View source for Going-to-the-Sun Road

{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name                 = Going-to-the-Sun Road
| nrhp_type            = nhl
| image                = Going-to-the-Sun Road - Glacier National Park.jpg
| caption              = The road is often cut into steep rock
| location             = [[Glacier National Park (U.S.)|Glacier National Park]], [[Flathead County, Montana|Flathead]] and [[Glacier County, Montana|Glacier]] counties, [[Montana]], U.S.
| nearest_city         = [[West Glacier, Montana]]
| locmapin             = Montana#USA
| locmap_relief        = 1
| map_width            = 240
| map_alt              = 
| map_caption          = Location in [[Montana]]
| coordinates          = {{coord|48.695|N|113.817|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| area                 = 
| built                = 1921–1932; dedicated 1933
| architect            = National Park Service; Bureau of Public Roads
| designated_nrhp_type = February 18, 1997<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/nrhp/AssetDetail?assetID=92462260-0dcd-495e-8f70-ff31672c25da |title=Going-to-the-Sun Road |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109095456/http://focus.nps.gov/nrhp/AssetDetail?assetID=92462260-0dcd-495e-8f70-ff31672c25da |archive-date=January 9, 2016 |access-date=January 9, 2016 |work=National Historic Landmark summary listing |url-status=live |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>
| added                = June 16, 1983<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
| refnum               = 83001070
}}

'''Going-to-the-Sun Road''' is a scenic mountain road in the [[Rocky Mountains]] of the [[western United States]], in [[Glacier National Park (U.S.)|Glacier National Park]] in [[Montana]]. The Sun Road, as it is sometimes abbreviated in [[National Park Service]] documents, is the only road that traverses the park, crossing the [[Continental Divide of the Americas|Continental Divide]] through [[Logan Pass]] at an elevation of 6,646 feet (2,026&nbsp;m), which is the highest point on the road.<ref name="npsgtts" /> Construction began in 1921 and was completed in 1932 with formal dedication in the following summer on July 15, 1933.<ref name=opening>{{cite news|last=Scott|first=Tristan|title=Glacier's Going-to-the-Sun Road to open July 13, 2nd latest ever|url=http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_a91704e2-a909-11e0-ae30-001cc4c03286.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426204340/http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_a91704e2-a909-11e0-ae30-001cc4c03286.html|archive-date=April 26, 2012|access-date=January 9, 2016|newspaper=Missoulian|date=April 7, 2011}}</ref><ref name=sdosrim>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jr5YAAAAIBAJ&pg=6233%2C1009966 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |title=Session due on Sun Road improvement |date=July 18, 1967 |page=6 }}</ref> Prior to the construction of the road, visitors would need to spend several days traveling through the central part of the park, an area which can now be traversed within a few hours, excluding any stops for sightseeing or construction.

The road is the first to have been registered in all of the following categories: [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Glacier County, Montana|National Historic Place]],<ref name=nhp>{{cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/83001070|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form|date=June 16, 1983|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109095727/http://focus.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/83001070|archive-date=January 9, 2016|publisher=National Park Service|url-status=live|access-date=January 9, 2016}}</ref> [[List of National Historic Landmarks in Montana|National Historic Landmark]]<ref name="nhlsum"/> and [[List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks|Historic Civil Engineering Landmark]].<ref name=top10>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gtsrtop10.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609100241/http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gtsrtop10.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 9, 2012|title=Top 10 Things...#2|date=January 9, 2016|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=January 9, 2016}}</ref> The road is approximately 50 miles (80&nbsp;km) long and spans the width of the park between the east and west entrance stations.<ref name="npsgtts" /> The National Historic Landmark Nomination records a slightly shorter distance of 48.7 miles which is measured from the first main intersection just outside the park's west entrance to Divide Creek in [[St. Mary, Montana]] on the east side of the park.<ref name="npsgtts" />

==Name==
The road is named after [[Going-to-the-Sun Mountain]] which dominates the eastbound view beyond Logan Pass. One [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] legend concerns the deity Sour Spirit who came down from the Sun to teach the [[Blackfeet Indian Reservation|Blackfeet]] the basics of hunting. While returning to the Sun, an image of Sour Spirit was placed on the mountain as an inspiration for the Blackfeet. Another story has suggested that a late-19th-century [[European Americans|Euro-American]] explorer provided the mountain's name and the legend.<ref name="npsgtts">{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gttsrfaq.htm |title=Going-to-the-Sun Road FAQs |date=October 19, 2009 |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=May 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528161758/http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gttsrfaq.htm |archive-date=May 28, 2010 }}</ref>

==Design==
[[File:Glac gttsr map with structures.png|thumb|left|Road map (click map to enlarge)]]
Going-to-the-Sun Road, also known as Glacier Route 1 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.<ref>Carr, p. 160.</ref>  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.<ref>Carr, p. 171.</ref>  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.<ref>Carr, p. 186.</ref>

The western terminus of the road is at [[U.S. Route 2]] in [[West Glacier, Montana]]. The eastern terminus is at [[U.S. Route 89]] in St. Mary.

The two-lane Going-to-the-Sun Road is quite narrow and winding, with [[hairpin turn]]s, especially west of Logan Pass. Consequently, vehicle lengths over the highest portions of the roadway are limited to no longer than {{convert|21|ft|m}} and no wider than {{convert|8|ft|m}} between Avalanche Creek and Rising Sun picnic areas which are located many miles below Logan Pass, on the west and east sides of the pass, respectively. Vehicles over {{convert|10|ft|m}} in height may not have sufficient clearance due to rock overhangs when driving west between Logan Pass and the hairpin turn called the Loop.<ref name="npsgtts" /> The speed limits are {{convert|45|mph|kph|abbr=on}} in the lower elevations and {{convert|25|mph|kph|abbr=on}} in the steeper and winding alpine sections.<ref name="npsgtts" />

==Repairs==
[[File:Going-to-the-Sun Road plowed.jpg|thumb|Plowing not yet finished as of June 21]]
The road is one of the most difficult roads in North America to snowplow in the spring. Up to {{convert|80|ft|0}} of snow can lie on top of Logan Pass, and more just east of the pass where the deepest snowfield has long been called the [[Big Drift]]. The road takes about ten weeks to plow, even with equipment that can move 4,000 tons of snow in an hour. The snowplow crew can clear as little as {{convert|500|ft}} 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 destroyed protective barriers. The road is generally open from early June to mid October, with its latest opening on July 13, 2022, marking the record for the latest opening since the inaugural date of July 15, 1933.<ref name=opening />

A restoration project by the National Park Service and the [[Federal Highway Administration]] has been repairing road damage from many avalanches and rock slides over the years.<ref name=fhwa>{{cite web |title=Going-to-the-Sun Road Project |publisher=Federal Highway Administration |url=https://highways.dot.gov/federal-lands/projects/mt/gtsr/ |date=October 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151027075240/http://flh.fhwa.dot.gov/projects/mt/gtsr/ |archive-date=October 27, 2015 | url-status=dead |access-date=January 9, 2016 }}</ref> The repairs, which started in the 1980s and continue to the present day when weather permits, include fixing retaining walls, replacing the original pavement with reinforced concrete, and work on tunnels, bridges, culverts and overlooks.<ref name=repairs>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gtsrtop10.htm|title=Top 10 Things...#3-7|date=January 9, 2016|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=January 9, 2016|archive-date=December 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228152530/http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gtsrtop10.htm|url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Road Construction and Infrastructure Project Work |website=Glacier National Park |url=https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/projectwork.htm |access-date=April 5, 2025 |archive-date=September 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240929070541/https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/projectwork.htm |url-status=deviated }}</ref>

==Buses==
[[File:Jammer.jpg|thumb|left|Red Jammer bus (2006)]]
A fleet of vintage 1930s red buses, modernized in 2001 and called [[Red Jammers]], or simply "Reds", continue the tradition of offering guided tours along the road.<ref name=reds>{{cite web |title=On the Road Again: Glacier National Park's Red Buses |publisher=National Park Service |url=http://crm.cr.nps.gov/archive/25-05/25-05-06.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217084749/http://crm.cr.nps.gov/archive/25-05/25-05-06.pdf |archive-date=February 17, 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=October 4, 2016 }}</ref> The original bus drivers became affectionately known as "Gear Jammers", or simply "Jammers", since they had to jam the manual gearbox into low to safely negotiate the steepest road sections.<ref name=reds/> Thirty-three of the original buses were rebuilt with flexible-fuel engines, which operate mainly on [[propane]], but can use gasoline, and with automatic transmissions, making the Jammer name archaic.<ref name=cljsl>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZJZXAAAAIBAJ&pg=5623%2C4609077 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |last=Wille |first=Chris |title=Classic jammers slowly returning to Glacier |date=May 5, 2002 |page=H4 }}</ref><ref name=pstclair>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1spOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6305%2C176924 |newspaper=Sunday Star-News |location=Wilmington, North Carolina |agency=''New York Times'' News Service |last=Siano |first=Joseph |title=Parks take steps to clean air |date=September 1, 2002 |page=9D }}</ref> Modern-style shuttle buses for shorter trips and Blackfeet tour buses operate on the road as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/gettingaround.htm|title=Plan Your Visit-Getting Around|date=January 9, 2016|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=January 9, 2016}}</ref>{{clear left}}

==References in popular culture==
[[File:By St, Mary Lake on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, 1991.jpg|thumb|right|Saint Mary Lake from road]]
Going-to-the-Sun Road is shown in the opening credits of the 1980 film ''[[The Shining (film)|The Shining]]'', as aerial flybys of Wild Goose Island and the protagonist's car traveling along the north shore of [[Saint Mary Lake]], through the East Side tunnel and onward, going to a mountain resort hotel for his job interview as a winter caretaker.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv|title = The Shining (1980) - IMDb}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=User-generated content from IMDB|date=January 2025}} The road is also featured at night at the climax of the sequel adaptation, [[Doctor Sleep (2019 film)|''Doctor Sleep'']], when Danny Torrance returns to the Overlook Hotel with Abra to confront the antagonist Rose The Hat.

The road is also seen briefly in the 1994 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 looked 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://montanakids.com/cool_stories/Movies/Forrest.htm|title=Montanakids &#124; Forrest Gump}}</ref>

The road is the subject of the song "Going-to-the-Sun Road" by [[Fleet Foxes]], featured on their 2020 album [[Shore (album)|''Shore'']].

==See also==
[[File:Going-to-the-Sun Road-27527-2.jpg|thumb|Clements Mountain and the East Side tunnel]]
Major points of interest along the road from west-to-east include:
*[[Lake McDonald]]
*[[Trail of the Cedars]]
*[[Heavens Peak]]
*[[Bird Woman Falls]]
*[[Garden Wall]] / [[Weeping Wall (Montana)|Weeping Wall]]
*[[Logan Pass]]
*[[Clements Mountain]]
*[[Mount Jackson (Montana)|Mount Jackson]] / [[Jackson Glacier|Glacier]]
*[[Going-to-the-Sun Mountain]]
*[[Rising Sun Auto Camp]]
*[[Saint Mary Lake]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{cite book
  | last = Carr
  | first = Ethan
  | title = Wilderness by Design: Landscape Architecture & the National Park Service
  | publisher = University of Nebraska Press
  | year = 1998
  | url =https://archive.org/details/wildernessbydesi0000carr
  | url-access = registration
  | isbn = 0-8032-6383-X}}

==Further reading==
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BmhWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=b_MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2338%2C403448 Spokesman-Review article (Spokane, Washington)]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ck1WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8usDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6821%2C7745654 Eugene Register-Guard article (Eugene, Oregon)]
*[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lAlQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fAkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6761%2C6187113 Ocala Star-Banner article (Ocala, Florida)]

==External links==
{{Commons and category}}
*[https://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm Glacier National Park official website]
*[https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/goingtothesunroad.htm Going-to-the-Sun-Road Information and Transit System]
*[http://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/roadstatus/roadstatus.cfm Current road status] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224082436/http://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/roadstatus/roadstatus.cfm |date=December 24, 2013 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20151015041613/http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/95sunroad/95sunroad.htm ''Going-to-the-Sun Road: A Model of Landscape Engineering'']
*[http://www.visitmt.com/listings/general/scenic-highway/going-to-the-sun-road.html Visit Montana - Going-to-the-Sun Road] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004091213/http://www.visitmt.com/listings/general/scenic-highway/going-to-the-sun-road.html |date=October 4, 2015 }}
*[http://archive.greatfallstribune.com/multimedia/GlacierGateway/timeline.html ''Great Falls Tribune:'' Glacier National Park centennial timeline] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006043343/http://archive.greatfallstribune.com/multimedia/GlacierGateway/timeline.html |date=October 6, 2015 }}
*[[Historic American Engineering Record]] (HAER) documentation, filed under West Glacier, Flathead County, MT:
**{{HAER |survey=MT-67 |id=mt0242 |title=Going-to-the-Sun Road |photos=88 |dwgs=18 |data=59 |cap=7 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-67-A |id=mt0268 |title=Going-to-the-Sun Road System Bridges |dwgs=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-67-B |id=mt0269 |title=Going-to-the-Sun Road System Culverts |dwgs=2 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-67-C |id=mt0270 |title=Going-to-the-Sun Road System Details |dwgs=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-68 |id=mt0243 |title=Belton Bridge, Spanning Middle Fork of Flathead River |photos=1 |data=9 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-69 |id=mt0244 |title=Common Drainage Culvert |data=5 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-70 |id=mt0245 |title=Sprague Creek Culvert |photos=1 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-71 |id=mt0246 |title=Snyder Creek Culvert |photos=1 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-72 |id=mt0247 |title=Horse Trail Underpass |photos=1 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-73 |id=mt0248 |title=Avalanche Creek Bridge |photos=1 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-74 |id=mt0249 |title=Creek Culvert |data=5 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-75 |id=mt0250 |title=Logan Creek Bridge |photos=1 |dwgs=1 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-76 |id=mt0251 |title=West Side Tunnel |photos=3 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-77 |id=mt0252 |title=Granite Creek Culvert |data=5 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-78 |id=mt0253 |title=Haystack Creek Culvert |photos=1 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-79 |id=mt0254 |title=Triple Arches, Spanning Rift on Pollock Mountain |photos=1 |dwgs=1 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-80 |id=mt0255 |title=East Side Tunnel, Through Piegan Mountain |photos=1 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-81 |id=mt0256 |title=Siyeh Creek Culvert |photos=1 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-82 |id=mt0257 |title=Baring Creek Bridge |photos=2 |dwgs=3 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-83 |id=mt0258 |title=Golden Stairs Retaining Wall |photos=1 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-84 |id=mt0259 |title=St. Mary River Bridge |photos=1 |data=6 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=MT-85 |id=mt0260 |title=Divide Creek Bridge |photos=1 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}

{{Glacier National Park}}
{{NRHP in Glacier NP}}
{{NRHP in Glacier County, Montana}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Going-to-the-Sun Road| ]]
[[Category:Transportation in Flathead County, Montana]]
[[Category:Transportation in Glacier County, Montana]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Glacier National Park]]
[[Category:Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Montana]]
[[Category:Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Flathead County, Montana]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Glacier County, Montana]]
[[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Montana]]
[[Category:History of the Rocky Mountains]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Flathead County, Montana]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Glacier County, Montana]]
[[Category:1933 establishments in Montana]]
[[Category:Glacier National Park (U.S.)]]
[[Category:National Park Service rustic in Montana]]