Idling on his motorcycle at the tail end of a two-mile traffic jam outside Glacier National Park’s West Entrance at 9 a.m. on the Going-to-the-Sun Road’s opening day, Casey Doggett began to doubt the last-minute shift in his plans.

“I was thinking, if this keeps up, my clutch will go out,” he said. 

The Nebraska native had already spent a few days exploring the eastern side of the park with his son, Ethan, and figured they would spend the next week or so exploring the terrain along the Montana-Wyoming border. That was before Doggett learned the Going-to-the-Sun Road was scheduled to open Monday. 

“My brother visited a few times, and he always said if you never do anything else, you’ve got to see Glacier,” said Doggett. “So, it’s been on our bucket list.” 

Luckily, the traffic abated after the Doggetts passed through the entrance station, and the pair were able to cruise to a pullout near the Weeping Wall without incident. Even with a few miles to go until Logan Pass, Doggett said the views were worth the 30-minute wait at the entrance. 

The views persisted, despite the threat of low-hanging clouds and sporadic rain showers on June 22. 

“It’s fabulous. It’s so beautiful,” said Marla Taylor, on vacation with her family of nine from Kansas. “This highway is definitely the highlight.” 

Rain started to fall as they drove past the Weeping Wall, but Taylor said her kids and grandkids still cranked the sunroof back to feel the spray. 

Further up the road, the Logan Pass Visitor Center was packed shoulder to shoulder. While a warning sign deterred a few families from venturing onto the snowfields that obscured the Hidden Lake Trail, plenty of hikers braved the wintry conditions.  

“It’s unbelievable,” said Elena Linster, a student from Minnesota. “I feel like the energy’s really good, and everyone knows how special it is to be up here.”   

Like Doggett, Linster said that visiting Glacier National Park was a long-standing dream. She knew that some of the park’s features would likely be closed off in June, but there was no other time in her packed schedule for a vacation. She was thrilled to learn the Going-to-the-Sun Road would open about a week into her two-week stay.   

"I never expected to be at Logan Pass on opening day,” she said. 

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at 406-758-4433 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support. 

    Visitors mill about near the trailhead for Hidden Lake at Logan Pass on Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park on Monday, June 22. (Hailey Smalley/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    Going-to-the-Sun Road opened for the summer season on June 22, 2026. (Hailey Smalley/ Daily Inter Lake)