Majestically scenic but precipitous, narrow, and winding...

A road trip on the Going-to-the-Sun Road

 
By Jeff Perry
 

   During an SDVSA meeting last year, club member Brian Fitzsimmons shared with us these photos from a road trip he made in his Volvo 122 to Glacier National Park in northwest Montana. 

   Brian explained that he had driven through the Park by way of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, and what a spectacular road it is - both the scenery and the drive. Unfortunately, it's Brian's understanding that this road will be closed in the near future for restoration, and then be reopened for travel by bicycle and mass-transport vehicles only. 

   I performed several Internet searches, and found the following information on this road:

   It's a don't-look-down-now kind of a road. But do, the views are awesome. And take it slow. After all, Going-to-the-Sun Road took eleven years to build, from 1921 to 1932. The road is often hailed as an engineering marvel, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1997. Park Superintendent David Mihalic describes it as "majestically scenic but precipitous, narrow, and winding." Going-to-the-Sun is a good example of a road that makes previously inaccessible territory available to more people, without becoming a blight on the landscape in the process.

   Moonlight [bicycle] rides on Going-to-the-Sun Road are popular. On a clear night with a full moon the scenery glows. Start heading up the hill a couple hours before sundown -- which can be late in the summer -- and coast down by the light of the silvery moon. Besides helmets, reflectors and a headlamp are required after nightfall. 

Source: http://www.gorp.com/gorp/resource/us_national_park/mt/drv_gla.htm