More visitors arriving at Glacier when tickets not required

WEST GLACIER, Mont. (AP) — Glacier National Park says it’s seeing more visitors showing up early in the morning and in the evening when the park’s new ticketed entry system is not in effect.

Glacier officials say people who arrive at the park’s West entrance after 5 p.m. should expect heavy traffic and long waits.

The park in northwestern Montana on the US-Canada border had almost 300,000 visits through May.

That’s the highest year-to-date number on record.

To ease congestion on the popular Going-to-the-Sun Road, park administrators this year began requiring visitors to obtain an entry ticket and reservation prior to arrival.

About a quarter of Memorial Day weekend visitors arrived without a reservation at the park's West and St. Mary entrances.