Glacier National Park offers over 700 miles of trails for visitors hoping to explore stunning melting glaciers, alpine meadows, carved valleys, and spectacular lakes. The remarkable Montana park offers fun and adventure for the entire family including our 4-legged furry friends, but that comes with specific restrictions.
While pets are allowed in parts of the park, it’s important to remember that they’re not allowed on trails, along lake shores outside of developed locations, in the backcountry, or in any building. Instead pets need to be kept to developed areas like the inside of cars while driving on park roads, frontcountry campgrounds, picnic areas, along roads when stopped, in parking areas, and in boats on lakes where motorized watercraft are permitted.
Service animals follow their own set of rules. They are allowed in areas where regular pets are not including outside of developed areas, but Glacier National Park strongly emphasizes the increased risk of potentially dangerous wildlife encounters when service dogs are brought on trails. There have been several recorded cases of domestic dogs killed by bears, mountain lions, and coyotes within the park and wolves may act very aggressively toward domestic dogs, putting both the service animal and handler in danger.
Service animals must be effectively harnessed, leashed, or tethered at all times unless said devices interfere with the animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices. Whether the dog in the below video is a real service dog or not (the poster implies it’s a fake service animal), allowing the dog to break off leash and chase a wild animal is absolutely not okay.
Bringing your dog along with you to your favorite National Park is highly tempting and it can be very difficult to leave what many consider part of their family behind, but it’s often a better idea to board your dog in a kennel for a few days or simply leave them at home. Pets should never be left in a closed vehicle, as temperatures inside vehicles can reach over 94°F in a matter of minutes if the air temperature outside is 80°F. Within just an hour those temperatures can reach over 120°F, and Glacier National Park frequently sees days well in excess of 90°F. Read more on pets in Glacier National Park below.
Glacier National Park Pet Guidelines:
Pets are members of our families, but there are some things you should be aware of before bringing your pet to the park.
- Pets are allowed in developed areas such as: in your cars while driving park roads, frontcountry campgrounds, picnic areas, along roads when you are stopped, in parking areas, and in boats on lakes where motorized watercraft are permitted.
- Pets are not permitted on trails, along lake shores outside of developed locations, in the backcountry, or in any building.
- Pets must be on a leash no longer than 6 feet (1.8 m), under physical restraint, or caged at all times, including while in open-bed pickup trucks.
- Pets are not to be left tied to an object when unattended.
- Pet owners must pick up after their pets and dispose of waste in a trash receptacle. Owners must not allow a pet to make noise that is unreasonable. When the bike path between Apgar and West Glacier is free of snow dogs are allowed on leash.
- When roads are closed to vehicle traffic, they are considered a backcountry trail and dogs are not allowed.