Going-To-The-Sun Road Opening Date Update

We didn't receive much snow in the state's lower elevations this year. Many are concerned about the lack of snowpack and moisture for the upcoming fire season, rightfully so.

Despite a lack of snow in Missoula and beyond, Glacier National Park received plenty at the higher elevations. In the video below, you can see it's pretty darn evident that there is a lot of snow to remove before Going-To-The-Sun Road can open up for the summer.

The video was taken a week ago, but it still doesn't bode well to have an early opening date for GTTSR. I can only assume digging your way up a mountainside in 80 FEET OF SNOW is somewhat difficult.

"Crews start plowing the Going-to-the-Sun Road every at the beginning of April, but it's a monumental task," said the narrator in the Facebook reel.

Monumental indeed...

"The plows will have to maneuver through avalanche chutes, manage extreme weather, and finally tackle a section simply called "The Big Drift" where snow blows into a pile 80 feet deep."

I salute the crews hard at work prepping the attraction road for opening, because avalanche chutes, extreme weather and 80-foot snow piles all on treacherous terrain don't seem like a simple task.

The video goes on to say the opening date is still to be determined, but they suggest NOT booking a trip to Logan Pass before the end of June.

GTTSR opening dates, historically

With no exact date lined up due to changing conditions, I looked back at GTTSR opening dates dating back to 1933.

The earliest opening date according to the National Park Service was on May 16, 1987. That seems unbelievable considering this year we had a May snowfall. You had to be gutsy to track up GTTSR in the 80s.

The latest opening date of all time was July 15, 1933. Fun fact, this was the dedication day that opened GTTSR for the first time ever.

In recent memory, dating back to 2000, GTTSR opening dates spanned from May 22 (in 2005) to July 13 (in 2011, 2020, and 2022).