Glacier's Sun Road opens to Avalanche for hikers, bikers, only for now

Glacier National Park will not be opening the Going-to-the-Sun Road to Avalanche Creek to vehicles this week as first reported.

Park spokeswoman Margie Steigerwald said she misspoke earlier this week when she said the road would open to motorists to Avalanche today. The road is open to hikers and bikers to Avalanche Creek during the week, but the road will remain gated at Lake McDonald Lodge for now. She said Wednesday she didn't know when the road would open to Avalanche to motorists.

While the snowpack is about average in the Flathead River Basin, there’s been a lack of snow east of the Divide and at lower elevations, as March saw more rain than snow. As such, Glacier Park’s roads simply don’t have much, if any, low-elevation snow. 

Hiking and biking the road beyond Avalanche is restricted when plows are working, but generally, there are no restrictions when crews aren’t plowing. No major construction is planned on the west side this summer.

On the east side, bicyclists were traveling up the Sun Road as far as the Gunsight Pass trailhead last week. The road is open to Rising Sun to motor vehicles and plows haven’t even started on the Sun Road's east side. They’ve plowed into Many Glacier and were working in the Two Medicine campground area. 

The Many Glacier Road generally doesn’t open until later this month because of wildlife security concerns. The Two Medicine Road is open to Running Eagle Falls to motorists when plows aren’t working.

The Camas Road is plowed, but was closed to motor vehicles to let ice melt off the roadway. The weather should help. It’s supposed to be in the mid-70s by Friday.