The plow crews clearing Glacier National Park have reached Logan Pass and are starting to clear the Big Drift, an area in northern Montana where massive amounts of snow accumulate, officials said.
The stretch of Going-to-the-Sun road is often buried under 80-feet of snow and is the biggest challenge of the months-long clearing operation.
The crews reached Logan Pass on Friday, June 12th, 18-days later (May 25th) than they did last year. In 2018 the Sun Road opened on June 22 and on June 28 in 2017. At an elevation of 6,646 feet, Logan Pass is the highest point on the 50-mile-long road.
Going-to-the-Sun Road is currently open to vehicles on the west side to Lake McDonald Lodge for day-use until 4:30 pm each day. Hikers and bikers can go as far up the road as they would like on weekends, and after road crews leave for the day, but officials have warned of falling rock and avalanche danger.
Inside North Fork Road, Camas Road, Chief Mountain Road, Cut Bank Road, Many Glacier Road, and Two Medicine Road all remain closed to vehicles. All park campgrounds are also closed.
It usually takes until late June or early July before the entire road is opened up.
Going-to-the-Sun Road is a scenic mountain road in the Rocky Mountains of the western United States, in Glacier National Park in Montana. The Sun Road, as it is sometimes abbreviated in National Park Service documents, is the only road that traverses the park, crossing the Continental Divide through Logan Pass at an elevation of 6,646 feet, which is the highest point on the road.
