Going-to-the-Sun Road
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Going-to-the-Sun Road is a scenic mountain road in the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
of the
western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
, in Glacier National Park in
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
. The Sun Road, as it is sometimes abbreviated in
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
documents, is the only road that traverses the park, crossing the
Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...
through
Logan Pass Logan Pass (elevation ) is located along the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is the highest point on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The pass is named after Major William R. Logan, the first superintende ...
at an elevation of 6,646 feet (2,026 m), which is the highest point on the road. Construction began in 1921 and was completed in 1932 with formal dedication in the following summer on July 15, 1933. Prior to the construction of the road, visitors would need to spend several days traveling through the central part of the park, an area which can now be traversed within a few hours, excluding any stops for sightseeing or construction. The road is the first to have been registered in all of the following categories:
National Historic Place The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
,
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
and
Historic Civil Engineering Landmark __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United State ...
. The road is approximately 50 miles (80 km) long and spans the width of the park between the east and west entrance stations. The National Historic Landmark Nomination records a slightly shorter distance of 48.7 miles which is measured from the first main intersection just outside the park's west entrance to Divide Creek in
St. Mary, Montana St. Mary (Blackfeet: , "Holy Woman") is an unincorporated community on the western border of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation adjacent to Glacier National Park in Glacier County, Montana, United States. The village is the eastern terminus of the ...
on the east side of the park.


Name

The road is named after
Going-to-the-Sun Mountain Going-to-the-Sun Mountain is a mountain peak located in Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. It rises dramatically above St. Mary Valley just north of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The mountain was named by James Willard Schultz in 1 ...
which dominates the eastbound view beyond Logan Pass. One Native American legend concerns the deity Sour Spirit who came down from the sun to teach the
Blackfeet The Blackfeet Nation ( bla, Aamsskáápipikani, script=Latn, ), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Monta ...
the basics of hunting. While returning to the sun, an image of Sour Spirit was placed on the mountain as an inspiration for the Blackfeet. Another story has suggested that a late-19th-century
Euro-American European Americans (also referred to as Euro-Americans) are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes people who are descended from the first European settlers in the United States as well as people who are descended from more recent E ...
explorer provided the mountain's name and the legend.


Design

Going-to-the-Sun Road, also known as Glacier Route 1 Road, is notable as one of the first National Park Service projects specifically intended to accommodate the automobile-borne tourist. The road was first conceived by superintendent George Goodwin in 1917, who became the chief engineer of the Park Service the following year. As chief engineer, the new road became Goodwin's primary project, and construction began in 1921. As the project proceeded, Goodwin lost influence with National Park Service director
Stephen Mather Stephen Tyng Mather (July 4, 1867 – January 22, 1930) was an American industrialist and conservationist who was the first director of the National Park Service. As president and owner of Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company he became a milliona ...
, who favored landscape architect
Thomas Chalmers Vint Thomas Chalmers Vint (August 15, 1894 – October 26, 1967) was a landscape architect credited for directing and shaping landscape planning and development during the early years of the United States National Park System. His work at Yosemite ...
's alternative routing of the upper portion of the road along the
Garden Wall The Garden Wall is a steep alpine area within Glacier National Park well known during the summer months to be heavily covered in dozens of species of flowering plants and shrubs. Located along the west side of the Continental divide and extending ...
escarpment. Vint's alignment reduced both switchbacks and the road's visual impact, at increased cost. With Goodwin's resignation, Vint's proposal became the preferred alignment. The entire project was finally opened from end to end in 1933, at a cost of $2.5 million. The western terminus of the road is at
U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern ...
in
West Glacier, Montana West Glacier is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in eastern Flathead County, Montana, Flathead County, Montana, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had a population of 227. The town is at ...
. The eastern terminus is at
U.S. Route 89 U.S. Route 89 (US 89) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway with two sections, and one former section. The southern section runs for from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The northern sectio ...
in St. Mary. The two-lane Going-to-the-Sun Road is quite narrow and winding, with
hairpin turn A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal hai ...
s, especially west of Logan Pass. Consequently, vehicle lengths over the highest portions of the roadway are limited to no longer than and no wider than between Avalanche Creek and Rising Sun picnic areas which are located many miles below Logan Pass, on the west and east sides of the pass, respectively. Vehicles over in height may not have sufficient clearance due to rock overhangs when driving west between Logan Pass and the hairpin turn called the Loop. The speed limits are in the lower elevations and in the steeper and winding alpine sections.


Repairs

The road is one of the most difficult roads in North America to snowplow in the spring. Up to of snow can lie on top of Logan Pass, and more just east of the pass where the deepest snowfield has long been referred to as the
Big Drift The Big Drift is in Glacier National Park, in the U.S. state of Montana and is an area along the Going-to-the-Sun Road where a large amount of winter snow can accumulate to depths of . Located immediately east of Logan Pass, the westerly winds pu ...
. The road takes about ten weeks to plow, even with equipment that can move 4,000 tons of snow in an hour. The snowplow crew can clear as little as of the road per day. On the east side of the Continental Divide, there are few guardrails due to heavy snows and the resultant late-winter avalanches that have destroyed protective barriers. The road is generally open from early June to mid October, with its latest opening on July 15, 2022, marking the record for the latest opening since the inaugural date of July 15, 1933. A restoration project by the National Park Service and the
Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
has been repairing road damage from many avalanches and rock slides over the years. The repairs, which started in the 1980s and continue to the present day when weather permits, include fixing retaining walls, replacing the original pavement with reinforced concrete, and work on tunnels, bridges, culverts and overlooks.


Buses

A fleet of vintage 1930s red buses, modernized in 2001 and called
Red Jammers Red Jammers are the vintage White Motor Company/Bender Body Company Model 706 buses used at Glacier National Park in the United States to transport park visitors since 1936. While the buses are called ''reds'' for their distinctive livery, painte ...
, or simply "Reds", continue the tradition of offering guided tours along the road. The original bus drivers became affectionately known as "Gear Jammers" or simply "Jammers" since they had to jam the manual gearbox into low to safely negotiate the steepest road sections. Thirty-three of the original buses were rebuilt with flexible-fuel engines which operate mainly on
propane Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used a ...
but can use gasoline, and with automatic transmissions, making the Jammer name archaic. Modern-style shuttle buses for shorter trips and Blackfeet tour buses operate on the road as well.


References in popular culture

Going-to-the-Sun Road is shown in the opening credits of the 1980 film '' The Shining'', as aerial flybys of Wild Goose Island and the protagonist's car traveling along the north shore of
Saint Mary Lake Saint Mary Lake is the second-largest lake in Glacier National Park, in the U.S. state of Montana. Located on the east side of the park, Going-to-the-Sun Road parallels the lake along its north shore. At an elevation of , Saint Mary Lake's wate ...
, through the East Side tunnel and onward, going to a mountain resort hotel for his job interview as a winter caretaker. The road is also seen briefly in the 1994 film ''
Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and ...
''. As Forrest reminisces with Jenny he remembers running across the U.S. and remarks, "Like that mountain lake. It was so clear, Jenny. It looked like there were two skies, one on top of the other." The shots in the background are Going-to-the-Sun Road and Saint Mary Lake. The road is the subject of the song "Going-to-the-Sun Road" by
Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes is an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The band consists of Robin Pecknold (vocals, guitar), Skyler Skjelset (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals), Ch ...
, featured on their 2020 album ''Shore''.


See also

Major points of interest along the road from west-to-east include: *
Lake McDonald Lake McDonald is the largest lake in Glacier National Park. It is located at in Flathead County in the U.S. state of Montana. Lake McDonald is approximately 10 miles (16 km) long, and over a mile (1.6 km) wide and 472 feet (130 m) ...
*
Trail of the Cedars The Trail of the Cedars is a hiking trail accessible from Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, No ...
*
Heavens Peak Heavens Peak () is located in the Livingston Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Heavens Peak is a little more than north of McPartland Mountain. The mountain's descriptive name first appeared on a map prepared by Lt. Geo ...
*
Bird Woman Falls Bird Woman Falls is a waterfall located immediately west of the continental divide in Glacier National Park, Montana, United States. The falls are readily visible from a distance of two miles (3.2 km) along the Going-to-the-Sun Road, which ...
*
Garden Wall The Garden Wall is a steep alpine area within Glacier National Park well known during the summer months to be heavily covered in dozens of species of flowering plants and shrubs. Located along the west side of the Continental divide and extending ...
/
Weeping Wall Weeping Wall may refer to: * Weeping Wall (Alberta), a geologic formation in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada * Weeping Wall (Montana), a geologic formation in Glacier National Park, Montana, United States * "Weeping Wall" (instrumental), a 1 ...
*
Logan Pass Logan Pass (elevation ) is located along the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is the highest point on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The pass is named after Major William R. Logan, the first superintende ...
*
Clements Mountain Clements Mountain () is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Clements Mountain rises to the west of Logan Pass and above the Hidden Lake Trail which leads to Hidden Lake just west of the continental ...
* Mount Jackson /
Glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
*
Going-to-the-Sun Mountain Going-to-the-Sun Mountain is a mountain peak located in Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. It rises dramatically above St. Mary Valley just north of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The mountain was named by James Willard Schultz in 1 ...
* Rising Sun *
Saint Mary Lake Saint Mary Lake is the second-largest lake in Glacier National Park, in the U.S. state of Montana. Located on the east side of the park, Going-to-the-Sun Road parallels the lake along its north shore. At an elevation of , Saint Mary Lake's wate ...


References


Further reading


Spokesman-Review article (Spokane, Washington)Eugene Register-Guard article (Eugene, Oregon)Ocala Star-Banner article (Ocala, Florida)


External links


Current road status
*
Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...
(HAER) documentation, filed under West Glacier, Flathead County, MT: ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** {{Authority control Transportation in Flathead County, Montana Transportation in Glacier County, Montana National Register of Historic Places in Glacier National Park Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana National Historic Landmarks in Montana Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks Protected areas of Flathead County, Montana Protected areas of Glacier County, Montana Historic American Engineering Record in Montana History of the Rocky Mountains National Register of Historic Places in Flathead County, Montana National Register of Historic Places in Glacier County, Montana 1933 establishments in Montana Glacier National Park (U.S.) National Park Service rustic in Montana