By JUSTIN FRANZ for the Flathead Beacon
Plow crews on Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road are within sight of Logan Pass.
Park officials said the plows are making rapid progress clearing the 50-mile road that slices through the park. If everything goes according to plan, visitors will be able to access Logan Pass from the west side much earlier than last year, when the road opened on July 2.
On April 24, the west side plow crew was working just below the Triple Arches, about two miles from the continental divide. The east side crew had reached Siyeh Bend, about three miles away from Logan Pass.
Plow crews work the west side of Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road. Photo couresy of the National Park Service.
However, park spokesperson Denise Germann said there are still some big obstacles in the way, including a series of snow slides on the western slope below Logan Pass and a massive, wind blown drift just east of the pass that in years past has been 70-feet deep.
Germann said weather would determine how soon the west side of the road opens. Due to ongoing roadwork on the east side of the road, the earliest visitors will be able to access the St. Mary to Logan Pass section of road will be June 19.
While the road past the Lake McDonald Lodge is still closed to vehicles, hikers and bikers are able to use it on weekends and evenings up to Packer’s Roost, about 12 miles past the lodge. For the latest on plowing and the road status, visit www.nps.gov/glac.