5 Expert Glacier National Park Budget Tips

Glacier National Parks makes it on to a lot of national park itineraries. With so many people wanting to visit this park and limited availability due to its remoteness, prices for a trip to Glacier National Park can be expensive. In this guide, I’ll outline some of my top Glacier National Park budget tips, all of which I used on my trip to Montana.

Glacier National Park Budget Tips

These are of course not every budget tip you could use to shrink the financial cost of a trip to Glacier National Park. For example, I’m not going to talk about camping, which would definitely be cheaper than paying for a hotel. Instead, this guide will focus on tips for what I consider the average traveler.

Kalispell is expensive, but it’s not the only place to stay.

If you look for Glacier National Park itineraries, many will show that you should base yourself in Kalispell. This town is just outside the western entrance of Glacier National Park and has numerous hotel options. In some ways, it can be a great place to stay. However, Kalispell is expensive. The entire town knows that they are an ideal place to stay for people visiting Glacier National Park and they’ll charge for it. At the time of writing, don’t be surprised to pay $300 or more for a room at a Kalispell hotel during peak season (yes, even for super basic hotel rooms, it’s common to see $300 per night).

However, Kalispell is not the only option. If you’re willing to do a bit of extra driving, you can save some money. On my trip to Glacier National Park, my dad and I stayed in the town of Cut Bank. It’s anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes from the eastern side of Glacier National Park (and there is so much cool stuff on by the eastern entrances). That driving time adds up, but for us the cost savings was so significant that it was worth it.

When we booked our hotel, we were able to get two nights in Cut Bank for the cost of one night in Kalispell. Note that hotel options are extremely limited in Cut Bank, so book early to guarantee you can get a room.

Bonus: This tip won’t work for everyone, but keep an eye out for hotel promotions and see if you can use them to your advantage. This doesn’t just apply to promotions for hotels in Kalispell but promotions for hotel chains throughout the year. Earlier in the year, I spent a long weekend to Utah where I signed up for a promotion through BestWestern Hotels. I had to stay two nights within a three month period, and I’d get a coupon to use for a free night in summer.

Well, I needed those hotels in Utah, so I ended up with a free night award for something I was doing anyway. My dad and I then used that award to spend one night in Kalispell, so that $300 per night room cost us nothing. This won’t work for everyone, but do a little planning if you’ll be doing other travel that same year.

Consider flights and rental car prices

The closest airport to Glacier National Park is in the town of Kalispell. This is super convenient because it can really cut down on your driving time.

Now, this airport is small, so flights are limited. However, when I was booking my trip, I was able to find direct flights from Chicago for only slightly more than a flight to Missoula. On the surface it seemed great.

But, the flight is not your only cost. Unless you’re planning to rely on tours, you’ll need a rental car to get around Montana and Glacier National Park. This is where you may find some big budget changes.
As mentioned, when I was booking my trip to Montana, I saw that it was only about $10 more to fly into Kalispell versus Missoula. However, the rental car was double the cost. That meant we would have to pay over $350 more to rent a car from Kalispell than from Missoula. And to be clear, it was with the same budget rental car company.

So, in order to save a few hundred dollars, my dad and I chose to fly into Missoula. We picked up our rental car and drove four hours to Cut Bank. From Kalispell, it was two hours back to Missoula. So while it added on a few extra hours of driving, that cost savings was definitely worth it. Plus it gave us a good excuse to see Missoula, which had a few fun things to do.

Picnics are a great option

If you eat out for every meal, the money you spend can add up quickly. So, instead of stopping for a big lunch everyday, pack a picnic and find a picturesque spot to eat. There are literally so many gorgeous places at Glacier National Park that you won’t have a hard time finding one.

It took my dad and I seven hours to drive Going to the Sun Road and we knew it was going to take all day. So, we packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed some sandwiches at a scenic overlook. It was without a doubt one of the most scenic spots I’ve ever eaten a Subway sandwich. And that was much cheaper than stopping at any sit down restaurant.

Plan out your gas stops

Glacier National Park is very rural Montana and depending where you’re driving, you may go for a long time without passing a gas station. My budget tip here is to plan ahead. Fill up your tank in town before you leave for the day (or the night before). You can also use an app like GasBuddy to look ahead at what gas prices are elsewhere on your trip (maybe they’ll be cheaper in the next town).

We topped off our gas tank each night in Cut Bank. It gave us peace of mind that we would never be in a situation where we needed gas. Plus the gas in Cut Bank was a full dollar cheaper than the gas station we saw in St. Mary Village (where they are the only gas for miles).

Don’t forget your timed entries for Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park gets busy. In order to control visitors and prevent overcrowding, reservations are now required for some areas of the park. These include North Fork Road, Many Glacier, and the very popular Going to the Sun Road (for those entering from the west at Apgar).

These reservations only cost $2 per vehicle, so they won’t break the budget. However, I’m including them in this budget advice because it’d really suck to get all the way out to Montana and realize your plans are all messed up because you can’t get to the areas that you want without a reservation. Plan ahead and purchase those reservations. They can, and do, sell out (I purchased a reservation for Many Glacier and the nearly 300 reservations sold out in less than five minutes).

And don’t think you can just sneak in without a reservation. Rangers are posted at the entrances and will ask to see your reservations.

So How Much Does it Cost to Visit Glacier National Park?

The total cost will vary dramatically based on travel styles. However, I can say that by using these tips (including my free night award in Kalispell), my dad and I spent about $1200 for our five day trip to Montana in July 2024. This does not include airfare, but includes all of our hotels, food, gas, and rental car expenses for the entire trip.

If we had we paid for our hotel in Kalispell, it would have been just over $1500. That would work out to about $150 per person per day. That’s not necessarily cheap for a two person trip, but I feel like with our budget tips listed above, it was so much more reasonable than it could have been.

When to Visit Glacier National Park

While you technically could visit Glacier National Park all year round, you should really focus your visit during the summer months. Going to the Sun Road is only open from late May through early October (exact dates vary year to year based on the weather). To have the best experience, plan your visit for the summer months.

I visited in mid July and while it was incredibly hot with temperatures reaching nearly 100 degrees near our hotel, up in the mountains of Glacier it was a very pleasant 80 degrees.

Where to Stay at Glacier National Park

There are numerous hotel options near Glacier National Park and it really depends on your itinerary where you stay.

Many people will recommend staying in the town of Kalispell, which is outside the western entrance of Glacier National Park. While you will find plenty of hotel options, these hotels can be pricey (like over $300 per night).

There are a handful of lodges in and near the park, but these are expensive and fill up fast. However, they offer some incredible views and easy access to Glacier National Park.

For a budget option, you could stay in the town of Cut Bank. This is a 60 to 90 minute drive from the eastern entrances of the park (driving time varies by which entrance you use). Hotels are very limited here, but I was able to spend two nights in a Super 8 motel for less than the cost of one night in Kalispell. Yes it added more driving, but the cost savings was so worth it.

Final Thoughts

Glacier National Park is spectacular and absolutely worth a visit. However, expenses can add up quickly. I don’t think it’s necessarily possible to make a strict budget trip (unless you plan to camp), but with these tips, you can make it much more affordable.

Continue Your Adventure

Glacier National Park: Start planning your trip with my five day Montana itinerary, that has a heavy focus on Glacier National Park. This includes the fabulous Going to the Sun Road and an entire day for exploring the eastern side of the park. And if you aren’t a hiker, I put together an entire guide for to enjoying Glacier National Park without hiking. Plus, start planning your trip with my Glacier National Park Travel Guide.

US National Parks: Start planning your national park vacation with my US National Park Travel Guide. You’ll find information about each park, photos, itineraries, and everything you need to start planning your trip.