Glacier National Park: Going-to-the-Sun Road and when it opens

Glacier has the shortest usable season of any headline park in the lower 48, and the tightest planning constraint: a single road across the middle that may not be fully open until well into July. Everything else follows from that.

Going-to-the-Sun Road

Fifty miles of engineering across Logan Pass, and the reason most people come. Plows start in spring and the full opening date lands anywhere from late June to late July depending on snowpack. There is no way to know in advance, so build a plan that is still good if the pass is shut, and treat an open pass as a bonus.

When it is open, the road usually runs a vehicle reservation system during peak hours, separate from park entry. The details shift every year. Check the official page and set an alarm for the booking window.

Location: Glacier National Park

The 3-day plan

Day 123

West side warm-up: the big lake and the cedar forest.

1. 08:30 Apgar Visitor Center Going-to-the-Sun Road needs a vehicle reservation in summer, booked on recreation.gov. Sort your day here.
2. 09:30 Lake McDonald Ten miles long and famously clear, with rainbow pebbles in the shallows at Apgar.
3. 11:00 Lake McDonald Lodge The 1913 Swiss-style lodge. Lunch, then look at the lake from the stern-wheeler dock.
4. 13:00 Trail of the Cedars A wheelchair-accessible boardwalk loop through old growth cedars and the slot of Avalanche Gorge.
5. 14:30 Avalanche Lake 4.6 miles round trip to a lake ringed by 2,000 foot walls with ribbon waterfalls. The park’s best effort-to-reward hike.

Start from this plan →

Entrances and getting there

• West Glacier (US-2): the west end of Going-to-the-Sun Road, Apgar and Lake McDonald, and an Amtrak stop on the Empire Builder.
• St. Mary (US-89): the east end of the road, with the prairie-meets-mountains approach that makes the drive in half the show.
• Many Glacier and Two Medicine: separate dead-end gates on the east side, each guarding its own valley.
• Polebridge: remote, gravel and generator-powered, for Bowman and Kintla lakes in the quiet northwest.

The park beyond the road

• Many Glacier on the east side: the best hiking valley in the park, and where you are most likely to see a grizzly at distance. Grinnell Glacier is the classic day.
• Two Medicine: quiet, dramatic and often overlooked, with a boat that shortens several hikes.
• Lake McDonald on the west: the coloured stones in the shallows are genuinely as photogenic as advertised.
• Highline Trail from Logan Pass: a ledge walk with a cable handline early on and enormous views. One of the great trails in North America.
• Waterton Lakes across the border in Alberta forms an international peace park with Glacier. See Waterton Lakes.

Bears, seriously

Glacier is dense grizzly country. Carry bear spray, hike in groups, make noise on blind corners, and store food properly. The park closes trails on short notice for bear activity, and those closures are not suggestions. See Bear country without the drama.

Book it and check it

• Official park page → Entrance fees, opening hours, park maps and seasonal road status. https://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm
• Current conditions and alerts → Road, trail and weather status. Read this the morning you go. https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/conditions.htm
• Recreation.gov → Campsites, timed entry and permits for most federal land. https://www.recreation.gov
• Going-to-the-Sun Road status → Live plowing and opening status, updated through spring. https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gtsrroadstatus.htm

Common questions

When does Glacier National Park open?

The park itself is open all year. What opens and closes is the alpine middle of Going-to-the-Sun Road, typically fully open from late June or July until the first big October snow. The lower valleys, Apgar and Lake McDonald are reachable in every season.

When does Going-to-the-Sun Road open?

It varies enormously with snowpack, from late June to late July for the full route. The park publishes live plowing progress through spring, which is the only reliable guide.

Do you need a reservation for Glacier National Park?

In recent years yes, for vehicle access to certain corridors during peak daytime hours, separate from entry fees. The rules change annually, so check the official page for your dates.

How many days do you need in Glacier?

Three to four. The east and west sides are two to three hours apart when the pass is closed, so treat them as separate bases rather than day trips.

Are there still glaciers in Glacier National Park?

Yes, about two dozen, though far fewer and much smaller than the 150 or so recorded in the 1850s. Grinnell and Jackson are the most accessible to see.