Page 12 - Flathead Beacon // 7.13.16

NEWS
Record-Breaking Crowds Continue to Swell in Glacier Park Nearly 430,000 people visited the park last month, 15,000 more than last year
BY DILLON TABISH OF THE BEACON
Glacier National Park set another record for vis- itation last month, according to the latest statistics released by the National Park Service.
Nearly 430,000 people visited the park last month, 15,000 more than last year and the most all-time for the month of June, according to the NPS.
With the full opening of Going-to-the-Sun Road and favorable weather conditions, June became the second month in a row with record crowds this year. A total of 178,200 people visited Glacier in May, a new all-time record for the month.
Overall visitation is up 8.7 percent in 2016. Nearly 700,000 people have toured Glacier Park so far this year, compared to 642,000 at this point in 2015.
Visitors to St. Mary spiked nearly 50 percent in June compared to the previous year. A total of 108,814 people entered the park through that section. Visitation at the West Entrance dipped 20.6 percent with 149,599 people,
Glacier National Park mountains, trees and a bear are depicted on the rear of a vehicle parked outside Lake McDonald Lodge. BEACON FILE PHOTO
compared to 188,328 last year. The Walton/Goat Lick area saw a 32.6 percent increase in visitors with 37,869 people.
The number of overnight lodgings at park concessions
dropped 8.2 percent last month with 18,422 stays com- pared to 20,057 in June 2015. The number of RV over- night stays jumped 17 percent to 24,300 and the tent overnight stays increased 15 percent to 24,514. The backcountry overnight stays dipped 9.7 percent to 3,521.
Glacier is in the midst of its busiest time of year. The months of June, July and August are historically the most crowded by wide margins. Last year, July saw more than 689,000 visitors. August numbers dipped due to wild res but still reached 579,000 people. There were 675,000 visitors in August 2014.
Glacier Park has broken annual visitation records the last two years.
Yellowstone National Park has welcomed more than 1.4 million visitors this year, a 10 percent increase over the same time in 2015.
The National Park Service says the park had about 830,000 visitors during the month of June alone, a 7 per-
Highline Trail Opens in Glacier Park
Patches of snow remain on portions of trail, and visitors should be cautious of wildlife
cent jump from last year.
dtabish@ atheadbeacon.com
BY BEACON STAFF
The Highline Trail, a popular path that skirts the Garden Wall from Logan Pass across Glacier National Park’s alpine country, opened to travelers July 6, while the Hidden Lake Trail above Logan Pass Visitor’s Center was brie y closed due to grizzly bear activity.
National Park Service sta said the classic Highline Trail opened this year about two weeks later than last summer’s opening. Sections of low-angle snow remain on portions of the trail and o - cials urge travelers to watch their foot- ing and come prepared to hike in ckle mountain conditions.
“You can still slip and fall, but this
is very low-angle snow,” Glacier Park Ranger Tim Rains said last week. “The trail has not been frequented recently so be on the lookout for wildlife, and stay on the trail to avoid sensitive vegetation. Beyond that, have fun. This is the second o cial sign that summer is here.”
O cials cautioned that because the trail has seen very little human travel, wildlife is abundant and visitors should be bear aware and carry pepper spray.
After opening the Highline Trail on July 6, park o cials hazed a sow grizzly bear after hikers spotted it on the trail with her cub, and subsequently closed the Hidden Lake Trail at Logan Pass when the bears crossed the Going-to- the-Sun Road and converged there.
The trail from the Logan Pass Visitor’s Center to Hidden Lake was reopened July 9, according to Margie Steigerwald, public a airs specialist at Glacier Park.
It was a foggy opening day on the Highline Trail, and hikers encountered the sow with a tiny cub, likely born this year. Rangers temporarily closed down the Highline while trying to move the bears along, Steigerwald said.
The bears ended up crossing Going-to- the-Sun Road to Hidden Lake, a popular destination for visitors due to its proxim- ity to Logan Pass.
The trail remained o limits until a ranger was able to “hike all the way to Hid- den Lake without seeing her,” Steigerwald said, “giving her as much space as they can.”
Already, there has been “a lot” of wild- life activity in the park this summer, Stei- gerwald said, with notices at Bowman Lake campground for bear and mountain lion activity and a notice at Quartz Lake for mountain lion activity.
Considered one of the quintessential hikes in Glacier Park, the Highline Trail traces 7.6 miles from Logan Pass along the Continental Divide to the Granite Park Chalet, a remote backcountry des- tination that is open for overnight stays until Sept. 10. From the chalet, the trail descends another ve miles to The Loop.
One of the classic ways to tackle the trail is to park at The Loop, along the Going-to-the-Sun Road and take one of the shuttle buses up to Logan Pass.
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JULY 13, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM