How Will GTTSR Road Closing Affect My Trip

Hi All,

We are planning on going to Glacier (first time) on September 13 for a week. Will the GTTSR closing have a major affect on this trip? We plan on doing a lot of hiking and like to explore different areas. I just don%26#39;t know if this road is the entire ';backbone'; of the park,

Thanks for the help!

How Will GTTSR Road Closing Affect My Trip

I don%26#39;t believe that you should be affected by the closing the last official information I saw was as follows:

GTTS Fall Closing Schedule:

Midnight Sunday, September 20, 2009, a portion of the road will be closed to travel to allow accelerated construction. Logan Pass will be accessible from St. Mary until weather once again

forces a retreat.

How Will GTTSR Road Closing Affect My Trip

The road is scheduled to close Sept. 15. At that time you should be able to access Logan Pass from one side or the other, it depends on the work schedule. Depending on where you are staying this means you may have to travel highway 2 south of the park, to an entrance, and then go on to Logan Pass. Are you flying into Kalispell? If so, I would try to stay on the west side the first night, if you arrive early enough you could possibly hike to Avalanche Lake, 4 miles RT, then drive across the road the next day, stopping at Logan Pass for hiking there and go on and stay in the Many Glacier area. There are a lot of hiking trails in Many Glacier.

toddnick, I had read that Sept. 15 was the last day, but if it is the 20th, that is even better.

Thanks for the quick replies!

I am really not yet familiar with the geography of the area. We will be flying into Kalispell and staying in Columbia Falls. We own a timeshare and are therefore planning on trading into Meadow Lake Resort for a week. How will this affect us?

I assume with a week there, we will really be able to explore the park, but I don%26#39;t want the road closing to impede us.

Thanks again.

If the road is closing Sept 20 then you will be able to access Logan Pass during your entire stay. Columbia Falls is 20 or so minutes from the park entrance. Logan Pass, with Highline Trail and Hidden Lake trailheads, is another 32 miles and will take at least an hour. There are other hiking trails along the road at various pulloffs. St. Mary/Virginia Falls, Piegan and Siyeh Pass, and Avalanche Lake for a few (of my favorites of course:)). With construction delays you may be able to get to the Many Glacier area a little quicker on 2. Either way it will be at least 2 hours from Columbia Falls. There are a lot of great trails in the Many Glacier area, Grinnell Glacier, Iceberg Lake, Bullhead Lake, Swiftcurrent Pass. One day can also be spent in the Two Medicine area. Visit www.nps.gov and look at Glacier. They have a map of trails and the road. This will give you more of a feel as to the location of things from your timeshare. It is absolutely beautiful.

iceberg loses much of it%26#39;s apepal by then ( no mofre icebergs on the lake or wild flowers on the trail) though the walls are impressive and the bears are very active in that area

not sure how long the hikes are that you are considering?

I find avalanche to be a fairly average hike/view, but it is very accessable

water flows could be way-way down by then so the falls on gthe east side may also be very marginal

there are a number of long hikes that have tremendous views if you are so inclined and a few suggestions are available if interested

also, if you are a nmeat eater, consider the bbq at the backroom in Columbia falls about 1 mile from Meadowlake where you are staying

eye make up