Glacier Park buttoning up for winter
The Daily Inter Lake
The delayed arrival of winter weather has kept Glacier National Park roads open longer than normal, but snowfall this week has prompted some road closures in the park.
On Tuesday, the park received several inches of snow on the west side and up to 10 inches in the Many Glacier Valley east of the Continental Divide.
Park roads currently open for vehicle traffic are Camas Road and the lower-elevation portions of Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Sun Road is currently open for vehicle travel 10 miles from West Glacier to Lake McDonald Lodge and 5.5 miles between St. Mary and Rising Sun.
Park roadways closed to vehicles include the entire Inside North Fork Road between Kintla Lake and Fish Creek, Two Medicine Road at the park boundary, and Many Glacier Road at the park boundary. The Chief Mountain Road and Cut Bank Road already were closed.
Most roads will not be plowed and snow will be allowed to accumulate for non-mechanized recreational use such as cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
Rehabilitation work on Sun Road is mostly finished for the winter. However, heavy equipment will be traveling between Lake McDonald Lodge and Logan Creek through mid-December. Sun Road work will resume in spring 2009.
Throughout the winter, Glacier crews plow and maintains the west side of Sun Road to Lake McDonald Lodge, a distance of 10 miles, and from the St. Mary entrance to the gate at the St. Mary Campground on the east side.
Winter camping, with no water available, will be open at the Apgar Picnic Area and St. Mary Campground.
There is no cost for winter camping; however, a valid entrance pass is required.
Winter backcountry travelers are reminded that backcountry permits are required for all overnight backcountry trips. Winter permits are available, at no charge, Mondays through Fridays at park headquarters and on weekends at the Apgar Visitor Center.
The Apgar Visitor Center is open Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through the end of April 2009.
Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., visitors may obtain information and assistance at park headquarters.
November 2008 was tied with November 1949 for the third-warmest November on record in the park with an average monthly temperature of 36.1 degrees. November 1999 was the warmest November on record since 1949 with an average monthly temperature of 37.7 degrees.