Your cart is currently empty!
Biking Going-to-the-Sun Road – May 2025
—
by
The bluebird skies had us calling up our friend Jess, throwing our bikes on our car, and biking up Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, an annual tradition that never disappoints.
Our friend Jess had never biked Going-to-the-Sun Road. Her and I were going to lead a bike-and-bird field trip for Flathead Audubon, so we used this as an excuse to go up and “scout” which meant just bike the road. So Kristen, Jess, and myself loaded up the car on a sunny, Saturday morning and decided to brave the Memorial Day Weekend crowd.
Pro tip: get there early! We were at Avalanche Creek Campground (where the road was gated) by 7:30am and easily found a parking spot. (As summer progresses, I’d recommend 7am). After unloading the bikes and getting all ready, we stepped on the pedals and began working our way up McDonald Creek.
The end of May and the beginning of June are really fun. The road is closed to cars, so you can just bike along and not worry. The other fun thing is that a lot of our breeding birds have returned and are singing a lot! Varied Thrushes, Pacific Wrens, Hammond’s Flycatchers, Fox Sparrows, and Yellow Warblers along with many other species were singing their hearts out and we loved it!
It’s also a great time to see Harlequin Ducks on McDonald Creek (which we missed on this trip, but found a few of during the aforementioned birding trip). The creek was running clear, so the multi-colored rocks were gorgeous as the clear, blue water rushed over them, alternating between smooth water to raging whitewater.
Did I mention wildflowers? Glacier lilies, a wide variety of violets, late stage Trillium, and many others lined the understory while the dark, mossy cedar/hemlock forest provided a verdant backdrop. Waterfalls spilled over the edge of the rocky ridges and snowcapped peaks towered above.
We finally made it to Logan Creek, ending the (mostly) level section and we began to climb up toward the Loop (the road’s big switchback). Along the way we passed an overlook for Bird Woman Falls, saw a Golden Eagle riding the wind along a ridge, got our first look at Heavens Peak, and passed through the sweet tunnel. The tunnel has some fun arches looking out, is a bit drippy, and has a waterfall cascading on both ends. From there, the views were almost unobstructed up to the Loop with Heavens Peak being the most dominant feature.
After a light snack and a bathroom break, we continued up, noticing the changing bird calls as we changed habitats. The mountains surrounding Logan Pass came clearly into view as we weaved our way along the Garden Wall. Waterfall after waterfall cascaded down to the road and shot through underneath. Huge snow piles melted, feeding these seasonal streams. Sharp rocks lie on the road and reminded us to pay attention (especially on the way down).
We passed Haystack Falls, then wrapped around Haystack Butte before traveling alongside Weeping Wall which was weeping… just not as much as it usually does this time of year (perhaps it needed a few more warm days to really get emotional).
This was the last feature before we got to Big Bend and the lunch-time party of bikers that had gathered at the road block (for avalanche safety). We ran into a few folks we knew and had some lunch. Someone spotted a mountain goat and we admired their climbing abilities and basked in the sun like a bunch of marmots.
It was time to change into downhill mode and use some of that potential energy we had. It can be a bit scary for some as you whizz down the road with the cliffy edge not far from you. My mountain bike tires splattered some muddy water on the way down, giving racing stripes on the front and the back.
Eventually the trail leveled out and we lazily pedaled back to our car, full of the beauty and exercise of the day.
Leave a Reply