Glacier National Park is beginning civic engagement for a proposal to close the Swiftcurrent Developed area to the public to facilitate proposed road and parking improvements and a water system replacement.

NPS has developed a story map describing the proposal, available for review and comment online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/Swiftcurrent. Comments can also be sent to Superintendent, Glacier National Park, Attn: Swiftcurrent Developed Area Proposal PO, Box 128, West Glacier, MT 59936. Comments are due by July 30, 2023.

The park is proposing to close the Swiftcurrent developed area during the construction period, from the fall of 2024 until spring of 2026. The Swiftcurrent developed area is in the Swiftcurrent Valley located west of the Many Glacier Valley on the east side of the park. The area closure would include the summer of 2025, during which time the public would generally not have access to the Swiftcurrent developed area. Day hiking would be facilitated for the trail system from the Swiftcurrent Area.

While area trailheads would be temporarily closed during the onetime construction closure, the trails themselves would remain open:

The Iceberg Lake, Ptarmigan Tunnel and Swiftcurrent Pass trails would be accessed at the west end of the project area via the horse access trail that bypasses the construction. The park is considering hiker transport to facilitate hiker access to the trail system.

The Grinnell Glacier Trail would not be accessible from the Swiftcurrent picnic area but could still be accessed from Many Glacier Hotel.

The closure would be in place during the fall of 2024, spring and summer of 2025, and spring of 2026. Impacts to visitors would be most noticeable during July and August of 2025, when services that are typically open to the public would be closed. There would be very little change to the availability of services during the fall and spring shoulder season, since services in the area are normally closed during these times.



Jeff
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