Apgar Group Sites
2Heads up2 fires, nearest 37 mi
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- Sites
- 105 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 8 notices
In the agency’s own words
Apgar Campground is situated on the southern tip of Lake McDonald in beautiful Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana. Pristine forests, alpine meadows, rugged mountains and spectacular lakes are found throughout the park. With over 700 miles of trails, Glacier is a paradise for hikers seeking wilderness and solitude. It also provides countless scenic vistas for those wishing to relax and take in the natural beauty of the park. All sites require a reservation. Most sites have a 6-month booking window with a good handful having a 4-day booking window. Keep reading
Recreation
Lake McDonald provides great opportunities for boating, water skiing, canoeing and fishing in its cold mountain waters. A variety of fish are found in the lake, including cutthroat, rainbow, bull and lake trout, whitefish and Kokanee salmon. The campground is conveniently close to many trailheads for day hikes, including Apgar Lookout Trail, a 3.3-mile (5.3 km) trail leading up to a fire lookout with breathtaking views of Lake McDonald. The Apgar Bike Path, a paved 1.5-mile (2.4 km) trail popular for walking and biking, leads to the nearby Apgar Visitor Center and Village. Horseback ride reservations, boat rentals, shuttle service and Red Bus Tour reservations are available here. One of the most amazing highlights of Glacier National Park is a drive on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, which travels past the campground. This engineering marvel spans 50 miles (80 km) through the park's wild interior, winding around mountainsides and treating visitors to some of the best sights in northwest Montana.
Facilities
Apgar is the largest campground in Glacier National Park. It offers 5 reservable group sites that accommodate 9-24 people each. Apgar Village is just minutes away, offering a visitor center, gift shops, a general store and casual restaurant. Amenities within the campground include flush toilets and drinking water. Picnic tables and fire rings are provided, and a campground host is on-site. Ranger programs are held nightly at the amphitheater. Lake McDonald is just a short stroll from the campground.
Natural Features
Apgar is located in a dense forest on the western side of the park at an elevation of nearly 3,500 feet (1067 m). This area of the park generally receives the most rainfall. Daytime temperatures can exceed 90 degrees, although it is frequently 10 to 15 degrees cooler at higher elevations. Weather in the mountains can be varied, including snow in summer. Visitors should come prepared for anything. The park is named for its prominent glacier-carved terrain and remnant glaciers descended from the ice ages almost 10,000 years ago. Its diverse habitats are home to nearly 70 species of mammals including the grizzly bear, wolverine, gray wolf and lynx. Over 270 species of birds visit or reside in the park, including such varied species as Harlequin ducks, Dippers and Golden eagles.
Nearby Attractions
One must-see attraction is Waterton Lakes National Park, Glacier's sister park across the Canadian-U.S. border. As the other half of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, Canada's Waterton Lakes National Park offers great hiking, scenic boat cruises and several scenic drives all centered around the townsite of Waterton.
What the agency tells you
Check-in. The reservation holder must check in with host upon arrival.
Food storage regulations strictly enforced. Grizzly and black bears frequent the area and when not in immediate use, all food, beverages, coolers, cooking utensils, pet food or other attractants must be kept in a closed, hard-sided vehicle or secured in bear proof storage lockers near campground restrooms
Vehicle Length Limits. Vehicle and vehicle combinations longer than 21 ft. (6.4 m) or wider than 8 ft. (2.4 m) including mirrors are prohibited between the Sun Point parking area and Avalanche Campground on Going-t0-the-Sun Road.
Everything else this campground posts · 5
Entrance Fees. The park entrance fee is separate from the camping fee and must be paid upon arrival (or in advance). Entrance fees are $35 per vehicle, $30 per motorcycle, or $20 per hiker or bicyclist and are valid for 7 days. The park also accepts valid Interagency passes.
Maximum Stay. Campground length of stay is limited to 14 days.
Fire Rings Only. Camp sites contain fire rings but do not have fire grates for grilling/ food preparation.
Hammocks. Hammocks must be hung over non vegetated areas using one inch straps or wider. Vegetation may not be trampled to access hammocks.
Renting an RV or trailer? Per 36 CFR 5.3, commercial business may not take place inside Glacier National Park. This includes RVs and trailers being delivered within Glacier's boundaries. Renters of these must drive them in themselves.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 10 · 5 group
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…Amenities within the campground include flush toilets and drinking water. Picnic tables and fire rings…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…the campground include flush toilets and drinking water. Picnic tables and fire rings are provided, and a…”
- Store
- Nearby
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Meadow
- Biking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Ranger programs
- Swimming
- Visitor center
- Wildlife viewing
- Fall color · reported 12 days ago, 38 km away
- Peak color
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 5 of the 10 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 9
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 4
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · record Aug 23, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
10 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 5 mapped sitesAll 10 sites
| Group Loop E | E01 | type not stated | ||
| Group Loop E | E02 | type not stated | ||
| Group Loop E | E03 | type not stated | ||
| Group Loop E | E04 | type not stated | ||
| Group Loop E | E05 | type not stated | ||
| Group Loop E | E06 | group standard nonelectric | 141 ft | 1,946 ft |
| Group Loop E | E07 | group standard nonelectric | 141 ft | 1,883 ft |
| Group Loop E | E08 | group standard nonelectric | 167 ft | 1,739 ft |
| Group Loop E | E09 | group standard nonelectric | 118 ft | 1,774 ft |
| Group Loop E | E10 | group standard nonelectric | 118 ft | 1,662 ft |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Apgar CampgroundGlacier National Park · 0.0 mi
Fish Creek CampgroundGlacier National Park · 1.6 mi
Sprague Creek CampgroundGlacier National Park · 7.2 mi
Big Creek Campground (Flathead National Forest, MT)Flathead National Forest · 9.7 mi
Avalanche CampgroundGlacier National Park · 13 mi
Emery Bay CampgroundFlathead National Forest · 13 miApgar group sites are located 1 mile (.3 km) northeast of the west entrance near West Glacier, Montana. Access is from U.S. Highway 2, approximately 32 miles (10km) northeast of Kalispell, Montana.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for West Glacier, MT
Typical weather
Typical October night 33°F, day 52°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 19°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Apgar Group Sites is in Montana’s 1st congressional district. Its representative, Ryan Zinke (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →