Crews with the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) have begun the annual task of clearing SR-224 Guardsman Pass. This high-altitude route connects Park City to Big Cottonwood Canyon in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains and provides access to Central Wasatch’s best backcountry terrain. As of this week, about 65 percent of the road has been cleared, but significant challenges remain: Some stretches are buried under as much as 11 feet of snow, resulting from another robust winter in the Wasatch.
According to an Instagram post, crews work in a cycle: clear what they can, wait for the melt, then clear again. This year, the snowpack is especially deep in shaded and wind-loaded areas, slowing progress and leaving no firm timeline for reopening. UDOT has not announced an official opening date and urges the public to stay tuned for updates as work continues.
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Peaking at 9,717 feet, Guardsman Pass is inaccessible during the winter due to the area’s heavy snowfall and the pass’s lack of plowing services. UDOT has consistently enforced this seasonal closure to prevent accidents on the increasingly treacherous road as conditions deteriorate.
Its opening marks the unofficial start of the high-country season for hikers, cyclists, and sightseers eager to access the region’s alpine terrain. Until the road is fully cleared and deemed safe, officials ask travelers to remain patient and avoid attempting to bypass closures.
Updates will be posted regularly as conditions evolve. The pass opened on May 23 last year, June 23, 2023, and May 27, 2022.
