Snow delaying Park road and campground openings

Three Glacier National Park campgrounds will have delayed openings because of lingering snows. The Many Glacier, Two Medicine and Cutbank campground openings will be delayed until at least June 17, Park officials said last week.

Snow persists at those east side sites, but there are still plenty of places to camp. The Fish Creek and Rising Sun campgrounds are now open, as are Sprague Creek and Apgar.

The weather has made it a tough go for crews plowing the Going-to-the-Sun Road. More than 2 1/2 feet of snow fell last week in the starting zones of avalanche paths along the Sun Road. In order to access their work site, crews re-plowed the slide paths, where they encountered debris piles up to 10 feet deep. Crews have completed initial plowing through Haystack Creek and are continuing towards the Alps, three and a half miles beyond the Loop.

On the east side, crews have completed initial plowing through Siyeh Bend and are continuing to No Stump Point, approximately one mile beyond Siyeh Bend.

Hikers and bikers should take caution when traveling across avalanche paths and not linger in them. The Sun Road is open to vehicles to Avalanche Campground on the west side and Jackson Glacier Overlook on the east side. Hikers and bikers can go as far as Packer's Roost on Saturday. There are no restrictions on Sunday.

All other Park roads are open except for the Inside North Fork Road between Polebridge and Fish Creek.

This week, more rain is expected and there could be some flooding, as a record snowpack is starting to melt, even at higher elevations.