dennis336

I'm planning a trip to Glacier National Park in early July. Would like to ride the Going to the Sun Road but I know there are restrictions on cycling sections of the road during peak season.

Most references to cycling the GTSR during peak season (when open to cars) recommend going out as early as possible - around 6:00 AM - in order to get through before the 11:00 AM cut-off. I've not picked up on any ride reports/suggestions where people have started their ride at 4:00 PM. Since it looks like sunset is after 9:00 in early July, it seems like there's plenty of sunlight to complete the ride. Wondering if there's any practical reason why doing the GTSR late afternoon into the evening doesn't seem to be as common as early AM. Is it because of more traffic? Something else?

Thanks in advance for any tips.

indyfabz

Having ridden up and back down the west slope 3 times and up and over to St. Mary once, traffic is definitely the issue. Also, you have a much better chance of seeing wildlife early. Finally, if avalanches are still a concern, they are more likely after the sun has had all day to soften the snow.


I always started from Sprague Creek Campground before 6:00 in either mid or late June. The car crowd doesn’t like to hit the road so early. Depending on where you start from, you may have several miles of relatively flat, straight road. People tend to speed there. Saw a guy get pulled over by park police last time I was there. He pulled into the campground and got a ticket or warning.

dennis336

Thanks, I had a feeling it had more to do with traffic. And, I do recall hearing avalanche risk could be greater later in the day. Looks like early morning is the preferred way to go. Thanks again for the input!

sixer 

I only rode it once, starting at dawn to avoid traffic restrictions, but I rented my bike locally and the employees there told me they often rode it in the evening or night after the restrictions were lifted. I saw no wildlife.

dennis336

Thanks ... another responder to my question (I ended up posting on General Discussion, too) said he does full moon rides on GTSR. Sounds quite cool although I expect I'll just try to get out early in the morning with a worst case being later in the day but still under sunlight. Thanks for responding.

indyfabz

In 2000 a black bear ambled across the road as I was descending from Logan. It was later in the morning, but it was a really crappy day, and the pass was not open from the east, so traffic was very minimal.

in 2017, the road was closed to cars east of Avalanche Campground. Saw a fresh pile of bear scat, It was one of several I saw. Without vehicles, the bears were having a good time. Unfortunately, the road opened to vehicles during my ascent.

I hope the NPS posts lots of plowing photos on its Flikr page. It has not the last few years. Several years ago they posted maybe five or six bear photos taken during plowing operations, including one of a mother grizzly and her cub.

dennis336

Probably - selfishly speaking - the ideal situation is that GTSR is closed the first day or two of our visit to Glacier so I can ride without traffic, then opens up all the way through so my wife gets to experience the whole road in our car

indyfabz

It depends. If plow crews are working, there is usually a bike closure point. Crews don’t work weekends. If it’s safe enough, they will allow hikers and bikers all the way up, but even then there can be a closure point.

The best thing to do is monitor the official NPS website and ask at the gate when you arrive, although employees don’t like to give out that sort of information because conditions can change rapidly.

Tusk

Might be of interest:

dennis336

Nice video ... extraordinary effort to clear the road!

indyfabz

They have added some 2023 plowing photos. No bears, but a cool mountain goat:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/glacie...h/52843217482/

dennis336

Very cool ... reminds my of the documentary 'Free Solo' shere Alex Honnald free soloed up El Capitan . If you haven't seen it, it's quite an amazing story!

I actually signed up for text updates for GTSR snow removal.

indyfabz

So you probably have seen that the road is fully open. That was fast.

dennis336

QUOTe
yes, I did hear that. I saw a news clip a couple of weeks ago saying it wouldn't be open until at least end of June so this was a nice surprise. We're actually on the road now and in Colorado. Got my first ride in this . morning at higher elevation! Typing on phone so apologies if there's spelling or syntax error!