Montana – Going-to-the-Sun Road Part 1

 

It’s a good thing when Mark was planning our itinerary that he included short 2-night stays to get laundry done and grocery shop or we wouldn’t have clean clothes or food to eat. Sightseeing is fun but it takes time. Such was the case as we made our way on Wednesday, 5/21 to Jim & Mary’s RV Park in Missoula, Montana, 341 miles. It’s a cute little place known for beautifully well-manicured campsites. They have their own small greenhouse where they are getting ready for the spring/summer flowers. They just need the nights to warm up but you can tell the park will be beautiful once the frost leaves town.

Friday morning, 5/23, we headed over to West Glacier KOA, just 4 miles to the west entrance of Glacier National Park (home for 5 nights). The weather forecast was amazing, and Mark was especially looking forward to biking Going-to-the-Sun Road. He had been watching with great interest to see how far it was open to traffic and then how far to hikers and bikers. Going-to-the-Sun Road is a scenic mountain road in the Rocky Mountains in Glacier National Park. It’s almost 50 miles long and connects the east side of the park to the west, crossing the Continental Divide at Logan Pass. It usually doesn’t open until mid-June or later. The road crews start working on snow removal in April and then open sections little by little, some to cars and then extra miles to only hikers and bikers. This makes for a fantastic “bike path”.

We headed out early Saturday to get to the park before the crowds. Boy did we underestimate the number of bikers there for the Memorial Day weekend. People with e-bikes, regular bikes, people pulling kids in carts, tethering them to their bikes, it was quite a show. We did find a parking space by parking in a campsite of the Avalanche Campground that has not opened yet for the season and headed out to see if the hype lived up to the adventure. Absolutely, 100% +...the mountains, snow tops, waterfalls from melting snow, rivers, greenery, wildlife…it was just gorgeous.

The park has a website with information regarding how far the road is open, although several people told us it was open further on the weekends than the stated spot at “the loop”. The loop was 8.3 miles one way from where we could park at Avalanche campground, uphill. I am in awe at the people who biked pulling their kids, let alone on a regular bike. The loop marks the beginning of the narrow, carved into the mountainside part of the road. We got to “the loop” and my fear of heights took over, we got another 200 yards and Mark looked at me and said let's turn around. Now, if it had been a weekday, that would have been as far as we could go because the crews would be working but it was the weekend, there was another 5 miles to be seen. As we made our way down, I knew it was the right decision for me, but Mark had been talking about this adventure for close to a year and to not make it to the furthest point was disappointing. By the time we got back to the RV park he decided he was going back on Sunday to finish.

We got there even earlier Sunday morning, 42 degrees (warming later to near 80) and yes, I went again. This time when we got to the loop, after 8.3 miles, I pulled out a book and a sat on a stone wall. I watched the people and read, while Mark went the additional 5 miles one way to the closure. The hikers and bikers have to stop at a point almost to Logan Pass where the hard closure is in place because of avalanche threat. The national park workers will be back at work on Tuesday continuing to dig through an 80' deep snow and ice drift near the Logan Pass visitors center. He said it was amazing, agreed I would never have made it and said he would never drive his truck on it if it were open for the season. Now that is saying something!!  Besides, there are vehicle size limitations, and our truck is a little too wide. There are shuttles that you can take to various hiking trails along the road (encouraged so that hikers can gain access without having to drive) during the summer months when the road is open, super crowded, and little to no parking. Let someone else do the white-knuckle driving!

We loved seeing the spring flowers at Jim & Mary's RV Park

Big Sky Brewing in Missoula is home to

Moose Drool. A very smooth Brown Ale.

As we were driving to West Glacier, we passed

a very peaceful Flathead Lake.

All settled in at the West Glacier KOA Resort.

They have a restaurant, ice cream shop, pools and hot tubs.

Every night they have live entertainment.

Once you get to Avalanche Campground on the

Going-to-the-Sun Road you need to walk or bike.

This exhibit explains avalanches

Here we are at "the Loop", we stopped for

scenic pictures on our way back down.

This exhibit explains The Loop.

Heavens Peak

We were intrigued by the crisscross

pattern on this mountain.

It looks flat but believe me it isn't.

Waterfalls are everywhere.

Back at it Sunday morning.

This is the section from "The Loop" to the closure.

Just a random person but notice there are no guardrails here, and that is a 

long way pretty much straight down. The guardrails have to be removed in 

certain sections every fall or the avalanches will take them out. 

They will be reinstalled as the crews keep working.

The end of the road for now. It's a 5k fine

for continuing on. 

Look at all the snow at the closure!

Definitely a long way down to the river 

seen in the other pictures.

This is an "avalanche chute".

A natural valley or gully on the mountain side that directs

avalanches. This one still has snow and ice on it even

though it is at a relatively low elevation.

Just some bikers on the road below making

their way up and down.

Mark says It was the most awesome "bike trail" he will ever ride

I had visitors as I read my book and

people watched.

The tunnel has large openings to view the

scenery and a waterfall to the left.

Mark making his way out of the tunnel.