u/daveg3226

Don’t fly into JH, fly into SLC and drive the 5 hours up to Jackson!

Flights are cheaper and rental cars are way cheaper. Plus it’s a scenic drive, and there are various routes so you can go a different way driving back to SLC. I mentioned this to someone recently on this Reddit and they said they were gonna save like $1,000!

Obviously the downside is the inconvenience and travel time. But after paying through the nose for a couple years going from MA to a dude ranch near Jackson, we switched and never looked back.

It amazes me how many posts I see here about people planning a visit between now and mid June. Umm, okay, but did you notice that Going To The Sun road (aka the one road through the park with all the mind boggling scenery) won’t be open? Moreover Mother Nature is in charge so the NPS can’t give an exact date. Google “the big drift” for an idea of what they face every year. Also it’s not just plowing but they gotta make sure there won’t be avalanches. They also gotta put back miles of road signs & fencing that they take down for the winter, get the Logan pass visitor center running, etc.

GTTS road usually opens mid to late June. Last year I think GTTS road opened on the 9th for bikes and the 16th for vehicles. Snow pack this year was historically low so who knows if they open even earlier. But bottom line before June is pointless, and mid June is iffy. Of course there’s still park to enjoy (many glacier, two medicine, north fork, hikes into the sperry area, etc) but I sure wouldn’t bother visiting if I couldn’t drive GTTS.

I’ll also remind people that this year timed entry is gone, but there is a 3 hour parking limit at Logan pass. Hikers need to take the shuttle bus. We did it a few years ago to hike Highline and it worked fine. The full 11 mile hike is one way and you end up waaaaay downhill from Logan pass so you’re using the bus anyhow. Just get there early or else you’re in line for the next bus.

We are lucky in that we are a mere 3 hours from lake McDonald, so we can do day trips. We just went up in march and yes the road was closed at the lake.