Six Free Admission Days at Glacier National Park in 2021

Sauntering into work this morning and kicking off the first week of 2021 meant it was time for my annual switching-of-the-wall-calendar. I know, I know.. "who uses paper calendars anymore?" I do. I like having a physical calendar on the wall, staring me in the face. It's easy to read and update, with no apps to launch, buttons to click or browsers to open. It's old school and it works for me.

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Today, it was especially satisfying to toss last year in the garbage. If I could have doused it in lighter fluid and lit the trash can on fire without setting off the building's fire alarm and sprinkler system, I probably would have.

We're all hoping (praying? begging? believing?) that life will slowly start to return to somewhat normal in 2021 and I'm optimistically beginning to plan out some things that I'd like to do this year. One of them is to finally get up to Glacier National Park. I've lived in Montana for the majority of my life and still haven't visited the Crown of the Continent. Embarrassing, right? The Park Service has announced six "free admission" days for 2021 if you want to save a couple of bucks on the gate fees. Those days are:

• Monday, January 18 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Saturday, April 17 – First Day of National Park Week
• Wednesday, August 4 – One year anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
• Wednesday, August 25 – National Park Service Birthday
• Saturday, September 25 – National Public Lands Day
• Thursday, November 11 – Veterans Day

National Parks were generally crowded last season, with the Flathead Daily Beacon reporting "crowds flock to Glacier"  in this June 2020 article. The combination of increased traffic and closed roads made for long lines at Glacier and Yellowstone. We'll see if all of those Americans who bought campers and tents last year continue to hit the outdoors this spring.