Popular Glacier Highway Finally Open, YNP Roads Now Open 93%

After delays due to heavy spring snow storms and avalanche danger, the famous Going-to-the-Sun Highway in Glacier National Park is finally open 100%. The National Park Service announced the roads opening in a news release today (7/13). Park workers typically attempt to have the highway open by Independence Day weekend but missed the mark this season. The highway has opened this late on two other occasions. Once in 2011 due to heavy snowpack, and once in 2020 due to COVID. The latest opening date in history was on July 15, the year the road was completed in 1933.

Reservations are still required for Going-to-the-Sun Highway.

Around three million people visit Glacier National Park each year. The narrow, winding mountain roads were never designed to handle anywhere near that amount of traffic. Congestion led the Park to implement a reservation system in 2021 to help alleviate traffic jams on Going-to-the-Sun Highway. They say,

Vehicle reservations are needed to enter Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor at the West Glacier Entrance, Camas Entrance and Rising Sun checkpoint (located 6 miles west of the St. Mary Entrance) from 6 am until 4 pm each day. North Fork area of the park reservations are required between 6 am and 6 pm.

Reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance. You can find the Reservations Page HERE.

Roads are reopening in Yellowstone National Park.

Massive flooding in parts of the northern portion of Yellowstone National Park this spring wiped out a lot of roads, but the Park has been working overtime to open more areas. On Tuesday (7/12) YNP officials announced in the news release that 93% of the paved roads are now open and 88% of the backcountry trails are open.

Gardiner and Cooke City Entrances remain closed to vehicles.

You can't drive into the park from the North or Northeast Entrances yet, but those gates are now open to foot traffic and bicycles. Bicyclists can ride 1 mile into the park at Gardiner (to the Rescue Creek trailhead) and can ride 6 miles into the park at the Northeast Entrance (to the Barronette Meadows area). Guides and outfitters are being permitted as much access as possible, said the Park. They added,

Reconnecting the park to Gardiner and Cooke City/Silver Gate remains Yellowstone's highest flood recovery priority. These communities are open with access to the park as described above.

$65 million in emergency relief funds from the Federal Highway Administration should help speed the process.

Never been to Yellowstone? Here's some advice.

What's the first thing many people do when they move to Montana? Go to Yellowstone! So with all the fresh faces coming to our area, we feel like it's prudent to offer a few newbie tips for those who are embarking on their first trip to Yellowstone National Park.

Read More: Don't Make These Newbie Mistakes at Yellowstone National Park