Going-to-the-Sun Road
Encyclopedia
Going-to-the-Sun Road is the only road through the heart of Glacier National Park in Montana
, USA. It was completed in 1932, and it is the only road that crosses the park, going over the Continental Divide
at Logan Pass
. A fleet of 1930s red tour buses "jammers
", rebuilt in 2001 to run on propane
or gas, offer tours on the road. The road, a National Historic Landmark
and a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, spans 53 miles (85.3 km) across the width of the park.
The road is one of the most difficult roads in North America
to snowplow in the spring. Up to 80 feet (24.4 m) 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 Big Drift
. The road takes about ten weeks to plow, even with equipment that can move 4000 tons of snow in an hour. The snowplow crew can clear as little as 500 feet (152.4 m) 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 repeatedly destroyed every protective barrier ever constructed. The road is generally open from early June to mid October, with its latest ever opening on 13 July (in 2011).
The two lane Going-to-the-Sun Road is quite narrow and winding, especially west of Logan Pass. Consequently, vehicle lengths over the highest portions of the roadway are limited to 21 feet (6.4 m) and that means no recreational vehicle
s or trailers
in excess of this length restriction are permitted beyond two larger parking areas, each located at lower points dozens of miles below Logan Pass, on both the west and east sides of the parkway.
Prior to the construction of the road, it would take the earliest visitors 3–4 days to see the park.
to hunt, leaving his image on the mountain.
The Going-to-the-Sun 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, who favored landscape architect Thomas Chalmers Vint
's alternative routing of the upper portion of the road along the Garden Wall
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.
, as Jack Torrance's Volkswagen glides past Saint Mary Lake and up the road, underneath a small tunnel and onward, presumably going to the Overlook Hotel for his job interview as a caretaker. In 1982, leftover aerial shots from this footage were used for the closing moments of the original cut of the film Blade Runner
.
This road is also seen briefly in the film Forrest Gump
. As Forrest reminisces with Jenny, he remembers running across the U.S. and remarks, "Like that mountain lake. It was so clear, Jenny. It looks 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.http://montanakids.com/cool_stories/Movies/Forrest.htm
Points of interest along the road include:
Going to the Sun Road is currently undergoing a restoration project by the National Park Service
(NPS) and Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) to repair damage from many avalanches and rock slides over the years. The repairs (started in the 1980s) include fixing retaining walls, replacing the original pavement with reinforced concrete, and work on tunnels and arches.
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, USA. It was completed in 1932, and it is the only road that crosses the park, going over the Continental Divide
Continental Divide
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
at Logan Pass
Logan Pass
Logan Pass 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....
. A fleet of 1930s red tour buses "jammers
Red Jammers
Red Jammers are buses used at Glacier National Park in the United States to transport park visitors. While the buses are called reds , the bus drivers are called jammers because of the sound the gears made when shifting on the steep roads of the park...
", rebuilt in 2001 to run on propane
Propane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
or gas, offer tours on the road. The road, a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
and a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, spans 53 miles (85.3 km) across the width of the park.
The road is one of the most difficult roads in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
to snowplow in the spring. Up to 80 feet (24.4 m) 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 Big Drift
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 push snow over the crest of the Continental Divide...
. The road takes about ten weeks to plow, even with equipment that can move 4000 tons of snow in an hour. The snowplow crew can clear as little as 500 feet (152.4 m) 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 repeatedly destroyed every protective barrier ever constructed. The road is generally open from early June to mid October, with its latest ever opening on 13 July (in 2011).
The two lane Going-to-the-Sun Road is quite narrow and winding, especially west of Logan Pass. Consequently, vehicle lengths over the highest portions of the roadway are limited to 21 feet (6.4 m) and that means no recreational vehicle
Recreational vehicle
Recreational vehicle or RV is, in North America, the usual term for a Motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home.-Features:...
s or trailers
Trailer (vehicle)
A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....
in excess of this length restriction are permitted beyond two larger parking areas, each located at lower points dozens of miles below Logan Pass, on both the west and east sides of the parkway.
Prior to the construction of the road, it would take the earliest visitors 3–4 days to see the park.
Name
The road is named for Going-to-the-Sun Mountain, which dominates the eastbound view beyond Logan Pass. One mythological story tells of the deity Sour Spirit, who returned to the sun after teaching the BlackfeetBlackfeet
The Piegan Blackfeet are a tribe of Native Americans of the Algonquian language family based in Montana, having lived in this area since around 6,500 BC. Many members of the tribe live as part of the Blackfeet Nation in northwestern Montana, with population centered in Browning...
to hunt, leaving his image on the mountain.
Design
Thomas Chalmers Vint
Thomas Chalmers Vint 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 National Park and the development of the Mission 66 program are among his better known...
's alternative routing of the upper portion of the road along the Garden Wall
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...
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.
Cinematic appearances
This road is shown in the opening credits of the 1980 film The ShiningThe Shining (film)
The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an...
, as Jack Torrance's Volkswagen glides past Saint Mary Lake and up the road, underneath a small tunnel and onward, presumably going to the Overlook Hotel for his job interview as a caretaker. In 1982, leftover aerial shots from this footage were used for the closing moments of the original cut of the film Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
.
This road is also seen briefly in the film Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...
. As Forrest reminisces with Jenny, he remembers running across the U.S. and remarks, "Like that mountain lake. It was so clear, Jenny. It looks 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.http://montanakids.com/cool_stories/Movies/Forrest.htm
- Lake McDonaldLake McDonaldLake 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 long, and over a mile wide and 472 feet deep, filling a valley formed by a combination of erosion and glacial activity...
- Trail of the CedarsTrail of the CedarsThe Trail of the Cedars is a hiking trail accessible from Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, Montana. The path is paved and has a raised boardwalk in some sections. Some of the cedars visible are over tall. The trail splits into two sections: one loops, while the other continues to...
- Heavens Peak
- Bird Woman FallsBird Woman FallsBird 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 along the Going-to-the-Sun Road, which bisects the park east to west. The falls are fed by snowfields and...
- Weeping WallWeeping WallWeeping Wall is a geological formation found along Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is a natural waterfall that seeps out from the side of the Garden Wall, and is fed by runoff from snowmelt.-External links:...
- Logan PassLogan PassLogan Pass 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....
- Jackson GlacierJackson GlacierJackson Glacier is approximately the seventh largest of the remaining 25 glaciers in Glacier National Park located in the U.S. state of Montana. A part of the largest grouping of glaciers in the park, Jackson Glacier rests on the north side of Mount Jackson...
- Rising SunRising Sun (Montana)Rising Sun is located along the Going-to-the-Sun Road, from the east entrance into Glacier National Park, Montana, U.S.. Rising Sun is a wayside area that has a National Park Service campground, and a camp store, restaurant, motel and guest cabins which are managed by the park's concessionaire...
- Saint Mary Lake
Repairs
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
(NPS) and Federal Highway Administration
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration 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 and the Federal Lands Highway Program...
(FHWA) to repair damage from many avalanches and rock slides over the years. The repairs (started in the 1980s) include fixing retaining walls, replacing the original pavement with reinforced concrete, and work on tunnels and arches.