Going to the Sun Road in Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Loop

Sep. 28, 2009 - Chrissie D. wrote:

“In the summer of 2004, we took a road trip to Glacier National Park. We were very fortunate to get to drive the entire Going-to-the-Sun Road, from West Glacier all the way to the East to our camp site. Actually the main reason why we chose a campsite in East Glacier was so that we can drive the well-known road. It was an experience we’ll never forget. As soon as we entered the National Park from Montana, we were enfolded by enormous snow-capped mountains. It was amazing and we stopped to take in the sight. Then we came upon the most serene Lake McDonald and we stopped again. Driving further in, we found that the road is impressively well-paved, that even though we were driving through some very mountainous terrain, it was a breezy smooth drive. There were strategic viewing lookouts throughout the road which were of course irresistible. The afternoon sun was setting lower as we got to the middle of this 52-mile span road, as we climbed higher through the mountains. The light illuminated the valleys and rivers below and was a heavenly sight.”

“…Waterfalls were everywhere along the Sun Road plunging out of the glaciers of the mountains. Some were narrow, while some stretched 100 yards along the road, happily splashing onto the asphalt. The traffic was at a slow pace( as everyone were there to take in the view), so we got to enjoy sticking out our arms to get a splash of these frigid waterfalls. Quite refreshing really! It was supposed to take about 1 hr 40 mins to drive the entire Sun Road, but we took about three hours. It was almost dark when we arrived at our campsite, just in time to start a fire and an enjoy a nice tin mug of hot Chocolate. -