How to get a camp site at Many Glacier Campground in Glacier National Park

Having camped in national parks before, I knew reservations had to be made months in advance. In the case of Glacier National Park, I had my eyes set on Many Glacier Campground which books six months in advance to the second. Literally, as each new day is released, all available camp sites get booked in an instant. So, if you want a camp spot at an amazing campground like Many Glacier…here’s the trick:

1. Research the campground on recreation.gov here and decide which spots are your top 5 choices. In my case, I wanted something in the generator free loop that could fit my van (19 feet) and backed to the stream.
2. Look at the availability calendar on recreation.gov here and see when sites you are interested will open up for the duration you want to stay.
3. Get all your computers on the recreation.gov availability page for the dates you want and station a family member at each one. Click refresh at (or a second before) 10am EST to the day your site becomes available. I’d suggest splitting the computers across different sites (one site for every two computers) because even if you’re able to select one, by the time you get to the checkout it may be taken.
4. Be flexible with your dates and sites. If you don’t get it, keep trying. It took me three different attempts with multiple computers to finally get a camp site.

Here are some photos of the site we reserved R98 West Loop…