As with all things, COVID is impacting the park. The shuttle system will be a ticketed system for mitigation reasons. More info
here.
Also, we’ve been “discovered” and GNP has been getting hammered in recent years, regularly setting records for visitation (over a million people per month!). Long story short, this year driving your own vehicle over Going to the Sun Road will be a ticketed system from 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Tickets are $2, good for a week, and most can be purchased 60 days in advance through recreation.gov
here (you’ll need to make a free account). They will old back some tickets that can be purchased online 48 hrs before they are valid. More info
here.
This is one of the reasons I was so bummed that avalanche danger closed the sun road at the loop last week. It was stunning weather and the whole family was ready to ride... only to be stopped 1/3 of the way up. It may be the last time we’re able to get up there during the day until after Memorial Day. Unless we get there before 6:00 AM (moonlight ride!). However, traffic has been bumper to bumper with parking filled and something has to be done. We’ll see how this new system shakes out. I hope the poor people manning the gates get hazard pay...
That being said, there are plenty other areas of the park and the Flathead Valley to visit. To be honest, the east side is my favorite and both Two Medicine and Many Glacier are spectacular places to visit - neither require using the sun road. It’s just farther to go from Kalispell.