TL;DR: The National Park Service closed 10 miles of the Continental Divide Trail on the Chief Mountain route in Glacier National Park after bear activity, with no reroute available.

Emergency closure hits the Chief Mountain start

The National Park Service has shut a central early-season portion of the Continental Divide Trail inside Glacier National Park because of reported bear activity, according to Backpacker.

The action was publicized in a June 8 alert from the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, the nonprofit organization that helps manage the long-distance route, according to Backpacker.

The shutdown covers 10 miles along the Chief Mountain route, according to The Trek.

That closed segment runs from southbound mile 7.5 to southbound mile 17.5, according to Backpacker.

The closure leaves southbound thru-hikers without access to the most-used northern entry to the full trail, according to The Trek.

Authorities described the move as an emergency closure tied to increased bear activity in Glacier, according to The Trek.

The Continental Divide Trail Coalition confirmed that no alternative reroute is currently available and advised hikers to stay completely out of the affected area, according to The Trek.

For backpackers planning a southbound thru-hike, that means the opening miles cannot legally be walked until managers reopen the corridor.

The agency expectation for reopening differs slightly between reports, underscoring that the date is not fixed.

The park service expects the trail to remain closed until about June 20, with no guaranteed reopening date, according to Backpacker.

Separately, The Trek reported that the park anticipates the closure may remain in effect until June 18, with the timeline subject to change based on wildlife behavior.

According to Backpacker, the Continental Divide Trail Coalition said the park service could lift the closure sooner or leave it in place for longer than planned.

Hikers are strongly encouraged to monitor the official Glacier National Park trail status page for the most current information, according to The Trek.

Conditions may evolve rapidly, according to The Trek.

Why this 10-mile segment matters for southbounders

Unlike other major long trails, the Continental Divide Trail has two official northern termini, both located along the United States-Canada border in Glacier, according to Backpacker.

The Chief Mountain Terminus lies at the border crossing of the same name, according to Backpacker.

The path to that terminus tends to follow a lower-elevation route, making it popular with early-season southbounders, according to Backpacker.

Chief Mountain serves as one of two northern termini of the Continental Divide Trail and is the most popular starting spot for southbound thru-hikers, according to The Trek.

That popularity makes a 10-mile interruption near the start particularly disruptive for people who timed travel, permits, transportation, and food carries around a Chief Mountain departure.

The Continental Divide Trail Coalition has confirmed that there is currently no designated detour around miles 7.5 to 17.5, according to The Trek.

That lack of a reroute means hikers cannot simply walk around the closure on an official alternate.

In its alert, the Continental Divide Trail Coalition suggested that southbound thru-hikers consider either pushing back their departures or skipping the affected miles of the trail for now, according to Backpacker.

The organization also suggested that southbound hikers consider delaying start dates or shifting plans to different sections of the Continental Divide Trail, according to The Trek.

Its advisory message stated:

“Please avoid the area, and consider hiking other portions of the CDT or wait until the closure is lifted,” the CDTC stated in their advisory, according to The Trek.

That guidance frames the practical choices as waiting, hiking another portion, or omitting the closed miles rather than entering the restricted corridor.

The Waterton alternative remains open but snowy

The trail to the Waterton Terminus crosses into Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park en route to the Waterton Townsite, according to Backpacker.

While the current closure doesn’t affect that route, it is higher in elevation, according to Backpacker.

Much of that higher route is still buried by snow, according to Backpacker.

Campsites and facilities on that section are still in winter status, according to Backpacker.

For those planning to start the Continental Divide Trail southbound, the Waterton route remains open, according to The Trek.

However, the Continental Divide Trail Coalition cautions that facilities and campsites are still operating under winter status, according to The Trek.

Significant portions of that trail remain covered in snow, according to The Trek.

Winter status affects where travelers can legally camp, what services are available, and how routes must be planned in early June.

Snow cover affects navigation, travel speed, foot traction, water crossings, and the ability to locate tread and junctions.

A higher-elevation start therefore trades a wildlife closure for winter mountaineering conditions.

Hikers considering Waterton need to weigh snow travel readiness, cold-weather shelter and sleep systems, navigation skill, and tolerance for limited infrastructure.

The coalition’s advice to consider hiking other portions of the Continental Divide Trail or waiting until the closure is lifted applies especially to travelers without snow experience, according to The Trek.

Monitoring the official Glacier National Park trail status page remains the most direct way to track both wildlife closures and snow-related access, according to The Trek.

A difficult spring for bear encounters in Glacier

The closure announcement comes less than two weeks after a hiker suffered serious injuries in a run-in with a bear on Glacier’s Grinnell Glacier Trail, according to Backpacker.

In an interview with Backpacker, Daniel Crago said that a subadult grizzly grabbed him by the arm and dragged him down a hill after he accidentally surprised it at close range, according to Backpacker.

That incident was also described as a surprise grizzly encounter that injured a Glacier National Park hiker weeks after a fatal mauling, according to The Trek.

A 32-year-old male hiker sustained non-life-threatening injuries, including a broken arm, during a surprise encounter with a grizzly bear last week, Glacier National Park officials announced in a Tuesday press release, according to The Trek.

The incident marks the second major confrontation between a human and a bear in the park in less than a month, according to The Trek.

It follows a fatal mauling in early May along the Mount Brown Lookout Trail in the Lake McDonald Valley, an event that park officials said was also a likely surprise encounter, according to The Trek.

Earlier in May, Glacier recorded its first fatal bear attack in 28 years when search crews found missing hiker Anthony Pollio dead after an apparent encounter with a bear on the Mount Brown Trail, according to Backpacker.

The latest nonfatal encounter occurred in the afternoon in the park’s Many Glacier area, roughly 3.5 miles up the Grinnell Glacier Trail, according to The Trek.

According to park officials, the incident took place on a snowfield “where the sound of loud rushing water made it difficult for either the man or the bear to detect one another,” according to The Trek.

The grizzly bear charged the hiker, fracturing his arm, according to The Trek.

Nearby hikers acted quickly, stepping in to assist the victim and causing the bear to move away from the immediate area, according to The Trek.

The group provided initial medical aid and activated an SOS call, according to The Trek.

At approximately 12:51 p.m., park dispatch received this SOS signal, according to The Trek.

Rescue teams responded quickly, and the hiker was transported via helicopter to Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell for treatment, according to The Trek.

The Grinnell Glacier Trail has remained temporarily closed since the attack took place, according to The Trek.

Park officials stated that the route “will reopen when deemed appropriate by park staff,” according to The Trek.

No further details regarding the identity of the hiker or the current location of the bear are available at this time, according to The Trek.

Park rangers urge all visitors to review park-specific bear safety protocols before arriving, according to The Trek.

Second trail closure on theDivide this season

This isn’t the first time this season that bear activity has closed part of the Continental Divide Trail, according to Backpacker.

In early May, Yellowstone National Park shut down 6 miles of the trail after a bear attacked and injured two hikers near Old Faithful, according to Backpacker.

That earlier 6-mile shutdown and the current 10-mile shutdown together show how wildlife management can interrupt long-distance itineraries at multiple points during spring.

For thru-hikers, section-skipping, delayed starts, and flexible resupply planning become readiness tools rather than inconveniences.

The Continental Divide Trail Coalition’s June 8 advisory places avoidance first: stay out of the Chief Mountain closure, consider other sections, or wait, according to The Trek.

Up-to-date information regarding trail statuses and wildlife closures can be found on Glacier National Park’s official trail status webpage, according to The Trek.

Southbounders should check that page before traveling to the border, before securing a backcountry permit, and before committing to a Waterton snow route as a substitute.

The park anticipates changing conditions, and the coalition emphasizes that wildlife behavior will determine whether the Chief Mountain segment reopens sooner or later than expected, according to Backpacker and The Trek.

Sources referenced