I am local, live within 45 min of the park. Summer weekends it is usually full by 6am. They class access to Bear Lake road once the park and ride lot fills about 830-9 am, then they allow cars in as cars leave. So if the road is closed try back a little later.
We went on last Saturday around 6 pm and found a lot of empty parking spaces.
We just got back from a late July to there. Bearhead was the first to fill up everyday. We went to hike Alberta falls, got to the trailhead at 830am and it was already full. We ended up parking at the park & ride lot and taking the shuttle. You have to get there very early to beat the crowds during peak season.
Even when the signs say it's full we've always driven in anyway and always found a spot
Parking becomes limited the closer to the afternoon. Early morning is fine and so is later
We got there at 8am on a weekday after the July 4th weekend and parking was full. There were a few folks leaving and those spots were quickly occupied by folks who drove in. But when we were leaving at around noon, a lot more spots had opened up.
It was full our first day at the park, but we were able to get in the second day without any trouble. There is road construction this year on the way up to the pass.
We didn't have a problem, but we were there early. When we left about 1 pm there was parking.
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