Congress reaches budget deal; Glacier Park will remain open

Visitors will be able to go to Glacier National Park on Sunday, as Congress reached a deal on funding the federal government for another 45 days late Saturday.

Both of Montana’s Congressmen, Ryan Zinke and Matt Rosendale, voted against the measure, but both of Montana’s Senators, Jon Tester and Steve Daines, voted for it.

Daines, Zinke and Rosendale are Republicans; Tester a Democrat.

The Senate began voting just after 8 p.m. Eastern time and passed the stop gap funding by a wide margin.

Glacier National Park, along with hundreds of other national parks across the U.S., was set to shut down at 12:01 a.m. Sunday had Congress not reached a deal.

Thousands of tourists still remain the Flathead, as vacationing in Glacier in the fall has become more popular in recent years.

The weather, however, has the Going-to-the-Sun Road closed from Avalanche Creek to Jackson Glacier Overlook currently, with snow falling at this hour in high elevations, particularly on the east side of the Divide. That means no vehicle access to Logan Pass until the weather improves.

The weather should take a turn by mid-week, with highs in the 60s. Saturday was a dreary day with highs in the 50s at lower elevations and rain.