The Forest Service announced Tuesday that the Hyalite Reservoir parking area has officially met the criteria for wilderness character after visitors reported sitting in their vehicles for three hours without seeing another human being move.

“It was profound,” said Brenda Calloway of Four Corners, who arrived at 6:45 a.m. with two paddleboards and a cooler. “By 9:30, the Subaru next to me hadn’t shifted an inch. Total solitude. I didn’t see a single other soul get out of their car. Just us, the aspens, and the collective idle of forty-eight engines.”

Ranger District staff confirmed the designation applies only between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. on weekends, and only when the line extends past the Grotto Falls turnoff. The wilderness boundary retracts by noon, when the first wave departs and the second wave arrives, restoring the area to its traditional classification as “moderately developed recreation corridor with porta-potties.”

Local hikers expressed mixed feelings. “I miss the old days when you just parked illegally on the shoulder and risked a ticket,” said Dale Hentges, who has been hiking Hyalite since 2003. “Now you have to plan your spontaneity three weeks out on Recreation.gov. It takes the adventure out of showing up and realizing you’re not getting in.”

The new permit system requires a $6 reservation fee, a $2 processing fee, and a $1.50 “wilderness character maintenance surcharge” that funds the ranger who stands at the gate explaining to people that their screenshot of the confirmation email is not, in fact, a valid pass.

Shuttle service from the Bozeman Public Library lot runs every twenty minutes on Saturdays. The bus holds fourteen passengers. On Saturday, the line for the shuttle was longer than the line for the reservoir.

A moose was observed browsing willows near the dam, unbothered by the 200 stationary vehicles. It had the place to itself.

The reservation window for Labor Day weekend opens tomorrow at 7 a.m. Mountain Time.