Glacier National Park plans to open up the alpine section of Going-to-the-Sun Road next week. Most of the road will be open to visitors.
Reopening the ever-popular alpine section of Going to the Sun Road, which connects the west and east entrances of the park, has been complicated this year amid the coronavirus pandemic. There are fewer workers to clear the road of snow and debris. A recent decision by the Blackfeet Nation closed down roads on reservation land leading to all eastern entrances of the park. Park spokesperson Gina Kerzman says the park is respecting that decision.
Kerzman says Going-to-the-Sun Road will reopen at some point next week from the West Glacier entrance up to the Rising Sun campground near the eastern edge of the park. Limited services will be available at Logan Pass and other areas of the park. The park has forgone collecting gate fees, but began collecting fees again this week.
Even with vast sections of the park closed, visitors have been flocking there, though indications are visitorship is down compared to 2019. According to a snapshot vehicle count from the University of Montana, visitorship from early to mid June could be down by as much as 41 percent from 2019. Glacier is still waiting on official visitation numbers for June from the National Park Service.
