Plowing begins on Glacier Park roads, reservations going smoothly

The annual plowing of Glacier National Park’s roads was set to begin this week.

On the east side, crews were planning to start on the Chief Mountain Road Monday and the Grist Road on the west side as well, park spokeswoman Gina Kerzman said last week.

The Camas Road should see a one-lane plow in the first week of April, potentially starting on April 1. The Park Service typically lets the rest of the road melt out.

Once Camas Road is done, they’ll transition to the west side of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The Camas Road doesn’t take long — a day or two, so crews are usually on the Sun Road the first week of April.

On the east side, crews are expected to start the Two Medicine Road on March 25 and the Many Glacier Road after March 31.

The Many Glacier Road was reconstructed last year and the contract is done, though there are some gravel sections where slumps were the worst. The Park Service will eventually permanently fix those areas when more funding becomes available, but for now, they are not paved as it’s easier to grade and fill them if they slump.

Backcountry reservations also opened Monday for the 2022 season. This year, 70% of backcountry reservations will be let online with 30% reserved for walk-ins, Kerzman noted.

The backcountry permit system is lottery-based.

The Sun Road reservation system has been going smoothly, Kerzman said. The Park has actually seen hundreds of advanced reservations available late into the day on most days.

The Sun Road system is split 50-50 with the remaining reservations being available the day before, which should help people who arrive without a reservation get one easier.

The one concern folks have had is last year the reservation system was 60 days out, but this year it’s 120. The Park changed it to make advanced planning easier for travelers, Kerzman noted, but it caught other visitors off guard.

Adding to the mix this year is road and utility work on the Sun Road. Starting in June, contractors will be working nights on the road, and access from Apgar to Lake McDonald Lodge will be limited at night.

Kerzman said the contract for that work has been let, but the Park Service is still working out the details for when that section of road will reopen in the mornings.

The park doesn’t require a reservation to enter before 6 a.m. and if last summer is any indication, there is a surge of visitation early in the mornings now.

But if the road is closed at Apgar, there’s no way motorists would be able to get up the highway until crews reopen it.

That section of road is set to close entirely on Oct. 1, so crews can finish the work.