Bicycling the Going to the Sun Road

In the spring, snowplows have already cleared the lower portions of the Going to the Sun Road, the main road that goes through Glacier Park. However, that doesn’t mean they allow cars on it yet. This year in particular, they’re doing a paving project that will keep the road closed through at least June 22. Which is awesome for me, because it means I was able to ride my bike on it without worrying about cars hitting me.

I started around 1 in the afternoon, because laziness. The first four miles only climb 156 feet, which was exciting for me because, honestly, I don’t ride my bike very often and long downhills scare me. It was gorgeous. Basically the whole time I was riding I was laughing and thinking how insane it is that God not only made this place, but he lets me live here.

I got to Logan Creek after 4 miles and thought, “That was way easier than I thought! I wonder…” So I set off up the road. The next main viewpoint, The Loop, was 4 miles away and about 740 feet of elevation climb. I still did a lot better than I thought I would, but after a while I got super hungry and stopped in the middle of the road—reason number 117 why biking it with no cars is awesome.

As I pulled out some cheese and crackers, a guy rode past me and started laughing. “You’re so close!” he called out. “It’s literally right there!” He pointed up the rode.

“But, food,” I said. I stuffed a cracker in my mouth, got back on my bike, and started crawling up the hill again.

It was indeed right there—maybe 100 yards past where I had stopped to snack. The Loop is where the road does a hairpin turn to keep climbing up to Logan Pass. There’s a wide spot to rest, and bathrooms, so that was cool. I found a spot and had the rest of my cheese and crackers looking at Heaven’s Peak and the surrounding mountains.

I then started my long descent. I was super worried about losing control on the steep road, flying over the edge, never being heard from again—little things. But it was awesome. There was wind in my face, which slowed me down a lot, and every quarter mile I’d come to an awesome viewpoint and have to stop anyways. I met a guy from France who was riding his bike from Alaska to South America with a friend, except his friend broke his hand and had to stay in Whitefish for a while so he was alone for this part.

I got back to my car about 4 hours after I started my bike ride. I felt super satisfied with how it went. I would totally recommend this trip to anyone who is in the area! I may or may not already be planning a trip for next week 🙂