Park officials announced last week that Going-to-the-Sun Road would at last open in Glacier National Park today.
According to the park’s website, they fulfilled that promise. The road is now open to vehicles and shuttle buses through Logan Pass, although there are limited services—and no water—at the visitor center there.
Snow continued to fall at high elevations well into June. A flyover of the Big Drift, on June 4, revealed a snowpack that looked more like April than June. On July, the superintendent and chief of facility management, Chas Cartwright, visited Logan Pass and stood on the Big Drift roughly 30 feet above asphalt. This amount of snow at that time of year is unprecedented.
“Plowing this road is a dangerous job and the safety of our staff is of paramount concern. We are very proud of the hard work the road crew performed this year” said Cartwright.
Visitors will discover a snow-covered landscape at Logan Pass. All of the trails in the area are still covered with many feet of snow. Visitors should exercise caution when hiking on snow and be aware of unseen holes and snow bridges that exist. The Highline Trail remains closed at this time and there is no current projection of an opening date.
Access to Logan Pass will also allow contractors to resume work on new restroom facilities. Areas around the construction will be closed to public entry. Portable toilets will be available but there will be no potable drinking water at Logan Pass. Staff will be on duty to assist visitors and to direct people to areas open for recreation.
Road rehabilitation work on lower sections of the Going-to-the-Sun Road will create some short traffic delays. From 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., travelers should expect delays of up to 20 minutes at each construction site, for a total of no more than a 40-minute delay between Big Bend and Siyeh Bend.
On the west side of the park, a night closure will be in effect Monday evening through Friday morning, between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. from the Loop to Logan Pass. There will be a 15 to 20 minute window for passage through the construction at 2:00 a.m., allowing travel to and from Logan Pass. There are no night closures east of Logan Pass.
With the opening of the entire length of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, the park’s free shuttle system will expand service to Logan. The shuttle system stops in 16 different areas along the Going-to-the-Sun Road and runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Shuttle passengers should catch the bus at either the St. Mary Visitor Center or the Apgar Transit Center as parking is extremely limited at Logan Pass, Avalanche Creek and Sunrift Gorge.
For current conditions, visit Glacier’s www.nps.gov/glac, dial 511 anywhere in Montana (select option 5) or call park headquarters at 406-888-7800.
