Why You Should Plan Your Glacier National Park Visit For When Going-to-the-Sun Road Is Open

“Must Go To Glacier!” is written on our planning calendar at the start of every year. We love this park. And, if you’re thinking about planning a summer trip to the park, keep one thing in mind: timing matters. Summer comes late to Glacier, and winter arrives early. This means that some of the park’s best areas are only accessible for a relatively short window each year.

That’s especially true for Going-to-the-Sun Road, the only road inside the park that allows drivers to travel between the east and west sides. The road is typically open for just a few months each summer, depending on snow removal and weather conditions.

You can visit Glacier when the road is closed, but you’ll miss many of the park’s highlights. The drive itself is one of the main attractions, with expansive views and constantly changing scenery. Many popular hikes, including the Highline Trail and Hidden Lake Trail, are only accessible from the road. Wildlife sightings are also common at pullouts along the way and at the high point of the road – Logan Pass.

When Going-to-the-Sun Road is closed, the only way to travel between the east and west sides is via U.S. Highway 2, which follows the park’s southern boundary. It’s scenic, but it adds time and limits how much of Glacier’s interior you can see in a day.

Historically, the road has been fully open by mid-July and remains open into early September, though brief weather-related closures can still occur. The chart below shows the percentage of days the road has been open over the past few decades. This should give you a fair estimate of when it might be open in the future.