Going-to-the-Sun Road Opens to Avalanche Creek
Visitors can hike and bike beyond the gate closure on weekends as far as the posted pedestrian closure; the park’s road crew is still clearing snow in the high country less than a mile from Logan Pass
By Tristan Scott
National Park Service officials have opened a larger section of the Going-to-the-Sun Road to motorized traffic as plow crews continue to make progress in the high country of Glacier National Park.
In keeping with a Mother’s Day weekend tradition, as of Friday morning motorists on the west side are able to drive more than 16 miles of the alpine highway to the Avalanche Creek area, or about six miles past the previous closure at Lake McDonald Lodge. The park’s road crew is still clearing snow beyond the vehicle closure at Avalanche, and as of Thursday was working between Triple Arches and Rim Rock, which is less than a mile from Logan Pass atop the Continental Divide.
Also starting this weekend, the Apgar Visitor Center will be open daily, while the North Lake McDonald Road opened to motorized traffic Friday morning.
On the park’s east side, motorists can travel more than 12 miles along the Sun Road from the St. Mary entrance to the vehicle closure at Jackson Glacier Overlook. The hard avalanche closure
The entire road typically does not open until sometime in mid to late June.
Visitors can hike and bike Going-to-the-Sun Road past the gate on the weekends as far as the posted pedestrian closure. During the week, the road crew sets the closure based on where they are working and existing hazards.
As of Friday, hikers and bikers on the west side can access the Sun Road as far as Road Camp at Haystack Creek, approximately 27 miles from the west entrance and 10.5 miles past the vehicle closure at Avalanche, according to the park’s road status report. On the east side, the hiker-and-biker closure is just below Siyeh Bend.
A free shuttle for hikers and bikers is not currently operating, but may come online later in the season. The park will provide future updates regarding when it begins operating.
This summer, from June 13 through Sept. 28, sections of Going-to-the-Sun Road that are open to motorized traffic will be closed to bicycles between Logan Pass and the Apgar turnoff at the south end of Lake McDonald. The Sun Road will be closed to eastbound (uphill) cycling between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. and westbound (downhill) cycling between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Plowing operations have been underway in the park since April 1, and the road crew has made quick progress clearing secondary roads like Camas, Grist, Fish Creek, and Quarter Circle Bridge roads on the west side. On the east side, Many Glacier Road, Two Medicine Road and Chief Mountain Road have already been cleared.
The Canada-U.S. border crossing at Chief Mountain opens on May 15.
The park sends out text alerts, notifying the public about where the road crew and avalanche closures are set every week and general road opening and closure updates. Be the first to know by signing up for text alerts by texting the message “GNPROADS” to the number 333111. For information about additional text alerts available from the park, visit the park’s website.
