A Montana trip is planned around two national parks that are about 313 road miles apart, and around booking dates that come months ahead of the trip. Rooms inside Glacier and Yellowstone open 13 months ahead, park campsites six months ahead, and in 2026 Glacier's Logan Pass shuttle seats sold 60 days ahead or the night before. If you miss those dates you can still go, but you'll sleep further from the trailheads.
This guide covers how many days to give each area, a booking calendar for a July trip, how to combine the parks, and four sample routes. It links to our two tested itineraries. Rules for 2027 had not all been published in October 2026, so dates marked "2026 pattern" need checking.
How many days
- Glacier: 3 days covers the west side and Lake McDonald, Going-to-the-Sun Road and Logan Pass, and a day in Many Glacier. Add a fourth for Two Medicine or the North Fork.
- Yellowstone's Montana side: 2 days from Gardiner covers Mammoth Hot Springs and the Lamar Valley. The geyser basins, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Yellowstone Lake take 2 to 3 more days, ideally based in West Yellowstone for the west side.
- Both parks: 8 to 10 days, including one long transfer day.
- Add-ons: a day each for Flathead Lake, Bozeman and Museum of the Rockies, Butte and Helena, or Little Bighorn from Billings.
Booking calendar for a July trip
| When | What opens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 13 months ahead, on the 1st | Glacier in-park lodges for that month | Glacier National Park Lodges, midnight MT online |
| 13 months ahead, on the 5th | Yellowstone in-park lodges for that month | Yellowstone National Park Lodges, midnight MT online |
| 6 months ahead, rolling | Glacier and Yellowstone campgrounds, night by night | Recreation.gov |
| March (2026 pattern) | Glacier and Yellowstone backcountry permit lotteries | Recreation.gov |
| 3 months ahead | Montana state park campsites | FWP reservations |
| 60 days ahead (2026 pattern) | Part of the Logan Pass shuttle seats | Recreation.gov |
| 7 p.m. MDT the night before (2026 pattern) | The rest of the shuttle seats | Recreation.gov |
From 2027, Yellowstone's five big concession campgrounds, including Madison near West Yellowstone, also move to Recreation.gov with a six-month window. Book flights and a rental car together. Car fleets at Bozeman and Kalispell are small for July and August. Details of each pass and permit are in our passes and permits guide.
What 2027 may look like
Glacier had no vehicle reservations in 2026. Instead it used the ticketed Logan Pass shuttle and a three-hour parking limit at the pass from July 1 to September 7. When this was checked in October 2026, the park had said only that it continues to "refine transportation and access". No 2027 system had been announced, so check nps.gov/glac in spring. Non-US residents should budget for the $100 per person fee (ages 16 and over) at each park, or the $250 nonresident annual pass. The 2026 rules for this fee were published, but the 2027 rules had not been.
Timing: which weeks work
- Glacier: Going-to-the-Sun Road opens fully in late June in most years (June 22 in 2026), but it opened July 13 in 2022. For snow-free trails at Logan Pass, aim for mid-July to mid-September.
- Yellowstone: the Montana entrances are fully open from late May. The Beartooth Highway usually runs from Memorial Day weekend to mid-October; it closed October 9 in 2026.
- Winter: only the Gardiner to Cooke City road stays open to cars; snowmobile and snowcoach season runs from December 15, 2026.
Our when to visit guide goes month by month.
Four sample routes
1. Glacier in 3 days (fly into FCA). Two nights on the west side, then one on the east side, with Many Glacier on the last day. Day-by-day plan: Glacier National Park in 3 Days.
2. Yellowstone's north side in 2 days (fly into BZN). Bozeman to Gardiner is about 74 miles. Day one is the Roosevelt Arch and Mammoth, and day two is the Lamar Valley at dawn and Cooke City. This route also works in winter. Plan: 2 Days in Yellowstone from Gardiner.
3. Both parks in 9 days (open-jaw FCA to BZN).
- Days 1–3: Glacier.
- Day 4: drive south past Flathead Lake to Missoula, about 124 miles from Kalispell.
- Day 5: on to Bozeman, about 204 miles on I-90.
- Days 6–7: Gardiner and the north side.
- Days 8–9: the geyser basins from West Yellowstone, then about 90 miles back to BZN.
Check the one-way rental fee before you book.
4. Yellowstone and the Beartooth (late May to mid-October). Fly into BZN, spend two days around Gardiner, cross the Lamar Valley to Cooke City, then drive the 68-mile Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge. Fly out of Billings, about 61 miles further. Add a day for Little Bighorn.
Budget and pacing
- Add the 8% lodging tax to every room, plus 3% to 4% in resort towns such as Whitefish, Gardiner and West Yellowstone.
- Allow a full day for the Kalispell–Bozeman transfer (about 5.5 hours of driving).
- Keep one flexible day in July to September for smoke or a road closure.
- Expect slow driving in the parks: Gardiner to Cooke City is about 56 miles but takes close to two hours.
More savings are in our budget guide, and choosing towns is covered in our where to stay guide.
Before you go
- Count back 13 months from your dates and set reminders for the lodge release (1st for Glacier, 5th for Yellowstone).
- Note the six-month Recreation.gov date for each campground night.
- Check Glacier's 2027 access plan on nps.gov/glac in spring.
- Book flights and the rental car together; compare an open-jaw ticket.
- Download our two itineraries and offline maps.
Details checked October 2026.