Free Glacier hiker-biker shuttle starts Saturday

This weekend Glacier National Park will offer its free shuttle service for hiker and bikers to and from Apgar to the closure gate on the west side.

The hiker-biker shuttle will run every 20 minutes from Apgar Visitor Center on Saturdays and Sundays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., and on May 27 (Memorial Day). Shuttles, equipped with bicycle trailers, will stop at Lake McDonald Lodge and Avalanche Creek (once open to motor vehicle traffic). The fare-free weekend-only shuttle will operate until the full length of the Going-to-the-Sun Road opens to motor vehicles and is funded through donations to the Glacier National Park Conservancy.

But hikers and bikers will see some weekday restrictions on the Going-to-the-Sun Road this month as park crews will start pavement preservation work on the road.

Park snowplows were working at Triple Arches as of presstime. Currently crews are doing patchwork and crack sealing on the road in the Apgar area. When crews aren’t working, weekday access will be available, the park said. But once the actual sealing material is put down, when air temperatures warm up, hiking and biking restrictions will be in place on weekdays, even when crews aren’t working, because the surface needs to cure. Motorists could also see delays, up to 30 minutes while crews are working.

The road is currently open to motor vehicles to Lake McDonald Lodge on the west side.

The pavement preservation work is expected to take two years. The Park recently completed a 10-year project that completely overhauled the Sun Road. The preservation is the final step in that overhaul. In addition to the Sun Road, several other roads and parking areas in the park will also be sealed, including the Chief Mountain Road, a portion of Camas Road, a portion of the Many Glacier Road near Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, and in parking lots and other smaller roads.

The full length of the Sun Road won’t open before June 22 this year to motor vehicles because of pavement preservation work.