximum stay, and given the zero availability in the current 14-day window, extensions are not a realistic option in peak season. Cell service is unavailable at Many Glacier and Two Medicine campgrounds — download offline maps and permits before leaving the St. Mary or West Glacier area. Generators are restricted at Two Medicine (prohibited in Loop A, allowed in Loops B and C only). The nearest full services to the west-side campgrounds are in West Glacier; east-side campers should stock up in St. Mary or Browning before heading to Many Glacier or Two Medicine, as Babb (the closest town to Many Glacier) has limited supplies.