Sun Road completely opened July 2
<p>A lot of tourists can't wait to hike out onto the snowfields at Logan Pass — some in flipflops or sneakers.</p>
It was later than usual, but the full length of Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road opened on July 2 just after 8 p.m.
About two hours later, an 800-pound boulder landed on the road about a mile and a half west of Logan Pass, and Park officials closed the road again to remove the massive rock.
The opening of the road this year was delayed by a mid-June snowstorm that dropped as much as three feet of snow in some locations of Glacier Park’s high country. In places, the snow slid onto the alpine highway, along with tons of rock, mud and debris.
The average opening for the road is usually in mid-June.
There’s plenty of snow at Logan Pass right now, and hikers and skiers have been taking to the slopes. On Sunday, about 50 people watched a grizzly bear as it walked across the snowfields about three-quarters of a mile above the visitor center.
The snow usually persists at the pass well into July, but it’s melting fast, as temperatures are expected to be in the 90s this week.
The runoff from snowmelt has the Park’s rivers and streams running at full stream and high. Visitors are urged to use extreme caution around snowfields and streams.
Drowning is the No. 1 cause of accidental death in the Park.