Going to the Sun

June 27 marks the 75th anniversary of the completion of Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road. This road, which runs along the mountain in the foreground, has become both a National Historic Landmark (1983) and a National Civil Engineering Landmark (1985).

An early June storm dumped nearly two feet of snow on parts of this road, prompting park officials to move the scheduled celebration from Logan pass, the site of the 1933 dedication ceremony that attracted about 4,000 people, to the Lake McDonald Lodge along the western section of this road.

Going-to-the-Sun Road is notoriously difficult to plow in the spring. Able to clear about 500 feet per day with equipment capable of transporting 4000 tons of snow per hour, it takes nearly ten weeks to clear this 52-mile two-lane road.

It spans the width of Glacier National Park, one America's most popular national parks located in northwestern Montana. 1930s Red tour buses, rebuilt in 2001 to run on propane, continue to offer tours of this road.

Going-to-the-Sun Road is currently undergoing restoration necessary to repair damage inflicted by avalanches and rock slides. Since the 1980s, crews have repaired retaining walls, improved tunnels and arches, and added reinforced concrete to the road.

Named for the park's Going-to-the-Sun Mountain, it was one of the initial National Park Service projects designed to accommodate cars. Open from early June to mid October, it allows visitors to travel from east to west across the park. This road crosses the Continental Divide at 6,646-foot high Logan Pass and passes through a variety of terrain such as cedar forests, windswept tundra, and glacial lakes.

One of these glacial lakes makes an appearance in the movie Forrest Gump when Forrest tells Jenny about a mountain lake he saw during his cross-country runs. "Like that mountain lake. It was so clear, Jenny," Forrest said. "It looks like there were two skies, one on top of the other." The movie shows Forrest running along Going-to-the-Sun Road with St. Mary Lake in the background.

-- Greg Soltis

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Image Credit: National Park Service